Meet Northern Bloc: The Company Putting Ice Cream Back on the Menu
As much as we all love ice cream, it’s hard to deny that it’s a dessert that has been long neglected, plopped inelegantly on top of a cone, or entirely relegated to the children’s pudding options on the restaurant menu.
Yet an independent Leeds-based company has dedicated themselves to putting ice cream back on the menu, through re-inventing luxury ice cream as we know it to create a host of ‘natural ice cream’ flavours that have captured the attention of discerning chefs and fine restaurants nationwide. Meet Northern Bloc, who really do believe that Ice Cream is Good for You.
Get the scoop on natural ice cream
Born out of a nostalgic love for ice cream, yet shaped by a passion for high quality and innovation, Northern Bloc ice cream is unlike typical ice cream in that it does not use any artificial ingredients, whether to stabilise or emulsify their ice cream or to give it colour or flavour.
Made only with natural and fine quality ingredients, Northern Bloc is truly ‘natural ice cream’ which not only offers a distinctive clean taste and smooth texture, but is also low in sugar and fat. After a successful beginning making small batches of ice cream for local Leeds restaurants and selling to the public from a vintage ice cream van, Josh Lee and his fellow founders of Northern Bloc recruited an Italian ice cream chef, Manolo Imperatori, to take their creations to the next level.
“Our chef is a world ice cream champion, with over 100 years of family history and innovation behind him”, Josh told us. “He’s a scientist and what we doesn’t know about ice cream isn’t worth knowing about! Every day he is studying our ice cream down to the molecular level and he’s leading the way for the future of ice cream.”
Capturing attention with traditional ice cream flavours done well
Steering clear of novelty ice cream flavours, Northern Bloc celebrate traditional favourites whilst giving them a contemporary twist with flavour combinations not found anywhere else. Flavours such as White Chocolate & Popcorn, Chocolate & Sea Salt and Ginger Caramel have been carefully created using only natural ingredients to be delectable desserts in their own right, yet also complement hot and cold puddings and cakes. Due to their unique texture, they’re easy to scoop right out of the freezer too – a welcome relief for busy dessert chefs and waiting staff everywhere.
“Ice cream should never just be an emergency dessert that gets iced to the back of your freezer.” says Josh. “It should be a first choice dessert. Whilst ice cream will always be a good accompaniment to a pudding - you can’t beat a hot brownie with a scoop of our Bourbon Vanilla Ice Cream! - we specifically make these interesting, stand-out flavours such as Hazelnut & Tonka Bean and Strawberry & Black Pepper that have complex but balanced flavour notes that simply stand out on their own.”
This has helped Northern Bloc to capture the attention of not just ice cream loving members of the public, but also several high end restaurants who, like Josh, recognised the market gap and demand for simply a better quality of ice cream.
“We tend to get really good reactions from chefs about our flavour combinations, as there’s no repetition in the marketplace - apart from our exceptional vanilla! Several chefs who previously made their own ice cream have even switched to using ours due to the high quality of our product.”
He continues, “The demand for a better quality product is] across all food and drink - take the current popularity of craft beer, and speciality small batch roasted coffee. People are seeking the best products and independent products are becoming more easily available, and therefore have become a viable option against the traditional mass-produced brands that have previously dominated the market place.
“The general public are taking more of an interest in food and their health. What people put in their bodies is becoming more important. That’s why with Northern Bloc we not only wanted to make a luxury ice cream, but a luxury ice cream that is all natural.”
When asked about their tagline, ‘Ice Cream is Good for You’, Josh explains how it sums up the philosophy of Northern Bloc and why they’re spearheading the natural ice cream trend: “Ice cream is and always should be a treat. Ice cream makes you feel good and makes every situation better. But a treat doesn’t have to be bad for you!”
Find everything for perfect ice cream presentation at Lockhart Catering Equipment
Time to put luxury and natural ice cream at the front and centre of your dessert menu? From ice cream scoops to sundae dishes, spoons and stylish ice cream bowls, at Lockhart Catering Equipment you’ll find everything you need for cool ice cream presentation.
Take a look at pages 60-61 of our brand new Look Book to discover more inspiring and on-trend ways to serve up your ice cream menu.
Do you agree that ice cream should be a dessert in its own right, and how would you serve it? Have you noticed any ice cream trends that we should be looking out for? Leave us a comment below or join the conversation @BunzlLockhart
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