Paolo Ammendolia Wins Switzerland’s Gelato Festival Round

The Gelato Festival World Masters, the world championship run with strategic partners Carpigiani and Sigep – Italian Exhibition Group, returned to Switzerland on Tuesday 11 March 2025. Thirteen Swiss gelato makers competed in Stabio, at the premises of a local Carpigiani dealer, and one of them came out on top.

The winner and the special mentions

Paolo Ammendolia of Gelateria Pizzeria Italia in Solothurn won with “Fior di Passione”, a fior di latte gelato with meringues, passion fruit and milk chocolate. He will compete in the European Finals in October 2025.

The jury was so impressed by the quality of the flavours that it also gave special mentions to:

• Carlo Ceccato of La Bottega di Carletto, Sant’Antonino, with “Biscotto Läckerli”, a custard-base spiced gelato made with Läckerli, a traditional Basel biscuit.
• Zaher Bou Aram of Cedar Land, Ziefen, with “Zimt”, a fresh organic milk gelato with pistachios, salted caramel almonds, sahlab and mystica.

Judging and field

Entries were judged on taste, texture, creativity and the way each maker presented and described the flavour, looking at ingredient choice, recipe craftsmanship and the overall impression on sight, taste and smell. The jury:

• Dany Stauffacher, CEO and founder of S. Pellegrino Sapori Ticino
• Francesco Jatosti, food blogger
• Alessandro Garzillo, chef
• Tiziano Bonacina, pastry chef

The other participants were:

• Marco Landoni, Armonia del Gusto, Morbio Inferiore: “Birramisù”
• Giulia Missiaglia, Gelatiamo, Savosa: “Bowser”
• Claudio Bignotti, Gelatomania, Les Acacias: “Citron Lactée”
• Marco Carletto, Vera Gelateria, Muralto: “Terra di Sicilia”
• Corinna Steffen, DoppioGusto, Pregassona: “Dubai Chocolate”
• Julien Golano, La Bise, Lausanne: “Saffron-Orange Blossom”
• Vincenzo Saraco, RDC Gelato, Rapperswil-Jona: Jersey milk with cookie powder and a dulce de leche variegato
• Sara Leandra Troncoso, Gelateria Pandito, Basel: “Chocotorta”
• Ihsan Cokluk, Baci di Berna, Bern: “Kulfi”
• Massimiliano Lanzafame, Maxsimo-Gelateria Naturale, Düdingen: “Überrashung!”

About the Gelato Festival World Masters

The championship began in Florence in 2010 and was inspired by the first documented gelato recipe, created by the architect Bernardo Buontalenti in 1559. It grew from a local contest into a tour across Italy, then Europe, and from 2017 into the United States. It went global with the Gelato Festival World Masters 2021 edition, which finished in December 2021 with a win for Adam Fazekas of Budapest and a record 3,500 gelato artisans judged by international juries.

What this means for gelato makers in Australia

Competitions like this show how far a well-balanced recipe, good technique and a confident story can take a gelato maker. If you are building your own flavour range, the right artisan gelato machines and a solid grounding from Carpigiani Gelato University are the place to start, and Majors Group can help with both in Australia. Our team can also talk you through Rubicone ingredients for your next signature flavour.

Source: Carpigiani news. Rewritten for Australia by Majors Group.