Just back from Italy and I have been so lucky to enjoy delicious ‘gelato’ in all flavours, back home and a local company who makes the most indulgent of ice creams is right on our door step!
I was introduced to Simply Ice Cream about 5 years ago through Tonbridge Farmers Markets. Since then we have done lots of food and drink festivals together and I have been using their delicious ice cream for many of my workshops and events. Back in June, I organised my ‘Gin Inspired’ supper club and was thrilled when Simply Ice Cream agreed to make a gin and tonic sorbet for that evening. The delicious sorbet went down extremely well with my supper club members and guests.
Simply ice cream launched in October 2005 at a local craft market. At the beginning they had just a few flavours honeycomb, chocolate and strawberry. In 2006 they were in a few local farm shops and by 2008 they hit the shelves of Waitrose, Co-op and Morrisons to name a few! Winning over 34 great taste awards for their ice creams and sorbets and with 20 retail flavours, I really enjoyed my recent visit to where it all happens… listen to my podcast here, chatting to Sally Newell, owner of Simply ice cream.
What I love about Simply Ice Cream is that they are ‘big enough’ to be supplying to Waitrose and lots of other supermarkets but they are small enough to make a bespoke batch of ice cream or sorbet for a special celebration or event. As mentioned the gin and tonic sorbet, Pimms made for NFU Mutual, and my favourite a mandarin, lime and basil sorbet for Jo Molone. Simply Ice Cream is all made in one kitchen in their beautiful buildings in Bonnington, Kent. I watched as the ‘women in white coats’ hand scooped each pot with care and attention. In one day they would fill at approx 3000 small pots, by hand, favourite flavours – vanilla, brown bread, and mint chocolate chip. When I asked about what made them different, Sally Newell, owner of Simply Ice Cream explained to me other companies make their ice cream in huge machines and would not use more than 10-20% cream. This sort of batch processing pumps a lot of air in to ice cream too (you would never know), for example something like Mr. Whippy has 50% air in! Simply Ice Cream use 50% double cream in all their ice cream flavours, if this was put in a machine it would churn into butter very quickly, so has to be done by hand – so handmade, hand whisked and hand potted, creating the most indulgent product in our market. Watch their video here: https://youtu.be/8wPPJM5_H3A
At last the heat is on and so perfect time for eating and making ice cream… making a savoury ice cream which I have tried before but originally eaten on the beach at a Spanish cafe. Its parmesan but a salad dressing so it gradually melts over the salad it is served on – absolutely delicious and I am pleased we are hot enough today, to have a go!