L'Italo-Americano

" I grew up with a passion for gelato and, as an adult, I became obsessed with the idea of sharing my love for this frozen dessert with the whole world," says Gabriele Poli, founder and President of Gelato Festival, a worldwide competition that took place in West Hollywood on September 28 and 29, at the Pacific Design Center. In its third edition, the event's goal is to spread the culture of artisanal gelato throughout the United States. "Even though our roots are in Italy, here in the US the purpose of Gelato Festival runs much deeper than simply making fantastic gelato" contin- ues Poli. "It's also about cele- brating and sharing the culture, chefs, and community behind this time-honored craft. There are still very few true gelato stores in the US, but we're part of a move- ment to change that—and raise the bar for the whole industry." Born in Florence, Italy, in 2010, Gelato Festival is founded on the belief that gelato is a uni- versal symbol of happiness—and that there are few pleasures in life greater than the feeling of having a truly delicious scoop. Over the past ten years, Gelato Festival hosted more than 100 decadently fun fairs across the world where over 3,000 of the most accomplished gelato chefs compete with their original fla- vors. The idea to go international and focus on the American mar- ket was born when Poli saw that gelato is universally enjoyed and infinitely adaptable. "The result of being here in America will be a one-of-a-kind, experiential bridge between the tradition and culture of the Florentine Renais- sance and the vibrancy of West Hollywood. We have also seen that gelato chefs create new fla- vors that reflect their cultural backgrounds and their traditional ingredients," Poli underlines. A few examples include a chef from Syria who brought pista- chio baklava gelato, a chef from Japan who brought uni miso, and an American who competed with apple Pie gelato. Not only does the art of mak- ing gelato enter new markets effortlessly by assimilating local traditions and flavors as more cultures get involved, it also serves — especially in the USA — as a framework for cultural exchange, where diverse people can innovate the scene by get- ting inspired by their history. The winner of this year con- test for best flavor was "seamist" by Stefano Mosi, of Mosi in Vic- toria, BC Canada. Other prizewinners included "purple clouds" by Alfonso Jarero of Ozio in Mexico City, Mexico, and Italian Romance by Antonio Arminio of Gelato Go in Beverly Hills, CA. Arminio also got the most award nominations and was the first winning gelato franchise in America. "The sorbet I prepared is made with water from organic handmade roses wrapped in a mixture of variegated blueberries with wild berry spice for an ele- gant, romantic and healthy taste, " he explains. "It represents our true Italian romantic spirit." Gelato Festival is the world's most prestigious event dedicated to gelato. This year, the event celebrates its ten years of activi- ty, during which it organized more than 100 festivals around the world and presented over 3,000 of the world's best gelato makers. While authentic gelato parlors in the US are not many, yet, gelato is nevertheless a growing industry and, unlike ice cream, it contains less fat and considered a healthier choice. "Gelato-go started in 2013 with locations across Florida and California." Alex Alvino, owner and founder of the gelato chain, Gelato-go, which was awarded as the first winning gelato franchise in America. "We just opened out third one in Califonia, in El Segundo, after our Beverly Hills and Santa Monica locations." "Our Gelato chefs are from Italy and we decided to move our business to the States because, even if it is more risky, here you compete with ice cream and frozen yogurt. It is a different challenge and we are happy to do it," Alvin conitnues. "Especially in California, customers are very health-conscious so it is about the calories and dairy free products like sorbet. So that's why we have developed a vegan line just for the California market." After giving life to the Gelato Festival, which visits many Ital- ian and European cities every year to celebrate quality artisan gelato, Poli focused on the Amer- ican market by investing over a million dollars in two years to launch the tour festivals in the United States (15 highly success- ful festivals have been organized in major American cities since 2017) and set up an experiential store on iconic Melrose Avenue. The 3,000 square foot flagship store of the Gelato Festival serves a rotating Hall of Fame menu of award-winning flavors, with plenty of space for a live production workshop, a class- room and a museum. Visitors can discover artisan gelato and Italian coffee in all its aspects, from tast- ing to creating. Master Chefs interested in experimentation and innovation will visit the open lab- oratory, where guests can admire all the steps of the gelato making process, with recipes like straw- berry and pepper or pecorino with caramelized pears and Sulla honey, plus ice-cream cakes and popsicles, as well as high-quality Italian coffee. The store has a calendar of events, including special visits by award-winning gelato makers, tastings for children and fun chal- lenges. There are spaces for con- temporary art installations (the first of which has gigantic recy- cled plastic spoons) and even a mini piazza inside to enjoy ice cream in an open space. The store also serves as a hub for innovation, not only bringing the best gelato makers to West Hol- lywood to experiment with new flavors and push the boundaries of taste further, but also by exposing Made in Italy state-of- the-art technology, taste and design created by project partners Carpigiani, ISA, Rancilio, PreGel America, Caffè Vergnano, Weker. In short, an authentic and unique experiential bridge between the tradition and culture of the Florentine Renaissance and the vibrancy of West Hollywood. Held in collaboration with strategic partners Carpigiani Frozen Dessert University and Sigep – Italian Exhibition Group, Global Partner Air Italy, main sponsors PreGel and WhyGela- to,com, and technical pponsor ISA, Gelato Festival West Holly- wood 2019 artisans created and served more than two tons of gelato to thousands of guests using cups by packaging sponsor Stanpac. SILVIA GIUDICI THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019 www.italoamericano.org 22 L'Italo-Americano It's an Italian gelato celebration in West Hollywood with Gelato Festival Stefano Mosi, this year's winner of the Gelato Festival (Copyright: Gelato Festival America) LOS ANGELES ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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