I'm a pretty lucky girl.
Occasionally I'm invited to try remarkable things and travel to even more delightful places as a blogger. When I was invited to spend a couple of days in
The Ice Cream Capital of The World, Le Mars, Iowa, how could I say no? Wells Dairy, the parent company of
Blue Bunny Ice Cream, hosted a 2 day bloggers' summit that took my breath away. Gasp. Swoon. Faint., sure enough.
My partners in crime were four other bloggers from across the country: Pauline of
Classy Chaos, Kristin of
Iowa Girl Eats, Amy of
Selfish Mom and Sahar of
Fat Fighter TV. What a wonderful group! I can't think of a better gang to have shared in this experience. There was lots of laughter (
and a fair amount of winea...but, yes...we're here to talk about ice cream).
We flew into Omaha, Nebraska and then were caravaned two hours away to a delightful little town in what seemed like the middle of nowhere: LeMars, Iowa. It was very sleepy, unpretentious and the people? Oh, the people. It's hard to imagine where I've met so many great personalities.
Thursday was our main tour day. We began with breakfast at
Habitue' Coffeehouse and Creperie, a cafe in the middle of town that is owned by the Wells Family. We enjoyed crepes and coffee before heading off to a tour of the Blue Bunny Plant. What's cool about Habitue' Cafe is that, after expenses, all net proceeds are given to a charity. The staff was so friendly and
the decor was stunning!
After breakfast, we trekked over to Blue Bunny's production facility. Suited up in our nice outfits (don't you love how I popped the collar? Ever the fashionista, y'all...) and MC Hammer-ish safety glasses, we were taken on a tour of the plant....THIS is where the magic happened. We received a soup to nuts tour from two of the plant supervisors who escorted us through every single ingredient, how they are transported, stored and how they begin the life cycle which lends to the great ice cream that we consume.
On this particular day, we were privy to seeing gallons of ice cream being processed and packaged. And let me tell you this: you have NOT lived until you taste an ice cream sandwich that's just off the conveyor belt. So fresh! What was interesting to learn was that the cookies are hard to begin with and soften over time (Why am I this way? Now I want a fresh ice cream sandwich!). After ice cream sandwiches we witnessed the
Jolly Rancher Ice Pop packaging and
Chips Galore Ice Cream Sandwiches,
Strawberry Ice Cream Sundae Crunch Bars and
Orange Dream Bars being born. In a word: Wow!
After the tour, we headed over to lunch where Chef John Kennedy and his assistant prepared a delightful lunch! Get this? We had ice cream for lunch! Every course contained a Blue Bunny Ice Cream. Here is the menu:
- Apertif - Blue Bunny Strawberry Spritzer (Blue Bunny Strawberry Ice Cream, Club Soda and Muddled Mint)
- Amuse Bouche (a new term for me) Citrus Ceviche: Blue Bunny Lemon Sorbet reduction, Prawns, Scallops and Herbs presented on a single-serve spoon
- Summer Salad - Organic Greens, Homemade Croutons, Candied Walnuts, Blood Orange Supremes, Blue Bunny Raspberry Vinaigrette, Fried Maytag (the Fried Maytag was The.Business.)
- Entree - Free Range Chicken from a local farm which was marinated in Blue Bunny Wildberry Sorbet, Herbed Mashed Potatoes, Asparagus, Citrus Buere Blanc and Fried Cabbage
- Dessert - Chocolate Bordeaux, Cherry Cordials, Mint Bites and White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Lollipops
Salivating yet? Right. We nearly needed to be rolled out of the kitchen.
After lunch we spent time with the Insights team where we were introduced to the processes utilized to ascertain consumer behavior. It boiled down to why and how certain people purchased ice cream. We also *gasp* got an opportunity to make our very own ice cream flavors! The Broke Socialite Ice Cream was a vanilla base with salted caramel, chocolate covered nuts, chocolate waffle pieces and Reese's cup pieces. I. Want. It. Again. Now. Our day wrapped with a Blue Bunny's taste testing team which is charged with providing feedback to the Research & Development team from the company when products are changed or added. Sign me up!
I can't say enough about this trip. I am lucky to have been chosen and look forward to my one year of free ice cream. Yes. One year. Sweet. Thanks, Blue Bunny!
*Disclosure of material connection: I have received one or more products or services that are listed above in hopes that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only mention products or services I believe in personally and think might be of interest to my readers.
