The 2026 Gelato Festival World Ranking was unveiled in Rome, naming the world’s leading individual artisan gelato makers. The ranking is compiled by Gelato Festival World Masters, the international competition supported by Carpigiani, and draws on more than fifteen years of competitions and over 8,000 gelato makers judged across five continents.
The 2026 podium
- Carlo Guerriero, La Cremeria Gelato Italiano, Cádiz (Spain)
- Tomasz Szypuła, Szypuła 1974, Baborów (Poland)
- Elisabeth Stolz, Osteria Hubenbauer, Varna (Italy)
Competitors are ranked on their results across the circuit and on flavour, creativity and presentation. This year’s top places went to gelato makers working in Spain, Poland, Belgium, the United States, the Netherlands and Italy, a sign of how international artisan gelato has become.
Why it matters in Australia
The common thread among top-ranked makers is technique: balanced recipes, careful ingredient choice and consistent production. The same skills are taught in our gelato courses, and they rely on equipment that controls each stage, from pasteurising the mix to freezing and hardening. A Carpigiani Pastomaster pasteuriser and a Techfrost blast freezer are two of the tools that separate a good gelato from a great one.
Planning a gelato shop or adding gelato to your menu? Majors Group is the official Carpigiani distributor in Australia and New Zealand and supplies Rubicone ingredients nationally. Contact us for advice, a demonstration or a quote, or see our gelato business packages.
Source: Carpigiani news. Written for I Love Gelato Australia.