Gelato World Tour 2.0: Singapore crowned gelato master of Asia

Once we got news that the second edition of Gelato World Tour will be kicking off in Singapore, we’ve been anxiously waiting to get our taste buds tickled. Well, now we did.

Back in March, sixteen gelato artisans from New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, India, Thailand and Singapore gathered to compete for the coveted title for the best gelato in Asia.

The voting process was divided into three deciding parts: the technical jury that was presided by chef Justin Quek from restaurant Sky on 57, along with other professionals from the industry; the public participated throughout the three days; and the competitors themselves voted for their peers.

Each artisan had to introduce, explain and answer questions about their gelato to the technical jury, which was composed of chefs, food journalists and gelato experts. Flavour was the main criteria, alongside structure and density of the texture and of course presentation.

The organisers were thilled to see that all the contestants had taken the Italian art of gelato and made it their own by incoporating ingredients from their home country.

Noting that pistachios are one of the most common ingredients in gelato, Valentina Righi, Communication Manager of Caprigiani Group happily exlaimed, ‘’No pistachio this year!’’

Indeed, all of the participants were eager to enthuse about their choice of ingredients, that ranged from kopi, gula melaka, curcuma, pandan, honey, mango and ube. All of which briliantly summed up the diverse and rich culture of the Asia Pacific region.

Singapore was well represented with six candidates in the mix, of which some celebrated the little red dot’s 50th anniversary or the iconic sling cocktail. One thing’s for sure though that Singaporeans’ love for gelato is only getting bigger.

This year, the winning title went to former banker turned gelato artisan, Sharon Tay from Momolato (Singapore), with her ‘Good’Ol Days’ creation, using traditional local ingredients such as coconut milk, plam sugar. Her gelato expresses ‘the colourful patchwork and myriad cultures’ of the country.

Silver went to Australian, David Lamprell, Michael and Brian O’Donell from 48 Flavours (Adelaide, Asutralia) with their ‘Roasted walnut and honey crunch ‘ gelato. The Asutralian honey had a strong aroma and the flavour stayed in your mouth for a while. A true delight!

Last but not least, Malaysia took the third place with ‘Vanilla of the East’ from Keewin and Seow Huan Ong. The owners of Cielo Dolci in Kuala Lumpur created a well-balanced bridge between Madagascar vanilla and pandan. For Keewin, pandan is not only his prefered ingredient but also the vanilla of the East.

Now as for the other accolades, People’s Choice went to the Philippines contender, Zarah Zaragaoza-Manikan and her beautiful and colourful creation, ‘Mango ube symphony’ while Judge’s Special went two teams. One was Australian Antonino Lo Iacono of Gelatony (Sydney) with his fragrant and sophisticated ‘Lemon zest with fig marmalade and dark chocolate’ and the other went to Steve and Chrissie Powel from Vostrogusto Gelato (Wellington, New Zealand) with their quirky ‘From the cradle to grave.’

The Asian leg of Gelato World Tour has defintely left a great impact with the organisers, chefs and visitors as all the artisans worked with combining several flavours and textures into their complicated gelato creations.

Now that the compeition is officially underway, Singapore has no doubt raised the bar for fellow challengers from around the world as they compete to be a part of the finale to be held in Italy in 2017.

Meanwhile, if you have found yourself, like us, completely under the Italian gelato spell, you could sign up to train at the brand new Caprigiani Gelato University based at At-Sunrice, Singapore and whip up delicious gelato.

Who knows you might just become the next gelato artisan, on par with the Italians even!

Céline Manoukian

Photo credit: Gelato World Tour