È la passione a fare di Sherbeth l'evento più importante al mondo sul gelato artigianale. E sono quattro persone di grandissima esperienza a decidere, ogni anno, quanto vale quella passione.
Sceglie i maestri gelatieri, uno per uno, e governa il Premio Francesco Procopio Cutò: il regolamento, i criteri, l'assaggio alla cieca, le giurie. È il gruppo che garantisce alla manifestazione qualità, innovazione e rigore.
È un ruolo tecnico, ma non soltanto tecnico. Decidere chi sale sul palco significa decidere di quale gelato vale la pena parlare — ed è la scelta su cui poggia tutto il resto.
Direttivo Tecnico
“I come from a family that has specialised in the dairy sector for three generations. This allowed me to see, and to take an active part in, the production, processing, preservation and distribution of milk.”
Towards the end of the 1970s, alongside his main business, Arnaldo Conforto began keeping bees. Passion and curiosity would lead him to experiment with everything this wonderful world has to offer.
In 1990 I had the opportunity to open a café/gelateria, and he devoted himself to it entirely.
He bought everything the literature of the time had to offer on the subject and found his bible: “Scienza e Tecnologia del gelato artigianale” by Luca Caviezel.
In 1997 he asked his son Flavio to transfer Luca Caviezel’s recipe-balancing scheme into a spreadsheet. This gave birth to Gerigel, a software for formulating and managing recipes which, together with Luca Caviezel’s book, would later become a teaching aid of the Scuola Italiana di Gelateria.
Experimenting and sharing led me to meet colleagues and masters. Giuseppe Lancerini invited me to join the Accademia della Gelateria Italiana. In 1998 I became a full member.
Slowly the need to found a school for the sector took shape. In 2007, with other colleagues, he took part in founding the association “I Maestri della Gelateria Italiana” and then in setting up the Scuola Italiana di Gelateria, based in Perugia. He taught there for the school’s entire lifetime. In 2012 he obtained the professional qualification of Specialised Master Gelato Maker issued by the Umbria Region, and the qualification of Judge, “1st step Sensory Analysis”. In 2010, with his children, he founded the company Artigiani del Gusto. He still works in training and consultancy for colleagues and new businesses.
When A’ Nivarata, the Sicilian granita festival, was born in Acireale, he took on the coordination and production of the workshop, assisted by Ruben Pili, with whom he would work until the festival ended.
“I remember with great affection my friend and colleague Giorgio De Pellegrin, who the day after the first edition of Sherbeth told me: Arnaldo, this is the finest artisanal gelato event I have ever seen, we must be part of it and support these two ‘visionaries’.
Some time later Antonio Cappadonia invited me to help Giorgio run the Sherbeth workshop. That was the start of my uninterrupted journey as head of the Sherbeth workshop.”
Direttivo Tecnico
«You would never think how hard it is to sum up an emotion in a spatula of gelato; to express a feeling in a tiny little world, a microcosm, and a freezing one at that! There… you will never think it until you find yourself doing it. And that is what happened to me».
Giovanna Musumeci is the master gelato maker of Randazzo, on the slopes of Etna. She grew up in the sweet world of gelato thanks to her father Santo, a gelato maker since 1967. Despite an academic background in Economics at the University of Catania and a master’s degree in marketing and communication, in 2010 she chose to follow the family passion for gelato, leaving Territorial Planning.
A pupil of Master Luca Caviezel, she deepened her training and arrived at Sherbeth in 2014, competing on her own for the first time.
So began her promising career, which in 2016 would lead her to win the prestigious Caviezel Award, named after her Master, and in 2017 the Foodies Challenge, Gelato Category.
For Giovanna, gelato must above all be “good”, comforting, and convey the emotion of the person who makes it and the passion that drives her life and work choices.
“A gelato is an emotion dressed in flavour and sensations, and above all it must speak of something… of you, of your experience, of the way you see life”.
Giovanna Musumeci embodies the drive of the new generation of gelato makers who, with great pride, manage to bring the excellence of artisanal gelato to the world.
