I have what you may call a minor obsession with ice cream, I will eat it anytime, anywhere. So when John Reece, owner of Scooped Ice Cream, asked if I (along with fellow Dish writer Amy Strauss) wanted to spend a day making ice cream with him, we were there faster than it takes to scream for ice cream.
After John lost his job in retail, he and his wife decided they wanted to create something new. After researching and doing to a lot of taste-testing in the ice cream world, they bought a beautiful house from the 1800s in Chester Springs. John’s wife, Liz, set out to design the logo and decorate the store to replicate an old-fashioned ice cream parlor, while John started creating designer ice creams, sorbets and gelati.
Walking into their Chester Springs location, you feel as though a friend has invited you into their home for ice cream and coffee (they have a coffee bar in the back, freshly stocked with One Village Coffee). After two years, their gourmet dessert heaven was going so well, they decided to open a second location in West Chester last July.
John’s ice cream inspiration came from family trips. “I have always loved consuming ice cream like most people,” he said. “My son worked in a place in Virginia that made their own stuff. It was open for about 30 years and it was such a family destination. It had such a tremendous, feel-good vibe and I thought, ‘That’s what I want to do when I get old’.”
John has truly created an ice cream community of his very own. Every day, he is talking to new organizations about charity events and his “dimes to donate” program. New flavors that are churned out all the time are inspired by his customers. Main Line Today just named Scooped Ice Cream “Best of Main Line — Ice Cream” for the second year in a row.
His ice creams and gelati have found their way into Katie Cavuto Boyle’s (“Food Network Star”) Healthy Bites in Philly and the Philadelphia Phillies Clubhouse. John has designed ice cream for a Flyers’ team dinner (creamsicle with chocolate chunks) and a Cindy Rogers’ Golden Retriever Rescue (Golden Dream Cream — a caramel base with caramel swirl and chocolate chunks).
Every weekend, Scooped Ice Cream hosts a “Make Your Own” birthday party for little kids (or kids at heart). During these cool parties, birthday hosts get to pick a flavor and party attendees make ice cream alongside John. Partygoers receive a fresh pint as a parting gift and parents don’t have to worry about clean up! The ice cream making parties are not just limited to birthdays, they are a great team building activity for any group.
Scooped Ice Cream offers traditional flavors as well as flavors with followings like Cookie Monster (cookie dough and Oreos in a vanilla ice cream dyed blue), Pumpkin Pie, Caramel Sea Salt, Banana Chip, Caramel Stout and Maple with Candied Bacon (coming soon). Any of Scooped’s smooth and creamy ice creams and 12 toppings are a perfect way to cool off on a hot summer’s day.
When it comes to his ingredients, John refuses to settle for anything less then the best. Ice cream supplies come from an organic farm co-op in the Niagara Valley and his supplies for his gelati and sorbets come from an organic farm in Lancaster County. His gelati and sorbets are 100% organic and his ice creams are organic (but the toppings are not). To top off his creations, he uses the finest chocolates and nuts from around the world.
As soon you walk through Scooped Ice Cream’s doorway, there is a lingering aroma of fresh waffle cones. John’s day begins with twirling together a large batch of waffle cones to keep up with his customers’ demand. After removing the waffle from the press, John rolls the fresh cones by hand (he prefers this method over using a roller) within seconds.
The actual ice cream making process takes only about 15 minutes per flavor. We tested out a new flavor using Lindemans Framboise Lambic (aka an amazing Belgian beer that is like drinking straight raspberries). After John mixed together the lambic, his homemade vanilla, a raspberry base and milk mixture, he poured the ingredients into the machine. The fast-cooling machine churns the ice cream at a rapid pace and it was ready within a matter of minutes.
When John poured the freshly made ice creams into frozen gallon containers, the consistency was similar to soft serve. He folds in any toppings to his products afterward and puts them in the freezer overnight.
John currently makes all of the ice creams, gelati and sorbets for both locations at his Chester Springs store, making eight to 12 different flavors each day. He makes a minimum of two tubs per flavor per store and he is lucky if they last through the weekend.
When John isn’t making ice cream or at his full time job, he can be found making multiple runs to grocery stores and banks, grabbing a bite to eat a Penn’s Table location and transporting ice cream from his Chester Springs to West Chester store (he has been doing it more frequently because the West Chester customers clear out the cases every day).
View more scenes from our day of ice cream making by clicking here.
