1st GRAND PRIX GELATO CROATIA

The Gelato Grand Prix took place in Croatia for the first time ever, awing the participants inside the La Meridien Lav luxury hotel in Split.

The event attracted more than 50 master gelatieri from all over Europe, transforming the coastal city in a new excellence center for gelato creators.

The competition was organized in three flavor challenges, starting ion the morning of the 4th of November, with the contestants who signed up for the hazelnut flavor, a classical challenge that tested the balance and intensity of the flavor. This first round started with a  twist: the pre-jury decided to select one more contestant, thus having 7 contestants ready to impress the experts' jury.

In the afternoon, it was mango's turn. Even in this case, the effort was clear with each taste, rising expectations for the following day.

On the 5th of November, the thirteen finalists competed on strawberry flavor, ready to awe the jury, consisting of 5 experts:  Miguel Acosta (Ecco Gelato), Giada Ferrari (Disaronno), Santo Palumbo (Disano), Giuseppe Peluso (PNP) and Ramon di Vito (Pernigotti). The suspenseful atmosphere, clearly visible with every vote, was amplified by the way the vote itself was cast.

As it was impossible to match the number to a contestant's face, there was an unprecedented level of transparency, maintaining the anonymity of the gelato samples that were being carefully tested by the judges.

With the jury holding their palette to declare their vote, each vote was filled with suspense and tension. The  winner of the final prize was Tereza Madar, a talented third-generation gelatiera from Selce, a small city on the Croatian coast, who was able to win the judges over by enhancing the strawberries' delicate flavor.

Tereza didn't just win the title of Champion of the Croatia Grand Prix, but also another extraordinary prize: an opaque blue Vespa, symbol of Italian elegance.

Her victory made her very emotional and she couldn't hold back her tears of joy during the award ceremony, well-aware of what this victory meant.

The Grand prix is not just a competition, it's a chance to create bonds and exchange ideas, it is a moment of collaboration, where contestants and companies could share an experience of professional and personal growth, of smiles and new friendship, that surrounded these two days of pure passion and enthusiasm for gelato. 

Close behind the winner, with just one point less, were two other contestants, who tied for the second place: the Borgonesse gelato shop, owned by Spanish José Angel Sanchez, and La Venezia gelato shop, owned by Italian Gianfranco Da Lozzo.

The who runner ups admitted the superiority of the winner's strawberry flavor.

The decision to choose Split as the place for the competition was an homage to Croatia's rising importance in this field, of which Tereza and her Anka gelato shop are proof enough.

The success of the event, with more than 200 professionals and more than 40 sponsoring companies, laid the basis for future editions.

With a well-organized event down to the smallest details and a transparent organization, this edition left a mark, showing how the Croatia Grand Prix is going to be a regular event.

Considering the success of the first edition, our director, Marco Levati, decided to organize a future edition next year, in October.