Blogs
It’s National ice cream month! One of our favourite awareness months and although this year’s heatwave might not be on the same level as last year, come rain or shine, we are always in the mood for an ice cream.
We catch up with one of our clients, Jefferson’s Ice Cream to talk all things ice cream. Jefferson’s are based in Balham, London and have created a beautiful family friendly café, a far cry from your average ice-cream parlour. From ice-cream (obviously), to organic tea and coffee, to pastries it’s the perfect place for a catch up with friends. Jefferson’s ensure intolerances are catered for and use organic milk and only natural colours and flavourings. They are also conscious of reducing their environmental impact, using locally sourced supplies and providing guests with 100% recyclable cups.
Jefferson’s was founded by Christopher and Celine Thompson. Christopher tells us a bit more about their business:
What are your top five best sellers?
“Best Chocolate Ever, Sea Salt Caramel, Vanilla Honeycomb, Caramel Popcorn and Vanilla Bourbon – one for the adults only!”
How do you manage selling such a seasonal product?
“We offer several delicious warming food items to complement our Glorious ice cream, including waffles, sammies (ice cream in a toasted vegan brioche), hot chocolate floats, and teas and coffees which are a very significant part of our business. However, ice cream itself is a joyful experience whatever the weather, which is exactly how our US and Europe cousins see it, it is only in the UK we see ice cream as a seasonal product, yet we drink cold drinks all year round! We have designed the shop as a warm inviting environment, a delightful oasis whatever the weather.”
Can you tell us about a new flavour you are introducing soon?
“We introduce guest flavours every month, and we’ve recently had Eton Mess on the menu, which was our take on the iconic British pudding combining a French custard ice cream with a Strawberry and Pomegranate ice cream, then adding homemade meringue and finished with whipped cream on top - yum. Currently we’re serving Pride of Unicorns, beautifully presented in rainbow colours (all-natural ingredients though in keeping with our ethos!), to celebrate Pride Month. Our next guest flavour is a bit of a traditional favourite – Pistachio. We’ll be having a vote with our customers whether to make it permanent at the end of the month, although that means another favour will have to be voted out!”
Where did the passion/idea come from to set up an ice-cream shop?
“Like most good ideas there was no real eureka moment, instead it evolved slowly from a seedling of an idea. Our young son Aidan was suffering from some stomach intolerances, which meant he couldn’t eat several of his favourite treats, of which his absolute favourite was ice cream. So his Mum started experimenting with ice cream at home using a tiny ice cream maker to see if she could make him something fun he could actually eat. Our interest was aroused, and we started visiting ice cream shops and were often disappointed, both by the overall experience (unimaginative décor, average customer service, etc) and the ice cream itself. It’s not that it was all bad, there’s some great ice cream out there, but rarely are the ingredients totally natural or fresh. We felt we could do much better and we were determined to sell ice cream in a warm, welcoming and fun environment with a real focus on the architectural quality of the space, and exceptional customer service, a space that people would love spending time in (we’ve even included a sandpit for kids). At the same time we’ve focused on producing delicious ice cream made from organic milk with natural ingredients, so no artificial flavourings or colourings.”
What’s the most random flavour you do?
“That would have to be Superberry Snickerdoodle, as much for the name as anything! We make delicious snickerdoodles (an American vanilla/cinnamon cookie) and scatter them through our freshly churned raspberry and red berry ice cream. Simply super!”
We hope you have an indulgent day. We can certainly recommend getting your ice cream fix at Jefferson's Ice Cream – don’t forget to let us know your favourite flavour!
