This weekend the Gelato Festival made its first stop in Santa Barbara. With 10 competitors ranging from Sicily to North Carolina, the Gelato Festival was a real treat, pun most definitely intended. The competition featured gelatos produced on-site with all fresh ingredients the day of. My VIP pass gave me a glimpse at the refrigeration truck where each competitor stored their ingredients, along with the tent where the gelatos were being made. Each gelato was both dairy and fat free, except for the festival’s sponsor WhyGelato.com, who was also the exception to the on-site rule.

Besides the competition itself, the festival offered a demonstration by Carpigiano Gelato University on the differences between gelato and ice cream. While I didn’t take part in the demonstration, I interested to see that it ended with the instructor making and providing a recipe for strawberry sorbet.