Ice Cream of the Gods wins Prestigious Award

Jersey Dairy are in the news again! This year’s Foodservice Equipment Journal (EFJ) winner of the Operator of the Year for Menu Development is Hotel Chocolat, who developed their superlative ‘Ice Cream of the Gods’ soft-serve ice cream using superior quality milk and cream from Jersey Dairy infused with the crushed, roasted nibs of Ghanaian cocoa beans.

The nibs are infused for over 48 hours, during which time the cream becomes a subtle taupe colour while taking on a beautiful malty taste with notes of cocoa; the result is a taste and texture meant to be savoured.

What motivated Hotel Chocolat to do this? They didn’t want to be ordinary. Instead of a predictable chocolate ice cream, they wanted to develop something no-one had ever tasted before, so chef David Demaison started from scratch, experimenting with different beans, milks, creams, infusion times and more. Once they had tried Jersey Dairy cream and milk in the recipe there was no going back, because the ice cream became thicker, smoother and silkier.

Why is it called ‘Ice Cream of the Gods’?

Angus Thirlwell, CEO and Co-Founder of Hotel Chocolat, explains, “We decided to call this recipe the Ice Cream of the Gods, not just for the heavenly flavour notes, but after the name of the cocoa plant itself: Theobroma cacao, which translates literally as ‘cocoa, food of the gods’.”

Is it good for us?

Ice cream should always be seen as a treat, rather than a mainstay for meals, but we can tell you Ice Cream of the Gods is made in accordance with Hotel Chocolat’s mantra, ‘more cocoa, less sugar’.

Look at some popular brands of ice cream and you’ll see that they’re laden with sugar: the worst offender on the market contains 25g per 100ml (at least five teaspoons)! However, like Jersey Dairy ice cream, Ice Cream of the Gods contains less than half that: just 12g. Since sugar is known to dull other flavours, adding less of it lets the robust Ghanaian cocoa and creamy milk from Jersey Dairy sing.

Where can I find this wonderful ice cream?

Jersey Islanders can buy their Ice cream of the Gods from Hotel Chocolat in Queen St, St Helier; for those in the UK it is available in increasing numbers of Hotel Chocolat stores and cafés. Further afield it can also be found in their stores in Denmark, Hong Kong and beyond.

Links

Hotel Chocolat FEJ Award: http://www.foodserviceequipmentjournal.com/fej-awards-2018-winner-operator-year-menu-development/

Hotel Chocolat store finder: https://www.hotelchocolat.com/uk/chocolate-shops