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AUSTIN IS THE GELATO CAPITAL OF AMERICA!

The Gelato World Tour brings the best flavours in the spotlight:

on May 9th – 11th in Republic Square the public can taste and vote for

the Best Gelato of North and South America

Austin, TX, March 13th 2014: After taking Italy, Spain, Oceania and Middle East by storm, the Gelato World Tour, a celebration of the artisan iced treat enjoyed worldwide as an healthy and mouth-watering food, is flying to Austin (TX). It’s the first time in the history that a competition of its kind is held in America.

On May 9th – 11th, visitors of Republic Square are invited to enjoy lessons and workshops on the ancient art of making gelato. They could also explore a rich history that goes back thousands of years, and choose from a multitude of fresh varieties made right in front of their eyes. With free admission for the public, the tour’s showpiece event pits 16 renowned gelato artisans from North and South America against each other, as they compete to create the world’s best flavour. It will be the coolest championship ever!

The event, that got the patronage of the Italian Ministries of Foreign Affairs and of the Economic Development, has been organized by the prestigious Carpigiani Gelato University, which has 13 schools in the five continents, and Sigep-Rimini Fiera, the world’s premier expo in artisan food; main partners, two Italian leading companies in the gelato sector, IFI and MEC3.

Thanks to the old and strong bond between Italy and United States, all the “Made in Italy” gathers together for the very first time to celebrate one of the world's most renowned delicacies: the artisan gelato. The objective is to transmit to a global public the culture of this fresh, high-quality food that represents the skill and creativity of thousands of gelato artisans.

Gelato has got a long tradition in Italy, with 37,000 shops (for 60M inhabitants) – and even an entire Gelato Museum in Bologna – dedicated to this healthy food. But United States are the one of the most important countries in the World for this treat, hosting more than 2,000 gelato shops.

The Gelato World Tour represents an opportunity for businesses and entrepreneurs in America to join a market rapidly making inroads into the global ice cream industry, which is worth tens of billions of US dollars worldwide.

The aim of the event in Republic Square is to bring this culture to the United States and to the entire Americas more widely. Artisan gelato is made with seasonal, local and high-quality ingredients; it contains less air than the industrial ice cream and it is servedat a higher temperature. Therefore its taste is stronger but lower in calories and fat, reason why it’s the right choice for health conscious food-lovers.

The Gelato World Tour 2013-14 is due to visit eight cities in five continents. Four successful events have already attracted hundreds of thousands of people in Rome, Valencia, Melbourne and Dubai, that became gelato capitals contributing to highlighting artisans and local products.

At each stage of the tour, gelato artisans compete to produce the most delicious flavours – voted on by the public, a technical jury and the gelato artisans competing. The “Gran Finale” in Rimini, Italy, will award the title of “World’s Best Gelato”.

In Austin sixteen gelato chefs coming from North and South America will participate with one special flavor each. The gelato will be produced daily using high-quality ingredients selected by MEC3, in work areas visible to the public and equipped with Carpigiani’s latest machines and served in IFI’s newer display cases, among which Bellevue, an innovative summary between “pozzetti” and windows.

Visitors to the Gelato World Tour Village will participate in short lessons in the art of gelato taught by instructors from Carpigiani Gelato University and how to open a new gelato shop (by IFI) and will see gelato produced right in front of their eyes, and will taste the fresh gelato by purchasing the Gelato Ticket.

Other activities include meetings about gelato trends, gastronomic workshops, and skill challenges between professional Gelato Chefs.

The public, by voting for the favourite flavour, could win prizes with the “Taste & Win” competition and become “Gelato Artisan for a day”. The Tonda Challenge, in which participants must prepare two “perfect cups” weighing 60 grams, will continue for the competitors.Visitors can also participate in the photo-contest “Gelato Pixel Passion, cool flavours and emotions… on film!” and win a course at the Carpigiani Gelato University. The participation is dedicated to students between 18 and 35 years old. They can unleash your creativity, take a picture that expresses their vision of gelato and the sensations it triggers. Anyway, everybody can take a picture and publish it on Instagram adding the tag @Carpigiani1946 and the hashtag #GelatoPixelPassion. Any pictures that are liked by many followers will be considered for participation in the contest. www.fondazionecarpigiani.it

It is possible to follow the stages of Gelato World Tour on the NEW WEBSITE www.gelatoworldtour.com and the social pages: Facebook – Gelato World Tour; Twitter – Gelato World Tour; Flick – Gelato World Tour; Instagram – Gwt_2013; Hashtag: #gelatoworldtour.

For more information:

Valentina Righi - Communication Manager & PR Carpigiani Group -