Article about the Gelato World Tour in Singapore 2015

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■ FEATURE
Phoebe Tilelli digs into the event that put
Enmore’s Cow and Moon on the world map.
Summer Hill’s Gelatony gives the Gelato
World Tour 2015 their best shot.
The Gelato World Tour is like something that
dreams are made of. If there’s one way to put
a smile on anyone’s face it’s with a big scoop
of ice cream on a hot summer’s day. However,
this is not your average ice cream. The gelato
scooped out here is in a league of its own and
is an entirely different product. People walk
around a pavilion filled with crazy gelato
flavours trying to choose between crunchy
nuts, sticky caramel or sweet mango sorbet.
These aren’t just your everyday flavours. They
are some of the best in the world and the
taste alone speaks for itself.
Enmore gelataria Cow and Moon took the
crown at last years Gelato World Tour finals
winning the title of Worlds Best Gelato. The
tour started again on the 20th of March 2015
in Singapore for the Asia Pacific round where
gelataria ‘Gelatony’ from Summer Hill was
represented by owner Antonino Lo Iacono.
At this second edition of the competition,
Singapore showcased the best 16 contestants
with three being from Australia. 48 Flavours
represented Adelaide and Yamba Icecreamery
from New South Wales also participated. Lo
Iacono did the Inner West proud receiving
a Special Mention award. From his first
gelato bar in a tiny town of Italy, to the big
city of Sydney and now having competed in
a worldwide event, he has come a long way
in the industry. “After making gelato for 30
years it is so fantastic just to be here and be
recognised,” he said.
Gelatony has been in the shopfront of
DaVinci’s restaurant and pizzeria in Summer
Hill for two years. Before that Lo Iacono ran
Gelataria Café 2000 in Rozelle for ten years.
“We had a really good time in Rozelle –
people loved us, they welcomed us and it
was a real community experience. When
we decided to relocate we wanted to find a
similar environment. Summer Hill is full of
families with kids as well as professionals.
There is still a community feeling there,
which is what I love. The people of
Summer Hill were very welcoming to us
and the community is supporting us in
the competition. The best thing is that our
regular customers from Rozelle have actually
followed us to Summer Hill so we have a lot
of support from them as well,” he said.
At the competition in Singapore, points
for each gelato flavour were calculated by
combining public votes with scores that were
made by a panel of judges. The judges were
both media personalities and an expert jury
of prominent chefs who scored based on
flavour, structure and appearance. Although
Gelatony didn’t place in the top three, the
Special Mention was awarded by the head of
the expert jury Justin Quek, chef of Sky on
57, one of the most prestigious restaurants in
Singapore. Gelatony’s flavour was Lemon Zest
with Fig Marmalade and Dark Chocolate.
The award takes into consideration not only
the overall taste of the gelato but also the
temperature, ascertaining that it is not too
hard or too soft. The inventiveness of the
flavour, the technique shown and a balance
between ingredients is also important.
Lo Iacono and his family are proud of the
award and rightly so. Lo Iacono explained:
“My father first taught me to make gelato in
Sicily because I am originally from Italy. Now
I have also taught my daughter and wife to
make gelato so it really runs in the family.
They are both with me at the competition
because the family is always there for
support. That’s what Italians do, we stick with
each other when we need to.”
With a total of 16 flavours on offer at Gelatony,
the Fig, Dark Chocolate and Lemon zest
combination was chosen for the competition
because Lo Iacono has a love for making
homemade jams. This particular fig
jam is made from a recipe that
has been passed down
from his mamma.
The sweetness
of the jam
combined
with the
sourness
of the
lemon
zest
and
rich
dark
chocolate
is what
won over
the highly
regarded
chefs. These artisan gelati are so special
because everything is made from scratch
to create a fresh product packed with real
ingredients.
The Gelato World Tour is run by the
masters from Carpigiani Gelato University
and SIGEP, the international exhibition for
confectionary products and it is the first
competition to showcase artisanal gelato
products in venues around the world. The
top three competitors from each round of
the competition are invited to the finals to
compete for the grand title of Best Gelato
in the World. Fittingly, the finals take place
in the hometown of gelato, Rimini, Italy.
One team of finalists to watch out for in
Italy will be second-place winners from the
Singapore round, 48 Flavours gelataria from
Adelaide. Their scoop of Walnut and Honey
Crunch gelato got them to the finals.
John Crowl, owner of Cow and Moon in
Enmore, said that the effect of winning last
year’s competition were instantaneous. They
were announced as the winner in the late
evening in Italian time meaning it was early
morning in Sydney. A line immediately
began to form outside the shop and John’s
wife Wendy had to deal with a constantly
buzzing phone line. Before they knew it
there were television cameras waiting at
the door and a whirlwind of customers
clamouring for their award-winning gelato.
“The win wasn’t expected, there were so
many great flavours at the finals. The only
hint was that I had bird droppings fall on
my shoulder two mornings in a row during
the competition. My son and I looked at
each other and thought, 'That has got to be
a lucky sign',” laughs Crowl.
There must be some truth to the Italian
superstition because people still line up
today for scoops of the winning flavour,
Mandorla Affogato.
■ Phoebe Tilelli
ICE CREAM
VERSUS
GELATO
People often wonder what the difference
is between ice cream and gelato. You may
be surprised how very different they are!
Gelato is made fresh every day with natural
ingredients, meaning it has significantly
less calories and sugar than ice cream.
Typically, gelato contains half the fat of ice
cream and is also high in proteins, calcium
and vitamin B2, so a moment on the lips
does not mean a lifetime on your hips.
Gelato is traditionally served at a much
higher temperature. Where you might find
ice cream rock hard when trying to scoop
it from the container (often bending your
kitchen spoons) gelato should be much
softer. In the production of gelato less air is
incorporated into the mixture so you will
notice a more dense and creamy product
when compared to the much airier and
fluffier ice creams. This also means that
when you purchase a cup of gelato you are
getting more bang for your buck, with no
air bubbles bulking up your scoop!
TURE
of support from them as well,” he said.
At the competition in Singapore, points
for each gelato flavour were calculated
combining public votes with scores that
TH
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Mirko Stortini from team Italia!
Summer Hill's Antonino Lo Iacono
ENMORE GELATARIA COW AND
MOON TOOK THE CROWN FOR
THE 'WORLD'S BEST GELATO'
LAST YEAR
“MY FATHER FIRST TAUGHT ME
TO MAKE GELATO IN SICILY"
“THE WIN WASN'T EXPECTED,
THERE WERE SO MANY GREAT
FLAVOURS IN THE FINALS"