We were shown a short film at the Cow Over The Moon Theatre (the Waterbury factory has their own mini theatre) on how Ben & Jerry became buddies and started their ice cream empire. The film gave us a behind the scenes look at how Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield started their ice cream business – in an old gas station in Burlington - oh so many years ago in 1978. It was then that the journey to be socially and environmentally conscious started and continues from their factory floor all the way up to their headquarters today.
As honorary bloggers we were allowed to snap pictures of the factory floor in motion (below.) The factory visit is a must for families and youngsters alike. Personally, I think it's really cool to see how every thing comes together - the ice cream, the swirls, the chunks… my fat behind….
After our tour, the moment I had been waiting for was about to happen. The bloggers were ushered into a conference room / cafeteria. We sat. We waited. And then it happened. Our Ben & Jerry's hosts brought out pints and pints of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Among the new flavours we sampled were: Boston Cream Pie, Dulce Delish, Mud Pie, Peanut Brittle and one of my newest favourites – Milk & Cookies.
Let’s talk flavours: Boston Cream Pie is delicious. It contains a Boston Cream Pie ice cream (obviously) packed with yellow cake pieces, fudge flakes and yummy swirls of pastry cream. Dulce Delish is another top contender. It’s fused with caramel ice cream and dark caramel swirls – it truly is divine. Mud Pie is a good one for coffee lovers. With chocolate and coffee liqueur ice creams swirled together, and a chocolate cookie swirl, this flavour is sure to be a hit. It's much more fun to consume than a plain old, boring cup of coffee.
Peanut Brittle is also heavenly – The ice cream is a mix of peanut brittle pieces and caramel swirls. It’s salty, rich and packs a lot of punch in the flavour department. I almost wish the marketing peeps had gone with the flavour’s other, slightly more risqué title, Peanuts Envy. Guess they just didn’t have the nuts… Despite the tame name, Peanut Brittle is another flavour to look out for.
Now, I warn you, Cookie-Dough lovers, Milk & Cookies is a flavour that gives Cookie-Dough (my used-to-be-favourite) a run for its money. It's a vanilla based ice cream with a chocolate cookie swirl, packed with chocolate chips and chocolate-chip cookies chunks. Trust us, it's going to be the newest flavour girls eat out of the carton during a weekend of sappy movies and pedicures. It's THAT good.
Other new flavours included a limited edition selection. Chocowlate Chip – a fair trade certified vanilla ice cream with fudge cows, is apparently only available at the scoop shops. Flourless Chocolate Cake - which I would like to point out was the object of almost everyone's desire – is made with chocolate ice cream, pieces of flourless chocolate cake and a chocolate frosting swirl. It's only available at Walmart so you best get there early in the morning to avoid the crazy rush.
The next limited edition flavour we had was Olympic medalist Hannah Teter’s Maple Blondie – a maple ice cream with blonde brownie chunks and a maple caramel swirl. The last of the American flavours is Snickerdoodle Cookie. It’s made with buttery ice cream and jammed with an almost crazy amount Snickerdoodle cookies. It’s a rich one, but anyone with a wicked sweet tooth will love it.
The bad news? Some of these flavours are only available in the United States. The good news? I got to try all of them… including the new Canadian flavours. Among the Canadian options was We Are Waffling. The flavour, which has a vanilla base, is packed with fudge-covered waffle cone pieces and chocolate swirls and it’s just as tasty as it sounds. Caramel Hat Trick is another delightful Canadian treat. It's a flavour that encompasses all that is caramel awesomeness: Caramel ice cream, a swirl of caramel and finally, fudge covered caramel chunks. Chocolate Macadamia and Milk and Cookies rounds out the last of the new Canadian flavours. Inside the Chocolate Macadamia pint you can find chocolate and vanilla ice creams loaded with fudge-covered macadamias. Lastly, as I so enthusiastically mentioned before, Milk and Cookies is one of the best. Even slightly better than Cookie dough…
One of the highlights of being part of Bloggerpalooza was tasting the ice cream straight off the production line (above.) This is Ben & Jerry's at it's best. The ice cream hasn't been frozen yet and is just freshly made. The creaminess and explosive flavours are enough to knock you right out of your chair. I nearly fell off my chair a couple of times. If you ask any one of the workers what their favourite ice cream is, they’ll all answer something different but unanimously finish their answers with, "off the line”.
After a couple of hours of very hard work taste-testing all these new flavours I was exhausted - mainly because I had just stuffed myself full with ice cream, and was experiencing an epic sugar crash. Despite needing a nap, the group trucked on.
Next up: Ben & Jerry's head office. The office walls were brightly painted and abstractly positioned. They have a slide (yes, an actual playground slide), a gym and a breast-feeding room for new moms called "The Milky Way.” They also have a series of meeting rooms named after some of their ice cream flavours. Oh, and in case you're too stressed from all the ice cream talk, they also have a massage room. Employees can bring their dogs to work and are allowed to bring THREE pints of ice cream home each day.
One of the best experiences was getting to make our very own Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavours. We met the amazing flavour creators behind Ben & Jerry's ice cream and they even gave a us a crash course on how to make our own special batch. We all had great ones, but my Brownie Bonanza, which included vanilla ice cream with salty caramel swirls and three kinds of brownies, was pretty awesome. While our ice cream froze we visited the headquarters’ Scoop U. It's a training camp, if you will, for all scoop shop owners where we learned how to scoop up the perfect 3 oz scoop. Surprisingly, it’s not as easy as you might think.
In the end, it was a fantabulous experience. Not only is Ben & Jerry's ice cream premium quality stuff, but the people who work there are equally incredible. For more info on their ice cream, their mission and their history visit Benjerry.ca
Contest Alert: As of yesterday, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream lovers can be part of Ben & Jerry’s History. How you ask? Well, Ben & Jerry’s Canada are giving consumers the chance to rename the flavour We Are Waffling. Previously known as Americone Dream, a flavour by Stehan Colbert, Canadians will get the chance to find a name that fits this delish flavour... the Canadian way. You can submit your ideas on their Ben & Jerry’s Canada Facebook Page. Once the submissions are in, the best suggestions will be available for everyone to vote on. Winners will win a year's supply of the newly named icecream and get to see their name on pints and pints of icecream. Cool, huh?! Stay tuned!
Photos by: Stephanie Im, Lick My Spoon