Gelato World Tour Taking Place in Chicago This May

A stunning collaboration of Italy's finest companies join forces to bring the Gelato World Tour to Chicago over the Memorial Day weekend. The world's premiere cross-cultural artisan gelato competition will take place at Millennium Park in Chicago May 27-29, 2016. This event is free and open to the public thanks to the many collaborating sponsors.

The Gelato World Tour Village, in the South Promenade of Millennium Park, will showcase sixteen renowned gelato artisans from North and South America competing to create the Americas' best gelato flavor. Visitors will watch the artisans work in the Gelato Lab to create amazing sensory-shocking, taste bud tingling flavors... and then taste those flavors. Carpigiani Gelato University, the internationally-renowned center of learning dedicated to training successful gelato entrepreneurs, will have hourly lessons on the history, art, passion and production with hands-on workshops and delicious instruction on the ancient art of making gelato. Visitors who choose to purchase special $10 tasting tickets will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite flavor. Portions of the proceeds will benefit the Illinois Restaurant Association's Education Foundation as well as the Scuola Italiana Enrico Fermi, the first Italian- American bilingual and bicultural school in Chicago.

"The goal is to help the Americas understand the many benefits of artisan gelato and to answer the most asked question among foodies: what's the difference between gelato and ice cream? In a nutshell, gelato has a third of the butter fat, seventy percent less air and a warmer serving temperature than ice cream. Equally important, it's made fresh every morning from only the finest natural ingredients. It's a difference that all visitors will be able to experience firsthand at Millennium Park, Chicago," said Achille Sassoli, director of the Gelato World Tour.

In this free cultural public event, 16 gelato artisans (a complete list of artisans and flavors is available at your request) will tell their stories and present their unique flavors to the public and to a jury of experts and journalists, whose votes will be combined to award the best gelato flavor in the Americas. The top three flavors and artisans will represent the Eastern Americas at the Grand Finale of Gelato World Tour, in Rimini, Italy in September 2017.

The Gelato World Tour, with more than 1,500 competitors from 5 continents, is the most comprehensive gelato competition in the world. The tour has already visited nine cities: Rome, Valencia, Melbourne, Dubai, Austin, Berlin, Rimini, Singapore and Tokyo.

Tour collaborators from Italy include: Carpigiani Gelato University and Sigep - Rimini Fiera, the most important trade fair in the world for the artisan creation of gelato, pastry, confectionery and bakery products organize the event. Two important partners make this event possible: IFI, international leader in the manufacturing of display cases for gelaterias and PreGel, the world's largest producer of ingredients for gelato, pastry and coffee shops. The event is supported internationally by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Italian Ministry of Economic Development and the Emilia Romagna Region. The Italian Trade Agency - Chicago and the Illinois Restaurant Association are local supporters of the event. Kendall College, Hard Rock Hotel (the official Hotel of the Gelato World Tour Americas East), Piccolo Sogno and Chef Tony Priolo, and Eataly are also supporting the event in Chicago.

Media credentials, photography, b-roll and more information are available upon request. For back stage access (media only) to the entire event, and for more information on private media events leading up to the weekend, contact Juliana Wilson or Seth Chandler.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Facebook - GelatoWorldTour
Twitter - Gelato World Tour
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YouTube - Gelato World Tour
Instagram - @gelatoworldtour
Hashtag: #gelatoworldtour #GWTChicago

More information on our Gelato World Tour Partners:

About IFI:

IFI S.p.A. is a leading company in the production of technologies and furnishings for public premises. Since 1962, IFI has set up innovations that have dictated new reference standards throughout the world for the food & beverage sector, bars and gelato and ice-cream parlours. With award-winning products such as Tonda, the first round and rotating showcase in the world, and the display table Bellevue with Panorama Technology (ADI Honorable Mention and Compasso d'Oro Prize), IFI set a turning point in the artisan gelato sector, in terms of design, better product storage and visibility, usability, energy savings and health of operators and consumers. Employing 350 workers in 50,000 sq. m. of manufacturing plants located in Tavullia, Italy and through a selected network of distributors, IFI furnishes about 3000 venues every year and exports in more than 80 countries. For more information, visit ifi.it/en/.

About PreGel:

PreGel America is the U.S. subsidiary of PreGel, a global ingredient company headquartered in Reggio Emilia, Italy. PreGel develops, manufactures, and distributes authentic ingredients, toppings, and fillings of the highest quality from Italy, including flavors, powders and pastes used in gelato, soft serve, frozen yogurt, pastry and other specialty desserts. With facilities in Charlotte, NC, Los Angeles, CA, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, PreGel sells directly to restaurants, gelato cafes, coffee shops, frozen yogurt shops, bakeries, patisseries, pizzerias, hotels, resorts, casinos, grocery stores and noncommercial foodservice, as well as select distributors in the United States. PreGel believes in blending Your Passion with Our Ingredients. For more information, visit pregelamerica.com.

About Kendall College:

Kendall College, founded in 1934 and located in Chicago, Illinois, offers undergraduate degrees in culinary arts, hospitality management, business, and early childhood education to a diverse and passionate community of more than 2,100 students each year. The curriculum combines strong academics with practical experience and international educational opportunities to give students in business, hospitality and culinary arts programs the skills and expertise to be leaders in their professions. Kendall College is ranked the number one program in Chicago for preparing students for careers in hospitality management and culinary arts in a survey of hiring managers at Chicago's leading hotels and Michelin Guide restaurants (TNS Global - 2013 Survey). Kendall College is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission. For more information, visit www.Kendall.edu.

Kendall is part of the Laureate International Universities network, a global network of more than 80 campus-based and online universities in 28 countries. For more information, visit www.laureate.net.

About Piccolo Sogno:

Piccolo Sogno opened its doors to Chicago in July 2008. The name, which means "little dream," in Italian, was chosen by Partners Tony Priolo and Ciro Longobardo because it has always been their dream to open a restaurant of their own. Piccolo Sogno features a menu of fresh, seasonal rustic Italian cuisine with an impressive all-Italian wine list. Priolo's menu offers a wide selection of regional Italian dishes - from homemade pastas and hand-tossed, wood-fired pizzas to Roman-style pork and Mediterranean sea bass - as well as homemade gelato and sorbet. Menu prices are moderate, with entrees ranging from $12 to $24.

About Eataly:

Founded by Oscar Farinetti, Eataly is the largest artisanal Italian food and wine marketplace in the world. From the opening of the first location in Turin in 2007, the philosophy "Eat. Shop. Learn." has spread to the rest of the world. At Eataly Chicago, which totals 63,000 square feet on two floors, it is possible to purchase high-quality food and drink at accessible prices. Consumers can experiment with new combinations of flavors at the various restaurants throughout the marketplace before learning more about Mediterranean culture with educational courses on food, wine, and nutrition. The Chicago location opened in December 2013. Eataly New York and Chicago are a product of the collaboration between Eataly Italia and the American partners Mario Batali, Joe and Lidia Bastianich, and Adam and Alex Saper.

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