Frozen Assets

Having accumulated over 50 awards for their innovative ice-cream flavours, chilled English brothers Chow and Alex Mezger – joint managing directors of UK-based Jude’s Ice Cream – are sharing their secrets in Jude’s Ice Cream & Desserts – scoops, bakes, shakes and sauces

- Patience Gumbo-chimbetete

Chow and Alex Mezger grew up on a small, run-down farm with an old barn that their dad, Theo, converted into an ice-cream dairy. He started the ice-cream business as a hobby in 2002, then the whole family joined in, including mum, Jude, after whom the brand is named. Though she worked as a nurse, Jude had a cookery certificate from Le Cordon Bleu, which hung on her kitchen wall to prove her cooking prowess. “Food was a big part of our lives while growing up and we have distinct memories of the various ice creams our mum used to make,” Chow and Alex reminisce. “We particularly remember her favourite flavours, banana and blackberry, which she served in a retro 1980s mould and sliced with a knife.”

Today, the brothers are the ones who come up with interesting flavours, such as their Limited Edition Black Coconut ice cream, which they say was born out of a will to create something that looks and tastes amazing using all parts of the coconut – the flavour is coconut milk and the black colour is vegetable carbon made from burnt coconut husks.

According to the brothers, Jude’s was the first ice-cream company in Britain to launch a salted caramel flavour and it has been their bestseller ever since, with vanilla – which they make with clotted cream from the West Country in England – coming in second.

With some of Jude’s ice-cream recipes lacking a custard base, Chow and Alex explain they want to educate people on interesting and creative techniques for making this age-old treat. “There is no right or wrong way of making ice cream, so we want to encourage people to try different methods and decide what they prefer,” they expound.