The Gelateria Santo Musumeci, also awarded 3 Cones by Gambero Rosso, is an essential stop for lovers of gelato and granita who come to Randazzo from all over the world to enjoy unique flavours that speak of Sicily, of Etna and of the Territory in a contemporary key.
Giovanna has been on the Technical Board of Sherbeth Festival since 2018.
Direttivo Tecnico
“In 1988 I turned the family trattoria into the Gelateria Prealpina. From the very start I began by studying raw materials, inspired by the great master Luca Caviezel, with the aim of developing a personal and distinctive interpretation of artisanal gelato.
In those years, with commitment and dedication, I began researching the raw materials available locally, building direct relationships with producers. In this way I achieved my main goal: creating a gelato that enhances the organoleptic and technical qualities of the ingredients used.”
Pasquetti embodies the culture of Venetian gelato, founded on respect for raw materials, on the use of ingredients of local origin wherever possible, and on valuing the working methods handed down over time.
At his gelateria he consistently pursues the philosophy of artisanal gelato, which he calls “Contemporary Gelato”. This definition rests on the exclusive use of pure raw materials, sought in their most natural expression, respecting their seasonality and favouring local products wherever possible.
Alongside his production work, Pasquetti has developed a role as a populariser and ambassador of traditional gelato techniques. He is also known for taking part in tasting workshops and for his work as a trainer, devoted to passing artisanal techniques on to new generations of gelato makers. In this capacity he has also worked with the Enaip vocational school of the Veneto Region.
Appreciated for his professional rigour, Pasquetti continues his commitment to defending the culture of the authentic product, promoting quality, the value of the territory and synergy with agri-food excellence. His personal experience is part of that of the community of Italian gelato makers, of which he is one of the most authoritative voices in contemporary artisanal gelato.
Since 2019 he has contributed to the organisation of Sherbeth Festival as head/co-director of Production.
Direttivo Tecnico
“At the age of 19 I found myself facing one of the most important choices of my life. Together with my sisters and my uncle and aunt, I chose to take over the family business founded by my great-grandparents, handed down to my grandparents and consolidated in 2003 with my uncle, aunt and sisters, renewing a tradition of artisanal gelato and chocolate across four generations: this is how Chocogioia was born.
My family’s support gave me opportunities to grow, which pushed me to look for answers to countless questions outside my homeland.”
Somewhat unsure of what to do and overwhelmed by work, he came across Luca Caviezel’s book, which became his first real source of inspiration. “The way ahead lit up and I understood that I had to start from the beginning, attending my first one-month training course at the Accademia Italiana di Gelateria, where I had the chance to meet him; but even more surprising was meeting other enlightening professionals, among the most important to me at the time Arnaldo Conforto, Paolo Betelli and Giampaolo Cianuri, who helped me gain the awareness to master the basics of formulating artisanal gelato recipes.”
In 2008 he joined the association Maestri della Gelateria Italiana, through which he had the opportunity and good fortune to follow, for several years, the training courses of his fellow trainers, building up his knowledge even further.
Four years later, in 2012, he obtained the professional qualification of Specialised Master Gelato Maker, issued by the Umbria Region, which allowed him to take part in planning the training courses at the Scuola Italiana di Gelateria in Perugia and to be an integral and active member of the Associazione dei Maestri della Gelateria Italiana, of which he has been President.
In the same years he came to know, through his books, Roberto Lobrano, whom he later met in person and who was at the time a great source of inspiration and motivation. Indeed, he helped him broaden his horizons in creativity and in the business organisation of the gelato entrepreneur. From then on he attended and took an active part in events such as Sigep, the Mig, the China Gelato Championship, A’ Nivarata, the Pesaro Gelato Festival and Sherbeth Festival.
His debut at Sherbeth Festival came as a participant for two editions, then as a workshop assistant alongside Arnaldo Conforto and Giovanna Musumeci, and in recent years as an integral part of the project, holding an organisational role of responsibility within the Technical Board.
