Caroline Davies, 37, makes St Joan’s Artesan Dairy Ice Cream on the Reigate farm where she lives with her husband David, 37, an environmental scientist, their son Owen, three, and Caroline’s parents, Christine and Colin
What’s special about the ice cream from St Joan’s Farm? You can’t get any fresher – from cow to freezer in under an hour. We make Artesan-style dairy ice cream, which was originally devised in Italy. It takes a blend of milk and cream and produces an amazingly smooth and rich texture without being heavy or overly sweet.
What’s the diff erence between ice cream and dairy ice cream? Ice cream can be made from almost anything, but the most common ingredient is vegetable oil. That’s why, by law, it’s called ‘ice cream’ not ‘dairy ice cream’. We add a blend of sugars and other natural ingredients. Everything we use is of a natural origin and completely free from any artifi cial colours.
How did you get into the ice-cream business? About eight years ago, milk prices dropped and so we needed to diversify. There wasn’t anyone making ice cream in Surrey and I knew we could set up quickly. I self-fi nanced and did all the research, then taught myself how to actually make the dairy ice cream. The main piece of equipment I had to buy was my big ice-cream maker. It pasteurises the milk then pumps it through to the freezer.
Did you have any major setbacks? No, but it took quite a bit of experimentation to get the fl avours right. The mint choc chip either tasted of nothing or extremely strong toothpaste. Now it’s one of our best sellers.
What other fl avours do you do? We do lots of diff erent fl avours. As well as the classic vanilla, we also make strawberry, chocolate, toff ee fudge, coff ee, rum & raisin, chocolate chip, the mint choc chip, of course, lemon, pistachio, coconut, raspberry, diabetic vanilla and honey & ginger. We even made a Christmas-pudding fl avour in the winter.
Do you eat lots of ice cream yourself? Funnily enough, I don’t eat a lot of ice cream. My favourite is the toff ee fudge, but I don’t have it every day. Owen has just learnt where the freezer is and he understands that Mum and Dad make
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dairy ice cream. I think he’ll be popular at school when he’s older.
Tell us about your cows… The dairy ice cream is made from ten cows: seven Friesians, two Guernseys and one Dairy Shorthorn, though there are 60 animals on the farm in total. St Joan’s Farm cows are relaxed because they are milked on demand in a state-of-the- art automated milking parlour. They amble in when they are ready. It makes the girls very contented. All the cows wear a collar, which identifi es them so the computer can then give them the right amount of food and check that they’re well. We use low-intensity farming methods, free of growth promoters, artifi cial hormones and stimulants. This way it’s natural for the cows, better for the environment and healthier for humans.
Where can we buy it? We sell directly to the public at fairs, fêtes and farmers’ markets. Lots of pubs and restaurants use our ice cream as additions to their own desserts. We get asked for lots of chocolate for use with chocolate brownies and strawberry and vanilla are popular. I love building up a rapport with clients and chefs so I can give them exactly what they need.
Is working and living on a farm as wonderful as it seems? I’ve been brought up with farming, but even I realise that it is pretty special. I worked full time as an environmental scientist and although I work long hours, this is more rewarding. We look straight out onto the North Downs, so it’s very pretty. Owen has loads of space to run around. I’m also lucky enough to work with an old school friend, Joanne Fenton, who helps me out. She’s a godsend.
What’s for the future? Dairy ice cream is what keeps the farm going and I’m proud of that. We hope to expand, mostly by word of mouth. As much as I try to go out and promote what we do, I never get the same results as people simply telling their friends how delicious the ice cream is. Having someone buy the dairy ice cream on a recommendation means a huge amount to us.
Mixing milk and cream
From cow to freezer in under and hour
buy on a‘Having someone recommendation means a huge amount to us’
St. Joan’s Farm Dairy, Flanchford Road, Leigh, Reigate, Surrey RH2 8RD 01306 611688
saintjoansfarm.com
JULY 2011 77
ONE TO WATCH
PHOTOGRAPHS: Martin and Jess Reftel Evans
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