The excitement is rapidly building as the Gelato World Tour prepares to come to the Middle East for the first time, after attracting almost 350,000 visitors in its first three stages in Rome, Valencia and Melbourne.

Dubai will be the next Capital of Gelato, the regional hub showcasing the nutritious and mouth-watering iced treat. Originating in Italy, its ancestor is the Arabic Sherbeth, with more than 100,000 shops devoted to it worldwide. The Gelato World Tour, organized by Carpigiani Gelato University and Sigep-Rimini Fiera in collaboration with IFI and MEC3 and in association with Desita and Franchise Middle East, aims to bring the culture of fresh and high-quality artisanal food to the global public.

Sixteen renowned gelato artisans from the Middle East are ready to compete for the title of World’s Best Gelato, making their own single-best flavor, combining tradition with innovation and bringing out the taste of the best ingredients.

The Gelato World Tour is delighted to partner with Emaar, the UAE’s leading international property developer, which has provided a venue in the heart of Dubai; and DGT LLC, the distributor of Sirma natural spring water across the Middle East and the official water sponsor. The public is invited to enjoy what is sure to be a spectacular celebration, stretching from 2pm to midnight at Burj Park, in the prestigious Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard on February 13th - 15th.

Entry to the Gelato World Tour Village is completely free of charge. The public can enjoy free gelato-classes “From the fruit to the Sherbet”, special workshops for children about the history of gelato from 12.000 B.C. to today as well as games and contests. They will also get the chance to watch a live demonstration of gelato of being made and taste the delicious flavours by purchasing the Gelato Ticket on site during any of the three days (Costs AED 60, and includes two cups of gelato and three samples). With the purchase of the Gelato Ticket, and for the first time in the history of Middle East, the public will become part of the jury and be given the opportunity to vote for the “World’s Best Gelato”. Each ticket holder, by voting, will get the chance to participate in the “Taste & Win” contest, along with a chance to win an Ipad4 (Apple). Each ticket holder, by downloading MyGelato App show the qr code at the cash point, will get another free tasting! With MyGelato App everybody can easily find the gelato shops near him/her, everywhere in the world, give and receive free gelatos and discover sweet news about the gelato world. MyGelato can be downloaded for free from the App Store and Google Play. Moreover, with the purchase of the Gelato Ticket, the public will be supporting a charitable cause, as a percentage of ticket sales will be donated to Dubai Cares, a philanthropic organization working to provide children in developing countries with access to quality primary education. To date, Dubai Cares has reached more than 8 million children in 31 developing countries.

Below is the list of the 16 gelato-artisans competing in Dubai. They have been selected by Luciana Polliotti, top writer and journalist in the artisanal gelato sector worldwide. Also listed are their shop name and the flavour they will enter into the competition:

• Claudio Bearesi & Cesare Cellie – Bacio Gelato – Flavour: Pistacchio italiano con croccante di mandorla
• Hassan Elshaer – Cold Stick Gelato – Flavour: Chikoo, Sapodilla, Zapota
• Andrea Granville – Cone Street – Flavour: Royal Baklava
• Joselito Reyes – Cremolata – Flavour: Cremo Bueno
• Mohammad Halawa – Dairy More – Flavour: After Eight Cream Brule
• Ahmed Abdullatif – Dolci Desideri – Flavour: Rose Pistachio
• Murtaza Dadabhai & Mustanir Inayathussein – Fairy Delights – Flavour: Tanzanian coffee with coconut and cream caramel
• Massimiliano Neri – FLOR – Flavour: Black Forest
• Said Ben Amor – French Bakery – Flavour: Tahini
• Waheed Abul – Frutto Gelato – Flavour: Oreo Croquant Gelato
• Vijay Arora – Gelato Vinto – Flavour: Saffron Pista Gelato
• Nicolas Reincke & Chandra Raj - Gelato Divino – Flavour: Variegato Cassata and Base Ricotta
• Nazzareno Giolitti, Silvano Giolitti & Andrea Lucatoni Giolitti – Giolitti – Flavour: Pistacchio puro Sicilia
• Taysir Al Ghanem – Il Caffe Latino di Roma Gelateria Pasticceria – Flavour: Brown-bread gelato
• Amer Alsyouf – Kanafandi – Flavour: Mastaca with Pistachio Gelato
• Ismail AlZaben – PrimoGelato – Flavour: Arabian dates with Caramelized Walnuts
The final ranking will be based on the visitors’, technical jury´s and participating gelato artisans’ votes. In this way, specialists and visitors will together judge the proposals. The top three winners will represent the Middle East at the Grand Finale of the Gelato World Tour, on September 5-7, 2014 in Rimini. 
The President of the Technical Jury of this stage will be the Armani Hotel Dubai’s Executive Chef: Emiliano Bernasconi. Bringing the Armani lifestyle philosophy to life through the hotel’s food and beverage positioning has given Emiliano Bernasconi a unique opportunity to not only to implement his own innovative ideas, but also to play an active role in the development of emerging culinary talent in the city.

On the occasion of this unique event, two of the best culinary schools in the world, ICCA (International Centre for Culinary Arts Dubai) and Carpigiani Gelato University, are starting a new collaboration to spread the artisanal gelato culture in the Middle East.

The general public is invited to a FREE Open Day, on February 11th at ICCA: Alice Vignoli, Carpigiani Master Trainer, will hold a professional mini gelato-class to celebrate the official launch of the collaboration (all the journalists will be invited at the press conference: [email protected]). After the Gelato World Tour, some Gelato Base Courses are already planned in Dubai that will become a centre of excellence for artisanal gelato.