Seamist by Stefano Mosi Wins Gelato Festival’s First LA Stage

Gelato Festival America, now in its third year, held its first Los Angeles-area event in West Hollywood, wrapping up on 1 October 2019. The best-flavour title went to Seamist, presented by Stefano Mosi of MOSI in Victoria, Canada.

The competition and the podium

The festival’s mission is to spread the culture of artisan gelato across the United States through a high-level competition. Two local West Hollywood restaurants entered pastry chefs: Fabio Ugoletti of Cecconi’s and Alison Trent of Ysabel. Brandon Choi of Stick Station Gelato in Studio City flew the SoCal flag with an aptly named Strawberry213.

• 1st place, Seamist: an herbal tea sorbetto of mint, lemongrass and seaweed, finished with fresh mint leaves and lime. It won over both the Public Jury of ticket-holding guests and the Technical Jury of 12 professional judges. Stefano Mosi received a medal made by Florentine goldsmith Paolo Penko.
• 2nd place, Purple Clouds: a lychee gelato with organic hibiscus infusion and whole raspberries, by Alfonso Jarero of Ozio in Kentwood, Michigan.
• 3rd place, Italian Romance: made with water from organic handmade roses, wrapped in variegated blueberry with wild berry spice, by Antonio Arminio of Gelato Go in Beverly Hills.

The event was held with Carpigiani Frozen Dessert University and Sigep – Italian Exhibition Group as strategic partners, Air Italy as Global Partner and ISA as Technical Sponsor. Its winner moves on to the Gelato Festival American Final in 2020. Over the weekend the competitors made and served more than two tons of gelato for thousands of guests, at the close of the Gelato Festival Summer Tour at the Pacific Design Center.

Special mentions and side contests

• Technical Jury Award: Tropical Cowboy, a mango and pineapple gelato with candied jalapeños and citrus highlights, by Ashley Westwood of Bibo Freddo Gelato in Reno, Nevada. This prize reflects only the professional panel’s vote, judging presentation, flavour, structure, creativity and articulation.
• Popular Jury Award: Sunshine Spicy, an orange and cinnamon combination balancing citrus freshness with spicy heat, by Riccardo Barbarossa of Zona Blu in Weston, Florida. It reflects the general admission guests’ favourite.
• Gela-to-go Award: Italian Romance, for selling the most take-home pints.
• Kids Jury: Cardi “P”, a cheesecake-style creation with salted butterscotch, home-baked cinnamon apples, honey graham crumbs, buttery caramel and melted white chocolate, by Jason Corosanite of Particle Food Labs/Cafe Vine in Philadelphia.
• Speed Cup Race by ISA: each chef had 30 seconds to fill as many perfect cups as possible with a spatula, the traditional Italian way. Jason Corosanite won, with Riccardo Barbarossa and Antonio Arminio second and third.
• Stack It High: Katyna Mercenari of Fatamorgana Gelato in Studio City stacked 17 scoops in a single cup in 30 seconds to win the Golden Scooper.

What this means for gelato makers in Australia

The Speed Cup Race is a nice reminder that presentation at the counter matters as much as the recipe. ISA display cabinets are built to show gelato at its best, and Majors Group can help you choose between gelato cabinets and the wider ISA range. If you want to build competition-level flavours, Carpigiani Gelato University courses are available through Majors Group.

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