He has run Cow & the Moon in Enmore with his wife Wendy, son Sam and daughter Olivia for the past 12 years.
The gelateria remained open during this year’s lengthy lockdown, with customers buying smaller gelato cakes and more take-home packs as opposed to cups and cones.
John Crowl will compete to be the world’s best gelato maker with his entry, Pannacotta, poached strawberries and balsamic vinegar.Credit:Janie Barrett
Sam described the competition as a mix of Masterchef and The Apprentice, with gelato chefs sharing utensils and running around a large, chaotic kitchen.
Mr Crowl, who won in 2014 with an almond affogato flavour, said gelato was a “balancing act of ingredients and knowing what each element brings to the table”.
“Flavour ideas come to me in all aspects of life,” he said. “Sometimes I am inspired by things both sweet and savoury that I have eaten, and sometimes I wake up at 3am with an idea.”
Mr Crowl’s entry will be a Madagascan vanilla pannacotta gelato with a poached strawberry ripple and a salsa of balsamic vinegar and Peruvian chocolate.
“The flavour follows the DNA of most of our flavours at Cow & the Moon and that is a balance of tradition with a modern twist,” he said.
However, the COVID-19 crisis means Mr Crowl will be watching on Zoom from Sydney while chefs in Italy make his gelato following a set of instructions.
“What this means is that you really have to have your procedures and processes dialled in so that you can eliminate any opportunities for things to be misinterpreted,” he said.
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Finalists will be judged on the flavour, structure, creativity of their gelato as well as a video presentation.
Achille Sassoli, a spokesman for the Gelato Festival World Masters organising committee, said: “We worked really hard to gather an international jury of gelato chefs and pastry chefs that will be able to evaluate with their well-trained palate the unusual ingredients and pairings.”
Mr Crowl said it was hard to rate his competitors via what he has seen on social media, but expected the standard will be high: “Each competitor brings a certain flair to their flavour, I just wish we were all together to taste each other’s creations.”
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‘Competition is addictive’: How to make the world’s best gelato
Source: Philippines Alive
