The Ice Cream Shakeup Roundup
So as to relieve the inevitable guilt that arises from sitting on your backside drinking beer and eating ice cream all day, this weekend saw Beijingers go head-to-head in the city's most creative ice cream contest – The Ice Cream Shakeup – in aid of promoting and raising funds for The Cleaver Quarterly, a new print magazine aimed at exploring Chinese food around the globe. Read on for a full run-down as to which competitors froze on crunch day and which melted minds.
Given that all entrant ice creams had to have a ‘Chinese’ flavor, those in attendance at The Local on Saturday were treated to an onslaught of original varieties that would make even Ben and Jerry’s insatiable palettes quiver. We’re talking fish head and raisin, chocolate fudge and chuan’r, graft and grape ... ok, not quite, but entries were even more imaginative, if not wholly as disgusting sounding, and included:
Pirate's Delight – Rum raisin goji (Badr Benjelloun, CuJu)
Date Night – Chocolate, Almond and Fig (Jessica Rapp, the Beijinger)
Oatmeal with baijiu-infused goji berries (Ashland Griffin)
Stoutberry Gelato (Jing A and Vivi Dolce)
Purple Yam Yogurt (Vivi Dolce)
Summer in Sichuan – Sichuan pepper, dark chocolate, caramelized goji berries (Jess Y)
White asparagus ice cream praline in hoisin-caramel glaze with millet and sesame (Andreas Block, Fairmont Beijing)
Fig Nut of Your Imagination – Xinjiang figs steeped in tea with ugly orange pulp (almonds optional) frozen yogurt (Marissa Kennedy, Lush)
Five spice, chocolate, cherry and bacon (Dustin Merrett, Home Plate)
Following votes from all tasters, Dave Bob Gaspar of the Brick won the popular vote for his burly Spiked Maple Ice Cream (Beijing beer, maple syrup and baijiu with Laphroaig reduction), while it was Lauren McCarthy with her Comfortably Numb concoction (Orange-Sichuan peppercorn ice cream with chocolate chips) who came out on top for the critic’s vote, a position filled by Mr. Morgan ‘I-do-what-I-want’ Short of SmartBeijing aka a man who appreciates shoving inedible objects down his gullet for the love of his fellow man.
Its inaugural issue launch is penned for May, for which funding is in part accruing through an ongoing Kickstarter campaign. With 16 days to go and with only GBP 334 missing of their GBP 5,000 target, it seems like the team is looking at success. Head on over you foodies to help nudge them over the line.
And now for a glory reel:
Photos: Badr Benjelloun
