Local gelato maker to represent Singapore at Gelato World Tour Finals in Italy

SINGAPORE – Former investment banker turned gelato maker, Sharon Tay, is in Italy this weekend flying the Singapore flag at the Gelato World Tour finals.

Tay, 37, owner of homegrown Momolato emerged as the Asia Pacific champion at the Singapore leg of Gelato World Tour Finals which was held in Singapore in March 2015.

She is the first Singaporean to compete at the Finals held in the Italian town of Rimini, and will be creating “The Asian Story” gelato, which consists of homemade gula melaka caramel with sea salt, and topped with crispy flakes of caramelised tofu skin.

Tay said: “Coconut gula melaka is a very vintage flavour. It’s actually a key flavour for Singaporeans. It makes use of Indonesian palm sugar, fresh coconut milk and tofu skin that is very Asian as well and we caramelised it,” Tay explained.

“I want to stay true to our roots… (and am) proud to represent Singapore in the competition. (I am) very excited to share a very Southeast Asian flavour to the international public,” Tay said.

Tay will go up against 35 other finalists from 18 countries.

The winner will be decided by public votes as well as a panel of judges comprising gelato experts and journalists. The winning gelato will be announced on Sunday (Sep 10).

In 2013, Tay took leave from work and spent two months in Italy learning how to make gelato and pastries. After she returned, she decided to start her own gelato business. She left her job at a bank in October that year and started her own gelato business, Momolato, in January 2014.

While she no longer holds a shop space, Tay has moved into the wholesale gelato business, supplying to cafes and hotels. Momolato’s creations are also known for its innovative flavours such as chendol and miso gula Melaka and appears mainly at pop-up events.

In preparation of the competition, Tay and her team have exported more than 100 kilograms of ingredients for ‘The Asian Story’ to Italy.

“We will undergo pasteurising and then a bit of ageing (before) we start making our gelato just one day before the competition,” Tay shared.

While Tay acknowledged her flavour might not appeal to the international crowd, she remains hopeful. “We will try our best to promote this flavour to them and hopefully it will be well-received,” she said.

“Our journey to the Gelato World Tour in Italy for the grand final is also to come into contact with gelato makers from all over the world. At the very least, we should come back feeling more inspired to produce even better gelato for our customer and clients,” she added.