Team Singapore Crowned World Champion at Gelato World Cup 2026!

On Tuesday (Jan 20), Singapore was crowned World Champion at the Gelato World Cup 2026, a prestigious biennial competition held in Rimini, Italy, beating France and Argentina to the top of the podium. Held from Jan 16 to 20 at SIGEP World – The World Expo for Foodservice Excellence, the Gelato World Cup is deemed the world’s most important team competition dedicated to artisanal gelato. This 11th edition of the competition brought together 12 national teams that created 12 different desserts and showpieces across nine challenges, including a Chocolate Sculpture, Mystery Box Gelato and Gelato Glass Desserts. Team Singapore’s winning theme in the final test was Circus, described as a vibrant and technically flawless narrative inspired by balance, precision and wonder. Judges cited the team’s technical mastery, strong storytelling and creative coherence across all challenges. France placed second with The Dance of Animals, an elegant and expressive concept inspired by movement, rhythm and harmony in the natural world, while Argentina took third with The Garden of Butterflies, a poetic and colourful interpretation of transformation, biodiversity and lightness. The Singapore team consists of four chefs with over 60 years of experience and eight medals between them. Led by Jason Tan as team manager who also led Team Singapore to fifth place in the 2024 Gelato World Cup, he was joined by executive pastry chef Dexter Lee, pastry chef Loh Cheng Kit, and junior sous chef Chew Wei Lung. The selected teams qualified during regional events held in Asia, Europe and America. Singapore qualified for the World Cup after clinching second place at the 2024 Asian Gelato Cup. According to gelato shop Tom's Palette, which helped the team raise funds for the competition, the chefs balanced their day jobs with competition preparation in the lead-up to the World Cup, spending an average of 80 to 90 hours honing their craft with 8am to 1am work days. Tom’s Palette also shared that a big showcase by the team is in the works for April, but an official announcement has yet to be made.