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All photos courtesy of Alexandre Mattar

Post by Dominic Maggiolo, Ottawa food philosopher and blogger on vegetarian food and culture. With his series of exposés on women food entrepreneurs, chefs, bakers and more, he hopes to showcase the wonderful talent here in Ottawa and in the area. Check out other posts in this series or some of Dominic’s other writings on his blog, Le Jeune Gourmand.

“Ice cream is exquisite. What a pity it isn’t illegal.”
Voltaire (Francois Marie Arouet) (1694-1778) - French philosopher.

There couldn’t be a better time to be reading this article. With the heat leaving us sticking to our couches, making cut-offs out of our old pairs of jeans and getting farmers tans, someone in our very own city is churning up a batch of that sweet, sweet (and cold) frozen desert we like to call (or as Mr.Burns might reference it) “iced cream”. Who would of thunk it - A local ice cream girl? That’s right, Pascale, from Pascale’s Ice Cream not only makes her ice cream here in Ottawa, but sticks to the 100 mile diet philosophy while creating said deliciousness. While tasting her ice cream, I could immediately tell that she, without a doubt, pours tons of labor and love into her craft.

Recently, I had a chance to devour some of her ice cream and I couldn’t be any happier. The ice cream didn’t taste like anything I’ve ever had before. My flavor of choice: the 70% chocolate chèvre (in other words, goats cheese chocolate ice cream).

The ice cream had a certain je ne sais quoi to it. The flavorsome-churned cream of the gods was: buttery, smooth in texture, cold and malleable in overall complexity. The subtle hints of milk from the chèvre and cocoa, coats your tongue leaving you feeling like you’ve had some epiphany, some life altering experience, some dazed dream leaving your feeling slightly confused, but all too satisfied. I couldn’t be any more proud to live in a city were great artisan chefs; cooks and foodies create these wonderfully crafted items and share them with us. Put down that Breyers carton and I implore you to go and get yourself 1, 2, 23 cartons of Pascale’s astounding ice cream. I assure you, you will not be disappointed.

I also think it goes without saying that supporting our local businesses is great for the growth of an healthy community. So please, take a minute and visit your local shops and markets, you might be surprised by what you discover.

I had a chance to talk to Pascale about her quest to create the perfect ice cream and to find out a little about how she got to where she is now.

First of all, tell me a little about yourself

I’m a small town girl from Hawkesbury. I came to Ottawa to study psychology and criminology for 4 years at the University of Ottawa. Diploma in hand, I then worked on Parliament Hill as a personal assistant for 2 years then made a major career change and decided it was finally time to realize my dream and study at Le Cordon Bleu!

Can you tell me a bit about how the business got started?

Total fluke! Started making ice cream at the Wellington Gastropub with a minimum amount of pastry knowledge and ended up with a pretty good product. Next thing you know, I got customers asking me to scoop ice cream in a container so they can take it home with them.

Where are you located? Where can we find your goodies?

If you go on my website www.pascalesicecream.com you can find all the locations where I sell my product. But to name a few: the Whalesbone Oyster bar, the Red Apron and 42 Fine Foods. If you want to meet me in person you can find me at the Piggy market or at the Farmers market, beginning May 9th every Sunday from 8a.m. to 3p.m.

What really impressed me was the fact that you’re playing with the 100-mile diet in your ice cream philosophy. Tell us a little about that.

In order to make ice cream with no artificial flavors or preservatives you need to use the freshest produce available to capture the flavors. That’s why I like to buy my berries and fruits from the farmers market and make my own fruit purees. Of course it’s hard to make 100% local ice cream as vanilla, sugar and chocolate does not grow anywhere near us. As revenge, I’m happy to use products from Cochrane’s Dairy in Russell, local un-pasteurized honey, Warner’s farm, Hall’s Apple Orchard, Fifth Town Dairy, Barkley’s, Waratah Downs, Rideau Pine Farms…

Who is your greatest inspiration? What made you want to cook or go to pastry school?

Both my parents are amazing cooks! I love challenges!

What made you decide to go into ice cream?

I got forced into it, as the pastry chef where I worked went on vacation for a month and a bit. I took on the challenge and came up with the perfect recipe.

Failed flavor? What can we find in the graveyard?

I’ve over churned a few batches!!!! I’ve also messed up a lot of vegan ones. One in particular was Maple pear and coffee….not so good! So far, I only have four solid vegan recipes I like. It’s not easy but I’m working on a few more flavors!

Guilty pleasure (food related), GO!

Mornington Goat butter on Art-is-in buttermilk sunflower loaf with crunchy salt!

What would you like to see more of, here in Ottawa?

More cool small independent businesses run by women
Incubator Kitchens
A year round farmer’s market

What’s your biggest current challenge?

Making sure my business grows organically!

Favorite ice cream? At the same time, weird combination you would LOVE, yet others would probably hate.

Peanut Butter salted caramel, Passion Fruit or Classic French vanilla!
Well one flavor I thought would not go over two well was Avocado Honey & lime but it ended up being very popular!

What are your final words for all of us.

Eat well, be well!

To contact Pascale visit her website: www.pascalesicecream.com
Phone: 613.322.4256
Email: pascale@pascalesicecream.com
She can also be found every Sunday at the Lansdowne Farmers Market from 8a.m. to 3p.m.