France has been crowned the champion of the 2018 Gelato World Cup for the 4th time in the Italian city of Rimini.

France beat 11 other countries for the title with Spain taking second and Australia taking third place. Unfortunately, representatives from the land of gelato, Italy, were unable to attend this year due to the Gelato World Cup rules that bar the title holders from participating in the following edition of the tournament, however that rule has been removed for 2020 thus allowing France and Italy to battle it out for the title for the first time. 

Each team was tasked with daily gelato challenges, with trials including: ice sculpture, a decorated gelato pan, gelato cake, an entrée competition of three hot finger foods combined with gourmet gelato and gelato snacks.

All of the entries are available on the official Instagram of the Gelato World Cup by clicking below:

Held at the four-day SIGEP international trade show for all things sweet and savory (ice cream, pastry, bakery and coffee), Argentina, Brazil, South Korea, Morocco, Poland, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United States also tested their scooping skills. Italian culture minister Dario Franceschini participated in the event and announced that, following Neapolitan pizza being added to United Nations' cultural body Unesco's intangible heritage list (as mentioned in our previous article: Battle of the Baguette), that he would push for ice cream's inclusion.

We hope you have enjoyed Going for the Gelato Gold! Which is your favorite of the gelato creations revealed at the Gelato World Cup? Leave a comment below!