Equipment and Concepts is training ground for world gelato competition
Training grounds for world gelato competition
Source: sanclementetimes.com
Gelato may not be as popular as its ice cream counterpart in the United States, but four highly trained chefs tried to win a world gelato competition in January, using it as their centerpiece.
Gelato Team USA practiced at Equipment and Concepts located San Clemente for the 2016 World Gelato Championship in Italy.
The team includes captain Dirk Koeppenkastrop, Michele Pompei, Tim Brown, Chris Foltz, and team manager John S. Hui.
The team members all work in the United States, but Koeppenkastrop is originally from Germany, Brown is from South Africa and Pompei is from Italy. Foltz is the only member originally from the United States, coming from New Jersey.
The countries competing in the world gelato competition are Argentina, Australia, Chile, Egypt, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland and the United States. Italy ended up winning with Spain in second and a surprise third place by Australia.
Gelato is not completely new to the U.S. but Koeppenkastrop said it hasn’t reached a peak of popularity. Compared to Italy and France, it’s a relatively unknown delicacy, he said.
“There’s a total of seven elements,” Koeppenkastrop said. “Ice carving and sculpture, little chocolate pieces in which 50 percent must be gelato and the rest can be other pieces. Then we have cake with three different flavors and sponges. Then there’s a special gelato design, as well as savory dishes paired with gastronomic gelato. And then there’s final presentation with everything presented.”
The world gelato competition teams are judged by their overall performance in the competition.
Tom Graves with Equipment and Concepts sponsored the team and donating his commercial space, gelato-making equipment and blast freezers (choosing a Blast Chiller or Blast Freezer) for the team to practice, said he heard of the competition about 10 years ago when it started to formulate. He has been to the Italian world championships a number of times with Team USA and they represent an entire line of gelato equipment manufacturers to include Bravo North America and Ciam.
Graves is the founder CEO at Equipment and Concepts, Inc., which imports products from around the world. The location of his business also hosts gelato-making and cooking classes from time to time.
“The ice cream as a whole is a multibillion-dollar industry, and gelato is just that little piece of it in the U.S.,” Graves said. “In Italy it’s everything, but it’s coming around in the U.S.”
Koeppenkastrop was a chemist with a Ph.D. before he turned to make gelato in Hawaii and he competed in a few of the competitions in the past. As the expert gelato maker, he is responsible for pairing the iced treat with the rest of the coordinated deserts.
Pompei, who specializes in the pastry portion of the competition, said gelato is a traditional complement to many deserts from which it originates.
“You want to use all fresh ingredients and minimize the processing part,” Pompei said. “Just keep it natural and balance it out. Basically, it plays a very important role in the restaurant environment.”
It takes a special touch to serve the gelato tableside. The desert is rolled into an egg shape and turned on top of each piece. If there are any air pockets in the piece—Brown said as he flipped one over and discarded the mistake—it will be marked down in competition.
“We like exciting things here, but in Italy it’s chocolate and that’s all it is,” Brown said. “Here, we would make a whole Sunday out of it and add all we can. But there it’s just a little cup and they try to boost the flavor in it.”
The competitors coordinate just like an athletic team. While practicing Friday, Koeppenkastrop was going over the designs and the blueprints of the dishes they intend to make, just like a coach with a playbook.
“This year’s theme is fire and ice, so we’re trying to bring that into our visual presentation and taste,” Pompei said.
The competition also makes way for other countries to have a shot at the title. When a country wins, they are ineligible to compete in the following year. Right now, France currently holds the title, which Koeppenkastrop said did not make the Italians happy.
Overall, the competitors are friendly, though, Koeppenkastrop said.
“Just as quick as a pastry chef will try to attack you for stealing his ideas, everyone there at the competition was eager to lend a hand,” Koeppenkastrop said.
The Results of the world gelato competition
Italy won the 2016 Coppa del Mondo della Gelateria, also known as the Gelato World Cup. Honestly, most people anticipated that they would win this year’s competition. All participants revealed their masterpieces to the judges. Although it was a tough competition, Italy was able to show off their skills and magic with their theme, ‘Contrast of the sea’.
Gelato World Cup is a battle between the best gelato experts. Judges know very well how to spot great gelato. Each representative is required to have their highest possible technical ability, not to mention the artistic level. However, during the event, representatives are tested on their versatility or how the team uses a variety of high-quality gelato cups to complement the gelato.
Judges come from all over the globe. Countries such as Australia, Argentina, Morocco, Japan, Italy, Singapore, Spain, Poland, Mexico, Chile, Switzerland, Uruguay, and the U.S. are represented and form the jury.
Lorena Gava, an art critic was in charge of the art section, a specific jury which was formed by Beppo Tonon and MOF Stephan Didier. In the meantime, chef Valeria Piccini was in charge of the scores in the cuisine division.
It was definitely not an easy job for the world gelato competition judges to decide who would be declared the winner in this World Cup competition. You can imagine how many countries wanted to be on top and be known as the best. How to find the best gelato does not depend on simply the high-quality ice cream cups, but it also concentrates on the taste itself. This is the reason this contest is a test of how technical and artistic the candidate is, and Italy has mastered this art.
Although winning the world gelato competition is worth it the effort and time, joining and competing with the experts allows you to become a winner even at the stage. As a matter of fact, being silver and third place is still very exciting. As prestigious as this contest is, judges are able to recognize all that you have offered.
The Spanish team brought home the second place with their theme, ‘Little Red Riding Hood.” Looking at this masterpiece brings you to another dimension where a remarkable work of art is revealed. Even if there were errors when talking about the texture of the ice cream, the judges were amazed by the creativity. Third place goes to the Australian team with the theme based on the “Treasures and mythology of the Pacific.”
