01 Sep Please The Palate Pick of the Week: Gelato Festival America

Who does not love gelato!?!? I, for one, absolutely love gelato. I love the lightness but richness, the smooth, creamy texture and the simplicity and creativity of ingredients. So, when I was asked to manage the Gelato School at the Gelato Festival America, it was a dream come true….after all, it meant that I could eat all the gelato I wanted for seven festivals! We have just completed two cities – New Jersey and Chicago – and have five more to go and I am loving every single bite! That is why, without a doubt, the Gelato Festival America is the Please The Palate pick of the week. The Gelato Festival is the most important event dedicated to artisanal Italian gelato.  After traveling through Italy and Europe, the Gelato Festival has returned to America for the second year, bringing all that is great about Italian culture. Each festival features eight gelato chefs who have created a unique flavor to compete at the festival. There is a technical jury made up of professionals who judge the gelato. There is also the popular jury which is voted on by the attendees of the festival. The winning gelato is selected by combining the winner from each of these juries. There is also a Kids Jury with little palates tasting and judging the gelato. The gelato is made on-site daily at each event in the mobile laboratory named Buontalenti America, named after Bernardo Buontalenti, the Italian architect and engineer who invented gelato in 1559 in Florence, Italy. This mobile laboratory was built for the festival and is driving across the county from city to city. Gelato-making demos from Carpigiani’s Gelato University, eating contests and other games, such as the Speed Cup Race and Stack It High, are played throughout the 2-day festival at the Gelato School. And the best part is that it is ALL YOU CAN EAT! Tickets are $30 for adults and $25 for kids (and with the code PLEASETHEPALATE you can save $5). So, how much can you eat? Can you eat as much as this little girl who saved spoons for every gelato she ate in one day? Come and join me at one of the upcoming festivals and I am sure Gelato Festival America will also be your pick of the week, as it is Please The Palate’s pick of the week. WASHINGTON DC (September 8-9) DALLAS (September 29-30) SANTA BARBARA (October 13-14) SCOTTSDALE (October 20-21) TUCSON (October 27-28)