managed, it can be a springboard for a career. I recall the 2006 edition. The team consisted of Sergio Colalucci, Beppo Tonon, Roberto Rinaldini, who became stars in their fields. In 2012, Ernst Knam, unknown at the time, was a member of the team, and he has since become the “King of chocolate”. Let me be clear, participation requires significant personal investment in that an intense training program is necessary to try and try again the recipes for each work that will be presented at the grand finale in Rimini. The last fifteen days of preparation are crucial for concentration and for stress management. In these twenty years as President of the Gelato World Cup, is there an anecdote that you are particularly fond of? One episode is particularly engrained into my memory. In 2006, the Czech Republic was competing, which trained for some time in Udine since it was the first time it was participating. The team manager was a well-known pastry chef, of a certain age, with whom I have developed a great friendship. When he arrived at the competition, he showed up with a jacket full of medals! A relic from the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia. What is the future for the Gelato World Cup? “As for tomorrow, nothing is certain” wrote Lorenzo de Medici. We are working to give a future to this initiative even if Sergio Colalucci and Sergio Dondoli, who join me as Vice Presidents, and I are starting to reach a certain age. We are looking for partners willing to work as we did in 2003, on a voluntary basis for the organization of the competition. We have dedicated, or rather sacrificed, many hours of our jobs and of our personal time for meetings, events, selection rounds. I believe, despite everything, in the younger generations and in the possibility of finding someone who will join us. We have made an agreement with Conpait, the Italian Pastry Chef Federation (Confederazione Pasticcieri Italiani) in 2022, and in 2024 we started our partnership with Worldchefs, World Association of Chefs’ Societies. We move forward strongly with our contract with Sigep for the organization of the event, and with new developments towards internationalization to execute an event for the entire world of gelato. 33
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