10th June 2019

JOIN THE CLUB

In my youth all we had were Chess and Computer Clubs (I was rubbish at both) but these days things are much more interesting with Supper clubs, Wine clubs, Gin clubs and even Chocolate clubs popping up all over the place. Although I am yet to find a Prosecco club (come on someone …) I think I may have found the next best thing …. an Ice-cream club.

Creamo’s is a craft ice cream company operating from Ashburton in South Devon. Every month Matai and Rachel create two unique flavours and announce them to their merry band of followers online. And here’s the best bit – they will then deliver them … to your door. Before you get excited, they only deliver to the local Ashburton area at the moment but thankfully they also have a shop so I made the trip up there to sample some for myself … you’re welcome …

Creamo’s is a delightful little place tucked down the end of St Lawrence Lane, and although the Ice-cream Club has actually been running for a few years the shop has only been open a couple of weeks. But word seems to have gotten around already and even on a showery Saturday the place had a constant stream of happy customers. Decked out quite simply the real work happens down one end where Matai makes his creations but lets be honest everyone makes a bee line for the ice-cream cabinet where a range of 8 tempting flavours await.

As some of you may know when hubby and I first moved down to Devon we made and sold ice-cream from a little shop in Dartmouth called The Good Intent. Having just left the NHS where my job was to promote healthy eating the irony wasn’t lost on our friends, who very quickly dubbed us Mr & Mrs Whippy ! It’s a joyous thing to watch milk and cream churning away to emerge thick and luxurious, but our favourite job by far was inventing new flavours. We were most proud of our Devon Cream Tea variety: a delectable custardy base with a ripple of jam running through and chunks of scone folded in. No more arguments about what goes on top – cream or jam – we just mixed it all together!! A less successful experiment was our Baked Beans on Toast creation developed for the Dartmouth Food Festival’s Guess the Mystery Flavour Competition … it never made it into the shop but a surprising number of people guessed it correctly.

Thankfully no such bizarre flavours have made it into Creamo’s cabinet. On the day I visited the colourful range included Burnt caramel, Peach neopolitan, Chocolate, pineapple & rum and Elderflower, lemon & caramel ripple plus of course the nation’s favourite – Vanilla. Sitting alongside were an intriguing selection of popsicles flavoured with Strawberry, yogurt & honey and Melon & basil. And if you are vegan you don’t have to miss out either as there’s always a few dairy free options available. And that’s the real beauty of Creamo’s : Matai loves to play around with flavour combinations and is able to make small batches so that each week the selection on offer is different.

After a little tasting session (!) I plumped for the Elderflower, lemon & caramel ripple as it was an intriguing combination. The ice cream itself was deliciously creamy and I loved the sharp bursts of flavour that popped through from the lemon and elderflower. Feeling that I shouldn’t let hubby miss out I also took home a tub of the Chocolate, pineapple & run which we enjoyed with fresh raspberries and a welsh cake ! I think chocolate has to be my favourite flavour but I’m all too often disappointed – but not this time. Rich, dark and decadent I loved the added crunch from the shards of toasted coconut. Just “wow”.

It’s great to see a young couple embark on a new business venture and it’s clear that they have a product to be proud of and the enthusiasm and passion to make it a success… even the horses agree …