Season 1 · Oct 2026 – Mar 2027 · Berlin Kreuzberg

Become a gelatiere.

Two professional programmes inside a working Sicilian gelato production facility. No premixes, no demo kitchen: real machines, real batches, real ingredients — and a maximum of ten people in the room.

Real production You train inside our Kreuzberg facility, not a classroom
Built from scratch Every recipe balanced by you — sugars, fats, stabilisers
Max. 10 people Everyone runs the batch freezers, every single day
Certificate Week 1 and Week 2 each close with a certificate

Master Gelatiere

The complete path — for those who want the whole craft, from fundamentals to product development

Ten days: the full Professional Gelatiere week, plus a second week of advanced work. Freezing curves and water activity, sugar-free and reduced-sugar formulation, building your own stabiliser blend, vegan and alcohol gelato, variegati, stracciatella and regional Italian styles — ending with a signature product you develop, produce and defend in front of a sensory panel. Ends with a Week 2 certificate of completion.

Why the full programme

The Master week is not more of the same: it is where you stop following recipes and start writing them.

From supervised to autonomous

How much of the work you do on your own, day by day. Week 1 ends with your first solo production; Week 2 ends with a product you developed yourself.

Autonomy across the ten programme days Master week fully autonomous how much you do alone Day 1Day 2Day 3Day 4Day 5Day 6Day 7Day 8Day 9Day 10 Day 5 · your own gelato Day 10 · signature product 01020304050607080910

What each programme covers

Share of each subject area covered by the curriculum. Week 1 gives you the whole foundation; the Master week is where the advanced formulation, the special diets and the product development live.

Professional Gelatiere Master Gelatiere
Curriculum coverage by subject area, per programme Fundamentals & recipe balancingProfessional GelatiereMaster Gelatiere100%100%Machine operation (both freezers)Professional GelatiereMaster Gelatiere70%100%Vegan, sugar-free & alcoholProfessional GelatiereMaster Gelatiere20%100%Variegati, toppings & regional stylesMaster Gelatiere100%Product development & sensory panelProfessional GelatiereMaster Gelatiere10%100%

Every single day

Six hours a day, split down the middle: theory in the morning, production on the machines in the afternoon.

Half theory, half hands-on production 3+3 hours
Theory Hands-on production

The Master week in numbers

What the second week adds to your training.

60hours in the lab10 days × 6 hours
≤10people per groupevery student runs the machines
−20%% less waste — our target for you* Balancing your own recipes instead of buying premixes is where the savings come from. This is the goal we train towards, not a measured result.

* Season 1 starts in October 2026. These figures describe how the programme is built and what it aims for — no student results have been measured yet.

Week 1 — Foundation

Gelato Fundamentals & Lab Orientation

Morning

History of gelato (4000 BC — today) · Science of frozen desserts: three-phase structure (liquid, gas, solid) · Gelato vs. ice cream: fat, overrun, temperature · World of frozen desserts: gelato, sorbetto, granita, soft serve, semifreddo · Ingredient families: functional vs. flavour

Afternoon

Lab safety & hygiene briefing · Machine tour: vertical & horizontal batch freezers, pasteuriser, blast chiller · Touch & identify raw ingredients · Live production observation · Side-by-side tasting: gelato / sorbetto / granita

Gelato Formulation — Theory

Morning

Sugars in depth: PAC (freezing point depression) & POD (relative sweetness) · Sucrose, dextrose, glucose syrup, fructose, trehalose, honey, lactose · Sugar balance calculation exercise · Fats (milk, cream, nuts, coconut) · Proteins: SMP & WPC80 · Stabilisers & emulsifiers: types and dosage

Afternoon

Flavouring ingredients: cocoa, nut pastes, coffee, fruit, herbs & spices · How flavours shift the recipe balance · Step-by-step recipe balancing method · Build a classic crema recipe together · Intro to the balancing spreadsheet

Applied Formulation & First Machine Run

Morning

Recipes for milk-based gelato, sorbetto & vegan gelato · Stabiliser blends (neutri): cold vs. hot soluble, selection criteria · Independent recipe workshop: each student builds their own recipe · Instructor review & group recipe comparison

Afternoon

3 bases pasteurised with different neutri · Intro to the vertical batch freezer · First machine run · Maturation test: immediate vs. rested base — viscosity, colour & texture compared · Sensory tasting & documentation of results

