Never mind all the romanticism surrounding food, with its star chefs, gourmet this and farm-to-table that. For Hawaii gelato maker Dirk Koeppenkastrop, the key to a good product is "basically mathematics."

"For good gelato you need the right ratio of fats, sugars and solids," said the owner of Il Gelato Hawaii. "Depending on what we make, we keep a similar ratio. For instance, if we are using pistachios, there’s a lot of fat and solids but no sugar. So we’d need to use more sugar, less fat and solids."

Listening to Koeppenkastrop, it comes as no surprise to learn that he has a doctorate in physical chemistry. But the gelato whiz is more than just book-smart; he also knows how to follow the example of other successful people.

So, along the lines of chefs Alan Wong and Roy Yama­gu­chi, who led the way in sourcing local ingredients for their kitchens, Koeppenkastrop features Hawaii’s bounty in his more than 100 flavors of all-natural gelato, made in his Iwilei factory.

This winning combination of science-based formulas and culinary creativity led to the gelato maker being selected for the U.S. team in the 2014 Gelato World Cup competition, to take place Jan. 18 and 19 in Rimini, Italy. Teams hail from such countries as Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, Mexico, Canada and, of course, Italy.

Each team chooses a theme for the competition that is reflected in seven tests they must complete: assorted decorated sundaes, a gelato cake with three flavors, an ability test involving a secret ingredient, an entree that includes a savory gelato, six varieties of miniature gelato pastries, a chocolate showpiece to display the pastries, and an ice carving to pre­sent the gelato cake.

The U.S. team’s theme is "Aloha Spirit," centering on Koeppenkastrop’s locally flavored cold treats. Among the items and flavors for the competition are lilikoi cheesecake gelato, mango sorbetto (to be paired with either habanero or lemongrass), Kona strawberry sorbetto, chocolate ginger gelato and double-roasted macadamia nut with dark chocolate gelato.

Koeppenkastrop created 13 new flavors specifically for the contest, and the team will use eight or nine of them. The new flavors will likely join the lineup at Il Gelato, he says.

The U.S. team was selected by captain John Hui, a pastry chef at Pebble Beach Resorts and a certified American Culinary Federation competition judge. The latter role enables him to "knows who’s good at what," he said.

Hui also selected certified master ice carver Travis Dale from North Caro­lina and had secured a chef, but that member left for personal reasons. Another chef is soon to be confirmed. Team manager is Claude Lambertz, a chef instructor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who started the team with Hui in 2006.

Last year the U.S. team won the International Best Taste and People’s Choice awards.

Since this year’s members hail from across the country, team meetings have been held midway in California and Las Vegas, where members created their dessert ideas and held practice runs.

Hui said he met Koeppenkastrop at a gelato convention and had his eye on the Il Gelato owner for the U.S. team. He visited Il Gelato’s factory while on vacation last year and deemed Koeppenkastrop a great fit.

"Dirk is exceptional; he knows every aspect of making gelato and does the formulas himself. He’s scientific about it and I like that," Hui said.

Both men say quality gelato entails not just good flavor, but also a consistently creamy texture.

Koeppenkastrop, a native of Germany, created six different bases from scratch that work with the wide variety of add-in ingredients to achieve the proper ratios of sugar, fat and solids, key to a creamy texture. He also employs an industrial mixer and organic, natural stabilizers.

"I never use chemicals to achieve this," he said.

The proof is in the pudding, or gelato, as the case may be.

Il Gelato gelatos are served in hotels and restaurants across Oahu, including the Kahala Hotel & Resort, the Royal Hawaiian, Roy’s, d.k Steak House, Le Bistro, Michel’s, Arancino, Nico’s Pier 38 and Himalayan Kitchen.

Before entering the world of gelato, Koeppenkastrop served as managing director of Eurofins, a European food analysis laboratory, from 2006 to 2010. He attended the Car­pi­giani Gelato University in Bologna, Italy, in 2009, and launched Il Gelato in 2010.

No matter what happens at the competition, Koeppenkastrop sees his participation, and the presence of local products in his gelato, as a win for Hawaii.

"It’s a nice way to pre­sent what we have in Hawaii to the culinary world," he said.

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Il Gelato Hawaii has a gelato bar, or gelateria, at Kahala Mall, open during mall hours. Call Il Gelato at 542-9276 or visit ilgelato-hawaii.com.