Gelato Festival America…
The Santa Barbara winner is:
Blueberry Basil
by Mike Guerriero of Gelotti Essex in Caldwell, New Jersey
Second Place: La Dolce Vita by Filippo Cianciosi,
Gelato Love in Carlsbad, California
Third Place: The SoCal Sunrise by Savannah G. Lee,
Fiasco Gelato in Millbrae, California
Please find photographs of the Santa Barbara Gelato Chefs and Gelato Festival America Team from this weekend: link and generic photographs of Gelato Festival America: link
Monday, October 15, 2018 — Gelato Festival America, now in its second year, celebrated the second Santa Barbara edition this weekend at La Cumbre Plaza. The mission of Gelato Festival America is to spread the culture of artisanal Italian gelato throughout the United States by visiting seven cities this summer. The winner of the contest for best flavor at this Festival was Blueberry Basil, presented by Mike Guerriero from Gelotti Essex in Caldwell, New Jersey. Guerriero is the first American to take first prize at Gelato Festival. Other prizewinners included three residents of California: Noel Knecht of Black Dog Gelato in San Clemente, Savannah G. Lee of Savannah’s Gelato Kitchen in Millbrae and Filippo Cianciosi of Gelato Love in Carlsbad.
– 1st place winner of the Santa Barbara festival, Mike Guerriero, received a beautiful medal by Florentine goldsmith Paolo Penko, presented by ISA, the festival’s sponsor that provides the display cases for all the stages. Most importantly, Mike Guerriero is the first American to win this prize. This win makes Guerriero eligible to compete to compete in the North American Semi-Finals in 2019 for a chance to be one of three to represent America at the Gelato Festival World Masters in 2021 in Italy. The Blueberry Basil flavor, garnished with fresh blueberries and basil leaves, was a hit with the Public Jury, composed of ticket-holding guests, as well as the Technical Jury of ten professional judges. Mike Guerriero describes his winning flavor, “We use fresh, sweet Jersey Blueberries, garden grown Genovese Basil, and fresh squeezed lemon juice. First you get the sweetness of the berries, then some tart from the lemon, and finally the freshness of the Basil clears the pallet and gets you ready for another bite!”