Gelato Production — Both Machines

Morning

Vertical vs. horizontal batch freezer: mechanics, differences & ideal products · Overrun: definition, control & impact on texture and cost · Production planning, team roles & workflow in a real facility · Base preparation: two teams, two products

Afternoon

Two teams · Team A: fior di latte on the vertical batch freezer · Team B: lemon sorbetto on the horizontal batch freezer · Teams swap machines for the second batch · Blast chilling & storage · Comparative tasting: vertical vs. horizontal · HACCP cleaning log

Creative Day — Your Own Gelato

Morning

Full Week 1 recap · Open Q&A · Free choice of product type: milk-based, sorbetto or vegan · Independent recipe development using the balancing spreadsheet · Instructor 1-to-1 review · Mini-presentation to the group: flavour concept, ingredient choices & expected result

Afternoon

Solo production: each student weighs, pasteurises, freezes, extracts & stores their own gelato · Machine choice based on product · Final group tasting of all personal gelati · Instructor technical evaluation · Week 1 certificate of participation · Preview of Week 2

Week 2 — Advanced

Advanced Gelato Science — Water, Ice & Freezing Curves

Morning

Three-phase colloidal system revisited: interphases & stability · Water activity (aw), free vs. bound water · Freezing-point depression & the freezing curve · Theoretical curve vs. DSC reality · How ice-crystal size and temperature fluctuation define texture · Reading a curve to compare two recipes

Afternoon

Build the freezing curves of two milk bases with different sugar spectra · Pasteurise both · Machine run & controlled hardening · Measure serving temperature & scoopability · Blind texture comparison: crystal size, coldness, melting speed · Document results

Sugars, Sugar-Free & Stabiliser Systems

Morning

Carbohydrates in depth: mono-, di-, polysaccharides & polyols · PAC / POD tuning across the sugar spectrum · Reduced-sugar, no-added-sugar, keto & low-GI formulation · Fibres as sugar / fat replacers (inulin, polydextrose) · Thickeners vs. emulsifiers: function, dosage, cold / hot solubility · Should you build your own neutro?

Afternoon

Formulate a no-added-sugar gelato using polyols & fibres · Blend your own stabiliser mix (thickener + emulsifier) · Pasteurise & mature · Produce sugar-free vs. classic side by side · Compare sweetness, body, overrun & melting · Cost-per-litre check

Vegan & Alcohol Gelato

Morning

Vegan structure: replacing milk fat & protein · Plant bases: nut, coconut, soy, oat — flavour, fat & off-notes · Building creaminess without dairy · Alcohol in gelato: PAC of ethanol, ABV → weight conversion · Freezing-point & protein-denaturation effects · Stabilising with fibres, sugar reduction & the premix / late-add method

Afternoon

Produce a nut-based vegan gelato (no dairy) · Balance & churn an alcohol cocktail flavour · Apply the late-add technique at −3 / −5 °C · Compare vegan vs. dairy creaminess · Assess alcohol impact on hardness & scoopability · Tasting & notes

Variegati, Toppings & Special Formulations

Morning

Inclusions & toppings: solid, fluid, stracciatella, cremino · Defects & fixes: hardening, water absorption, melting, drying-out · Stracciatella & praliné formulation (fat balance, snap) · Regional Italian styles: Sicilian, Bologna, Torino, Veneto · Soft-serve & low-fat formulation · Serving temperature by product

Afternoon

Cook a nut praliné & make a stracciatella (chocolate + cocoa butter) · Prepare a fruit variegato · Churn a base and ripple / layer the toppings · Test a soft-serve or low-fat mix on the machine · Compare inclusion behaviour at −14 °C · Tasting & defect analysis

Product Development & Signature Creation

Morning

The gelato food system: variables & sensitivity · Product development as problem-solving, not velleity · Sensory science & evaluation: the five senses, tasting panels · The bliss point (sugar-fat-salt) & the inverted-U of liking · Market research vs. sensory testing · Brief: design your own signature flavour

Afternoon

Solo development of a signature product using the balancing spreadsheet · Weigh, pasteurise, mature, churn, finish with a matched topping · Sensory panel & structured feedback · Cost & menu-positioning check · Final group tasting · Week 2 certificate of completion

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