Gelato Festival World Masters returned to Greece for the second year in a row on its search for the best gelato flavor in the world. Following last year’s Challenge, the second national stop saw 10 gelato makers competing in Athens on April 4, hosted by Domestica, Carpigiani distributor for Greece.

The jury decreed a ranking of 3 gelato makers selected to participate in the 2025 Greek Finals of Gelato Festival World Masters, the world championship organized with strategic partners Carpigiani and Sigep - Italian Exhibition Group. Flavor, structure, creativity, and verbal and aesthetic presentation were the four parameters by which the artisanal gelatos were evaluated, promoting the choice of ingredients, the artisans' mastery in elaborating e communicating the recipe, and the overall result evaluated through sight, taste, and smell.

The 3 winning gelato artisans are: 

• First place: Pantelis Maimetis of Neraida in Neapoli Lakonias with the flavor “Portokali Armparoriza”

Description: gelato with orange and malva, with flavors and aromas from Lakonia

• Second place: Charalampos Marantidis of Marantidis in Kavala with the flavor “Exotic Greek Cheese”

Descrizione: anthotyro cheese gelato with mango and lemon toffee & crunchy sesame

• Third place: Nikolaos Zotos of Zotos Gelateria in Fira, Santorini with the flavor “Santorinian Pistachio Sorbet”

Description: pistachio sorbet with a twist of Santorini

The jury consisted of: Stefanos Sbonias, pastry chef at Hotel Grande Bretagne in Athens; Panagiotis Xigos, chef and managing consultant at Sklavenitis; Harry Psilopoulos, pastry Instructor at Le Monde Institute.

With the 2022-25 edition Gelato Festival World Masters reaches its thirteenth year, having debuted in Florence in 2010 inspired by the conception of the first gelato recipe at the hands of the multifaceted architect Bernardo Buontalenti in 1559. Since then, the event has enlarged its boundaries by expanding first to the rest of Italy, then to Europe and - since 2017 - to the United States as well, before embracing the entire planet with the Gelato Festival World Masters world championship involving more than 3,500 gelato makers with the 2018-2021 edition. 

Gelato Festival World Masters

Greece Challenge

April 4, 2024

Athens

Host: Domestica

WINNERS

• First place: Pantelis Maimetis of Neraida in Neapoli Lakonias with the flavor “Portokali Armparoriza”

Description: gelato with orange and malva, with flavors and aromas from Lakonia

• Second place: Charalampos Marantidis of Marantidis in Kavala with the flavor “Exotic Greek Cheese”

Descrizione: anthotyro cheese gelato with mango and lemon toffee & crunchy sesame

• Third place: Nikolaos Zotos of Zotos Gelateria in Fira, Santorini with the flavor “Santorinian Pistachio Sorbet”

Description: pistachio sorbet with a twist of Santorini

OTHER PARTICIPANTS

• Panos Bobas of Iter del gusto in Athens with the flavor “Iter del gusto”
• Nikolaos Christogeorgos of Solo Gelato in Athens with the flavor “Cioccobianco Limone”
• Dimitris Chatiras of Insane Gelato in Korinthias with the flavor “Rose yogurt”
• Katerina Farmaki of Τυροκομικά φαρμακη (Cheese Farms) in Veroia with the flavor “Kaimaki”
• Spyridon Chatzakis of Spyridona in Heraklion with the flavor “Phistolemon”
• Georgios Kerameidas of Ice Cream Lab in Crete with the flavor “Cretan infusion”
• Anastasios Vomvylas of Fellini in Rhodes with the flavor “Fellini”