Sono professionisti preparati, tecnici di produzione, che affiancano i maestri in ogni fase: dalla pesatura delle materie prime alla gestione delle attrezzature, dal controllo delle temperature alla sanificazione delle postazioni.
È questa squadra, attenta e instancabile, a garantire flussi puntuali, sicurezza e ordine in laboratorio — ed è ciò che permette ai maestri di concentrarsi sulla creatività e sulla qualità della mantecazione.
Il loro lavoro porta precisione, trasparenza e coinvolgimento del pubblico: un contributo essenziale che unisce tecnica e accoglienza, e che aiuta Sherbeth a mantenere lo standard che lo rende unico.
La formazione cambia ogni anno. La squadra del 2026 viene pubblicata all'avvicinarsi del festival.
Assistente di laboratorio
Stefano Cecconi is the gelato maker and owner of Cremeria Cecconi in Arezzo. After fourteen years in the gelato sector, working as an employee and studying extensively, in 2019 he opened his shop in the historic centre of his beloved city, Arezzo. His gelato holds stories of friendship and love, in full respect of artisan ethics and of the value of his territory. Despite his young age, he is considered one of the best professionals in the sector by Italy’s leading critics and newspapers. He shares his past, present and future successes with his precious staff, to whom he is extremely attached.
“Because however good and skilled you may be at something, you will only ever count as one.”
Assistente di laboratorio
I am a gelato maker and, together with my husband Omar Leoni, co-founder of Io e Gelato in the province of Pisa. I began my career behind the counter of a historic gelateria in the province while studying architecture, which I then gave up for my passion for gelato. In 16 years of work, after the first basic courses, I have kept training constantly with the best masters of gelato, pastry and chocolate, following all the refresher courses and master classes offered over the years. In 2022 I came second at Sherbeth Festival with the flavour Macchiaiolo, a Pinolo di Macchia with infusions of juniper and pine bark.
Assistente di laboratorio
My name is Jacopo Ibba and I am a young 28-year-old Sardinian entrepreneur. For more than 4 years I have been running my own small business, a restaurant/pizzeria in San Sperate, a museum village about 20 minutes from Cagliari. Before setting up on my own I gained several years of experience in the restaurant sector and earned a hotel-school diploma, which opened up this world to me, together with the various courses I have taken over time.
I love good taste, and I constantly challenge myself to improve my business, my life and the lives of those around me.
Assistente di laboratorio
Omar Leoni, a Pisan born and bred, is the owner and co-founder, together with his wife Ilaria Guerrieri, of Io e Gelato, a gelateria with two shops in the province of Pisa, ranked 44th among Italy’s 100 best gelaterias by Dissapore and awarded two Cones by Gambero Rosso.
Assistente di laboratorio
Ten years ago I chose to give my path a new direction, turning my passion for artisanal gelato into my job.
My training as a gelato maker began at Cast Alimenti, and today I run the gelateria at Good Cagliari.
In 2023 I took part in Sherbeth Festival alongside Pierpaolo Portogallo.
Figure skating, which I have practised since I was a child, has helped shape the way I work: discipline, precision, aesthetic sensitivity and attention to detail, values I bring to the workshop every day together with creativity and the desire to keep growing.
Assistente di laboratorio
Born into a family of gelato makers, since 2010 she has contributed to the growth of the business by founding Chocogioia. She then furthered her training at the Università dei Sapori in Perugia, an experience that allows her to devote herself successfully to creating and producing pastries and biscuits.
Assistente di laboratorio
My name is Alessandro Zoli and I have been making gelato for almost 20 years. I came to it self-taught, studying and comparing notes with colleagues who then became friends.
In my gelato I try to put myself: genuineness and a touch of madness.
Assistente di laboratorio
I came to the gelateria by chance, and at first I wasn’t sure I would stay, but once I understood it and tried it I fell in love with this incredible world; I try to learn something new every day, taking inspiration from my brother and from all my other colleagues and friends.
