Brisbane ice cream maker wins best gelato in Australia

It’s as Aussie as summer – but making the perfect gelato isn’t always that easy. Well, until now.

A Brisbane ice cream maker has creamed the competition, winning the best gelato in the country at the 25th Australian Grand Dairy Awards.

Milani Minus Eight Degrees in Sunnybank, in the city’s south, took out the title of Grand Champion Dairy for its peanut caramel gelato, beating out hundreds of entries from across Oz.

“It’s very exciting – unbelievable,” Milani owner Yue Lin said. “[The fact] so many people entered the competition and I won, I’m very lucky.”

Artisan gelato master Yue Lin took out the Grand Champion award at the 2024 Australian Grand Dairy Awards, pictured outside Milani Minus Eight Degrees Gelateria at Market Square in Sunnybank. Picture: Lachie Millard

But it’s clearly more than just luck, with this the third time the Queenslander has taken out the national title, including winning last year.

He has also picked up a string of victories in the Royal Queensland Show’s dairy competition, making him Australia’s most awarded gelato maker.

“I’m very proud and every time [I win] it’s encouraging me to do a good job and encouraging me to learn more and try to do new things,” the 66-year-old said.

Mr Lin said he received much of his inspiration for his gelato from his customers and could often spend up to a month perfecting a recipe, relying on feedback from taste tests with his patrons and staff.

“We’re always creating new flavours because our customers are always giving me suggestions,” he said.

■ Try these amazing gelato recipes

Sisters Pippa, 7, and Josie Carlisle, 9, from Tarragindi, try out some award-winning gelato from Milani Minus Eight Degrees Gelateria at Market Square in Sunnybank. Picture: Lachie Millard

Mr Lin first became obsessed with gelato as a child in China, but said he was only allowed to eat it twice a summer as it was an expensive his family couldn’t afford.

After taking his wife to Italy for a holiday in 2004 his love for the sweet stuff reached another level and he decided to train himself in gelato making – completing a number of short courses in Australia, before heading to Italy to attend gelato university.

He then brought his skills back to Queensland and opened his first gelato shop in 2014, with accolades following shortly there after.

Originally published as Brisbane ice cream maker wins best gelato in Australia