National Ice Cream Day July 21

Happy National Ice Cream Day 

Ronald Reagan designated July 15, 1984 as National Ice Cream Day.  Today we celebrate this special holiday on the third Sunday in July.  

Tim Horton's Cold Stone Creamery is giving away free ice cream at 2pm to the first 200 guests.

In the news...

CBC radio- Canada Agriculture Museum is hosting a big ice cream festival. 

Business Insider- believes the best flavour of ice cream  is Mint Chocolate Chip.  What do you think?  One of our judges would give that honour to Black Currant. 

Home County and Homemade Ice Cream

We visit Home County Music and Art Festival and try Homemade European Ice Cream.  Will it taste different from mass produced ice cream?  How will it rate?  Find out as Chris, Lynne and Jeff judge M&R Orchards Homemade ice cream.  


The Rating: 

	Chris	Lynne	Jeff
Taste	Irish Whiskey    4.5 Blue Sky           3.5 Chocolate          3 Avg                    3.7	Irish Whiskey    4.5 Blackcurrant      5 Chocolate          3.5 Avg                    4.3	Irish Whiskey      3 Vanilla                 3 Avg                       3
Appearance	4.5	4	4
Value	4	5	4
Customer Service	4	4	5
Ambiance	4	5	3
Total	20.2/25	22.3/25	19/25

Comments:

• Blackcurrant was delicious- tart on the tongue
• Whiskey Cream was smooth and mellow
• Blue Sky tasted like icing 
• Customer Services was high- vendor knew about product and answered questions about flavours
• Appearance of product was excellent- the small consisted of 3 small scoops of ice cream, very colourful 
• The special consisted of 2 scoops, whip cream and choice of sauce; however the sauce may have taken away from the flavours of the ice cream 
• Price of ice cream was excellent $3.50 for 3 scoops in a waffle cone

The Score: 

M&R is awarded 82.1% or 4 scoops out of 5. 

Angelo's Gelato Bar

Today for the ice cream blog, we visit Angelo's and experience Gelato.  For those of you don't know, Gelato is an Italian word for ice cream.  It is made with milk cream, sugars and fresh fruit.  Unlike traditional ice cream, Gelato contains little or no air.

Here is a look at the delicious Gelato displayed at Angelo's. 

So the big question- how does it compare to traditional ice cream and frozen yogurt.  Let's find out.  Each of the judges today get two scoops and two flavours.

The Rating:

	Jeff	Lynne	Chris	Elinore
Flavour	Vanilla Mixed Berry	Peach Chocolate	Tiramisu Chocolate	Stratwberry Peach
Taste	4	5	4.5	5
Appearance	4	5	5	5
Value	4	4	4	4
Customer Service	4	5	5	5
Ambiance	4	4	4	4
Total	20/25	23/25	22.5/25	23/25

Comments:

• The appearance of the Gelato display is a work of art; bright colours, swirls, cookies and fruit
• Chunks of Peach give the Gelato that extra taste 
• All the gelato we tasted  seemed to be more flavourful than regular ice cream, and the majority of us thought it was better than frozen yogurt.  
• Customer service was superb; the server noticed we were having difficulty making a decision on what to get; She suggested trying a couple of flavours
• The cost is a little on the higher side; costing $3.99 for two regular scoops 

The Score: 

Angelo's is awarded a rating of 88.5% or

4 scoops out of 5

Marketplace Ice Cream

Market Place Ice Cream 

at a Night to Remember Bed and Breakfast

Today we visit Lexington (Michigan) and try the ice cream at Market Place.  Located on Main Street in Lexington, this location offers the old fashioned ice cream parlor setting next to an Antique Shop and Night to Remember B&B

The Rating:

	Jeff	Lynne	Chris
Flavour	Almond Joy	Michigan Black Bear	Mackinac Fudge
Taste	3	5	4
Appearance	5	5	4
Value	5	4	4
Customer Service	5	4	4
Ambiance	4	5	4
Total	22/25	23/25	20/25

Comments:

• Unique Flavours such as Michigan Black Bear (a blend of Cherry and Chocolate)
• The Almond Joy Flavour had very few almonds
• Mackinac Fudge had lots of chocolate fudge
• Cute store with depression glass and an old fashioned ice cream parlour feeling
• Nice Patio and Gardens 

The Score:

Market Place is awarded a rating of 86.7% or

4 scoops out of 5

Kiwi Kraze

The New Ice Cream Season Begins- 1st Stop: Kiwi Kraze 

It is time again for the Best Ice Cream Challenge.  Last year the winner was Moo Moo's (in Strathroy).  Who will win this year?  We will have to wait and see.

To launch the new ice cream season (and in association with One Day) we visit Kiwi Kraze.  We have a number of guest judges on this visit- including Leanne, Hayley and Layton. Once again we go to Kiwi Kraze on Tuesday for their 2 for 1 special.

The Rating: 

	Jeff	Lynne	Elinore	Chris
Taste	4	5	5	4
Appearance	5	5	5	4
Value	4	4	NR	3
Customer Service	4	4	4	4
Ambiance	3	4	3	3
Total	20/25	22/25	17/20	18/25

	Susan	Leanne	Hayley	Layton
Taste	5	5	5	5
Appearance	5	5	5	5
Value	4	4	NR	NR
Customer Service	4	4	4	4
Ambiance	4	4	4	4
Total	22/25	22/25	18/20	18/20

Comments:

• It was too crowded because of the 2 for 1 deal
• The Air Conditioning was also too cold for a number of our judges
• The cost remains high- without the 2 for 1 deal our average cost would have been $7 each
• They need to work hard to lower the price and provide customers with a better value; perhaps offering certain toppings free (hot fudge, whip cream basic sprinkles etc..) that the customer can put on after paying. 
• They should build a patio, so people can enjoy their frozen yogurt outside 

The Score:

Kiwi Kraze is awarded a rating of 84.9% or 

4 scoops out of 5