It seems like some individuals are interested in transitioning from make-it-at-home ice cream to the profession. I'm extremely passionate right now, perhaps more than ever--we're gearing up for our 32nd season. I figured what better way to feed my excitement than to pass a bit of the process on to /r/icecreamery, thereby letting those individuals looking to make the jump in on a bit of the process of opening a shop for the season.
Two weeks ago we transitioned from solely making batches of ice cream for retail grocers and began focusing on prepping the shop for opening day. I figured I'd discuss a bit about that process for us, and I bet in the writing of this post I'll flesh some things out for myself at the same time.
I always keep a rough estimate on the date of opening day. It is usually a Friday, near the end of March or very early April, and I try to make sure it's very nice weather. This way we start out with a bang and then we tend to get the word out quickly that we're open. This year I had my heart set on April 3, but I believe we'll open on the 1st as the weather has been quite nice already. Any earlier than that and we'll be behind from the get-go and that's no way to start the season--I always feel like I'm chasing to catch up.
So, two weeks ago I filled our retail location to the brim (about 2-3 weeks worth of quarts) and began focusing on readying the shop. This entails lots of cleaning, organization, and small projects that will help streamline the operation this spring. I'm changing out the waterline to the dip well to a wider pipe to allow for more water at a lower pressure, thereby limiting the splashing. There will be painting, rebuilding picnic tables, a roof exhaust fan replacement, and other minor repairs. I'm really looking forward to a small woodworking project creating a new sign logo for our building.
Two days ago it was 70 degrees so I spent it in the yard removing winter debris and preparing for customers and our spring flowers. It was one of those guilty days where I know if I were the customer I'd be yearning for some ice cream!
A week ago I made a couple huge orders to our two distributors. All of the toppings, nuts, cream, paper products, and various food items arrived late last week. Yesterday I placed an order for new ceiling tiles for the kitchen, registers, a cash box, an industrial immersion blender, and three new waffle cone makers(YES!).
The last three days, and following eleven, are dedicated to making ice cream for the shop. I'll be making 2.5 gallon buckets for scooping and quarts for take-home sales. Each day's ice cream is decided upon by it's difficulty and which ice creams "flow" into one another. Quantities are defined solely by the amount that will fit in our blast freezer each day. Therefore a day where only one ice cream is made is done so due to the large demand for that particular ice cream. Other days where there are multiple ice creams made, there is less demand for that flavor. I'll elaborate on my schedule for making ice cream and if anyone has any questions I'm happy to answer.
March 14th: Wedding Cake & Blue Moon
15th: Mint bases
16th: Vanilla
17th: Vanilla bases
18th: Chocolate & Chocolate bases
19th: Butter Pecan
20th: Salty Caramel Cashew (most popular)
21st: Strawberry, Banana Cream Pie, more vanilla bases
22nd: Coffee bases
23rd: Praline Pecan, Toffee & Fudge
24th: Maple Bacon, Black Cherry
25th: More chocolate bases, Muddy Mint
26th: Coconut, Oatmeal Cookie, Cheesecake bases
27th: More Salty Caramel Cashew
28th: Sorbet
I'm leaving myself the final three days to complete any projects I've yet to finish (I've got a list that has been going since last summer), polish up the look and feel of the shop, and, if there is time, a day to add more ice cream to the holding freezer. I'll do preventative maintenance on all of our refrigerators freezers by blowing out the condensers. We'll have to make waffle cones, get the various toppings and cups into place,
This time of year I can't help but remember what it was like to be a kid on the first day of school. There is so much opportunity for the upcoming 8-9 months and I can't wait until my team is back in the building and we're serving the locals again.
edit: and as a shameless plug (Mods feel free to have me remove this) I'm telling the #behindthescenes of opening this year on our social media. Facebook (dairyhausrockton) or Twitter, Instagram, & Snapchat @ Dairyhaus
Submitted March 18, 2015 at 11:58AM by icecreamman99 http://ift.tt/1EuWoJV icecreamery
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