The Three Best Polish Gelato Artisans of 2024

The Gelato Festival World Masters returned to Poland for the second stop on its four-year calendar. After last year’s challenge, the second national competition took place in Łódź on 29 October 2024, with 15 Polish gelato makers taking part. The challenge is organised by Gelato Festival in collaboration with Sigep – Italian Exhibition Group, and was hosted by Carpigiani’s Polish distributor.

The three winners

The jury ranked three gelato makers to go through to the 2025 Polish Finals.

1. Michał Karbowski of Lodziarnia Kanka, Płonsk, with “Cherry Kawka”, a handmade Greek-style yoghurt gelato layered with cherry variegato and cocoa crumble.

2. Piotr Pastuszko of Lody u Piotrusia Pana, Wiązowna, with “Coco Lime”, a vegan flavour made with coconut, lime and coconut milk.

3. Damian Gutowski of Piekarnia Cukiernia Grzybki, Warsaw, with a fresh mint “Mietowa Straciatella”, a gelato of fresh mint, homemade mint oil and chocolate stracciatella.

Judging and other participants

Flavour, structure, creativity and the verbal and aesthetic presentation were the four criteria, rewarding ingredient choice, skill in developing and explaining the recipe, and the overall result on sight, taste and smell. The jury was:

• Peter Bertoti, gelato maestro and owner of Lody “Quattro Si” in Pruszków
• Monika Soszyńska, journalist at Przegląd Piekarski i Cukierniczy
• Małgorzata Michalska, founder of the International School of Culinary Art – Ashanti in Łódź
• Izabela Borkowska, food blogger and co-founder of Jemy w Łodzi

The other participants were:

• Aleksander Przygoda, Lody Przygody, Bełchatów: “Pistacjowa ekstrawagancja”
• Dominik Klockowski, Nice cream factory, Warsaw: “BeeHazel”
• Wioletta Gbiorczyk, Lodziarnia Mleczna, Radom: “Biscotto alla mandorla”
• Szymon Zak, Lodziarnia Zak, Bydgoszcz: “Vanilla with cherry”
• Mateusz Musialski, Cukiernia Szorski Jolanta Musialska, Ostrów Wielkopolski: “Mascarpone with coffee”
• Jakub Miętki, Latto Gelato, Gdansk: speculoos cookie with blackcurrant and honey
• Maja Uniejwska, Mr. Lodzik, Szprotawa: “Kokosiemki”
• Justyna Rżysko, Ammado Premium Gelato Cafe, Rzeszów: “Jagodzianka Ammado”
• Paweł Jafernik, Wytwornia Lodow z kornika, Kórnik: “St. Martin’s Croissant”

The 2022-2025 edition is the fifteenth year of the Gelato Festival World Masters. It debuted in Florence in 2010 as “Gelato Festival”, inspired by the first recorded gelato recipe, crafted by the architect Bernardo Buontalenti in 1559, and spread across Italy, Europe and, from 2017, the United States. It is now a global championship, and the 2017-2021 edition alone drew more than 3,500 gelato artisans.

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.