The new shapes of gelato

Edoardo Cavagnino is co-owner and Brand Ambassador of Gelati Pepino 1884, the historic Turin company in which he has held various management roles over the years. He represents the fifth generation of the Cavagnino family committed to promoting gelato culture and the heritage of Italian and Savoyard hospitality. The history of the Cavagninos and of Pepino is closely tied to the Pinguino, invented in 1938: a product that revolutionised gelato and how it is eaten, turning it into a simple, convivial, recognisable walk-around experience that is still contemporary today — the company celebrates it as the world's first chocolate-coated gelato on a stick. Edoardo is also president of the Association of Historic Cafés of Turin and Piedmont and co-founder of Historic Cafés of Europe, promoting projects devoted to protecting, narrating and reinterpreting gastronomic and cultural heritage.

Great-grandson of the founder of Palazzo del Freddo, Andrea is the fifth generation of the Fassi family. He serves as Chief Executive Officer, with responsibility for the historic Rome premises and for production supplying the franchised shops abroad. In 2024, again in Rome, he opened a directly operated store built to Fassi standards: a pilot project for a hybrid between gelateria and pasticceria, doing away with cones and tubs in favour of new forms of gelato. A graduate in Political Science and International Relations, he earned Il Sole 24 Ore's Master's in Food and Beverage Management after gaining professional experience in international hospitality across several countries. An author and co-founder of the Genius school of writing — founded in 2019 together with Paolo Restuccia, Lucia Pappalardo, Luigi Annibaldi and other publishing professionals — he teaches sensory writing at the academy and contributes to the magazine "Dentro la lampada". He published the novel "Papille" (Coda di Volpe, 2025). Every two weeks he writes SottoZero, a Substack newsletter that turns memory into short-form narrative.

Rosalba Graglia, from Turin, with a degree in history, writes about places, people and food for Corriere della Sera, Bell'Italia and Gambero Rosso. She is the author of books and travel guides devoted to her city — Torino al femminile, Guida di Torino, Guida letteraria a Torino — and of tourist guides, always attentive to food culture, to Portugal and Lisbon, Ireland, Marseille, Corsica, the Côte d'Azur and Provence, and Malta. She has always contributed to Gambero Rosso's food guides. Winner of several journalism prizes, she holds the Gold Medal of the French Ministry of Tourism.

Simone De Feo is an Italian master gelato maker and baker, founder and soul of the celebrated Cremeria Capolinea in Reggio Emilia. A former IT professional with a passion for gastronomy, in his thirties he decided to leave computers for the art of gelato: in 2010, with his partner Monica Fantuzzi, he opened the Cremeria Capolinea. His approach combines the scientific rigour of his earlier training with an ethical, meticulous search for raw materials: no semi-finished products or artificial colourings, a short supply chain, organic fruit, and nuts and cocoa roasted in-house. Alongside gelato he has developed an outstanding production of sourdough panettoni and colombe, now considered among the best in Italy. Since 2017 his gelateria has consistently held Gambero Rosso's Three Cones. Today De Feo pairs the workshop with teaching contemporary gelato making (including at ALMA) and is co-author of the book Gelati (Tommasi Editore).