The first Chicago contest for the best gelato will be featured at Chicago’s Little Italy Festa-Taylor Street, the annual food, music, and fun fair, from Thursday through Sunday, Aug. 15 through 18. “It is an international competition, and every four years they select the World Gelato Chef,” said Ron Onesti, a Near West Side native whose company, Onesti Entertainment, will run the fest once again for the Little Italy Chicago Neighborhood Association (LICNA).

“What we are doing is a Chicago edition” leg of the contest. A dozen contestants will create specialties in a fully equipped factory in a trailer. Fest goers will be able to taste unique combinations of flavors, such as Texas whiskey and pecan, passion fruit ricotta, and saffron pistachio with candied lemon peel, Onesti said.