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Cramers Grove ice cream
Scooping success for Nigel and Carol Harper has been a labour of love. They tell Sean Keane what's so special about their home-made Cramers Grove ice cream
NIGEL and Carol Harper watched anxiously as the couple down from them in the Marble City Bar, High Street, Kilkenny ordered their dessert. When the Harpers heard them ordering ice cream they nudged each other. And when the bowl of Cramers Grove ice cream was served, they watched with some satisfaction as the strangers to the city wolfed it down.
Still in their twenties, they are responsible for the award winning and much sought after, home made Cramers Grove ice cream which has been a huge success because it is made using traditional methods at their farm, three miles from the city centre on the back road to Johnswell.
It is the richness, texture and quality of the ice cream and the flavours used in it which has found a place in the hearts and more importantly in the stomachs of a growing number of discerning people.
Using specially imported vanilla pods from Madagascar, their ice cream variety of the same name is singularly delicious and different from the others because of the little specs of the vanilla seed which are woven through it and because of its scoopability and of course its taste and texture.
It is not a surprise that the venture is so successful. Using the fresh milk from the Holstein-Frieisan dairy herd on the farm at Cramers Grove that has been in the family since 1860. That was the year, Edward Harper, Nigel's great, great grandfather moved down from Coon to Cramers Grove.
Tradition plays a strong part in the Harper household. The old ways are the best and to illustrate the point, Nigel has butter stamps dating back to the early 1900s. There is one used by his great grandfather with an indentation of a swan. Back then, when you went to market in Kilkenny you knew you were eating Harper butter because of the swan brand.
"Talk about traceability, back then you knew exactly where your butter came from," Nigel said.
Back to Cramers Grove ice cream. Since he was a boy, Nigel has had a thing about ice cream and visiting ice cream parlours in various places while on holiday was a special treat for him. While attending Greenmount Agricultural College, Co Antrim he first saw ice cream being made. When he first met his wife Carol (a townie) she would listen to his plan to make ice cream and think to herself that it was only a pipe-dream.
And then he started researching it and then she began to realise that he was serious about it. Slowly, the idea formed and then three years ago, they made contact with LEADER Barrow Nore Suir (BNS) the rural development agency. This forced their hand.
They were told on a Thursday that to be considered for funding in the next round of grants they had to have their business plan, full accounts for the next three years and all sorts of other things submitted by the following Friday.
"We did it even though we were up all hours," said Hugh.
They met a great ally at BNS in the form of Gabrielle Carroll and her guidance was invaluable in bringing the enterprise to fruition. Gabrielle put them in touch with marketing consultant Ann Fernandez of Bosseyed who came up with the design for the Cramers Grove logo and the impressive brochure and promotional literature.
"At the start, we didn't think we would be able to do it," Nigel said, but a strong will and a great product helped them to succeed against the odds.
So what's all the fuss about. The Harpers have come up with their own singularly different way of making ice cream. The milk for the ice cream comes straight from the farm and the sauce or custard (creme Anglaise) needed to give the ice cream its flavour is made by Nigel and Carol.
The only thing with which they need outside help is when it comes to sugar content. Their ice cream is served at -13 degrees centigrade. The amount of sugar in ice cream is critical because it has an impact on the freezing temperature. So, an outside consultancy firm, does analysis on the ice cream and on how much sugar it contains. Different flavours require different amounts of sugar to achieve that scoopability and that certain texture needed when people eat it.
As you would expect from a man who lives off the land and is in harmony with his surroundings, Nigel displays a major disdain for ice cream companies and how they make their product.
In some ways he feels, they are fooling people because half of the ice cream is actually made up of air and that artificial emulsifiers are being used with Es and other substitutes.
Once the milk and creme Anglaise (made up of pure natural products) are put into the blender, they form the ice cream which is immediately frozen by the freezing unit attached to it.
So without having any artificial ingredients, the Harpers have managed to make succulant, ice cream to the highest standard.
There is a history of entrepeneurship on the farm going back generations. "Talk about traceability, back then you knew exactly where your butter came from," Nigel said.
Carol was born and reared in Archer's Crescent, Kilkenny. She met Nigel through his cousin Tina, one of her best friends and the couple were part of a set and after a year they started seeing each other.
Carol had a gr for the land having spent much of her childhood visiting her late grandmother Linda Carroll's at their farm in Clara.
The former manager of the Unicare pharmacy in the Market Cross soon fell in love with Cramers Grove, the peace and the lifestyle it offered. She took a summer off from her job after getting married and at the end of it, knew she could not face going back to a 9 to 5 job and all that entails.
She started working full-time on the farm and while she did help milk the cows at the beginning, she found more and more of her time being taken up with doing the books and the hundreds of other things which have to be attended to when you have a fledgling business.
Nigel milks the cows at the weekends when Thos Hayes is off and while it is hard work it is rewarding because he is working for himself, he is his own boss and he has a new, thriving business that complements what he does.
For Nigel and Carol, it is a lifestyle choice and they are happy where they are at and the worry now is that the business will grow too big - so it is important to get the balance right.
While Carol was working in Unicare, they only saw each other briefly, because they were so busy, this way, with both of them working on the farm and with Cramers Grove ice cream they see a lot more of each other.
The part played by their families and the support from Nigel's parents Sam and Lilia has been huge while Carol's parents, Seamus and Margaret Cummins have also played a major role in helping them.
The Harpers would not like to give the impression that it was easy but the experience of having to put their own plan before seasoned business people during the successful application for BNS funding stood to them when they went to the bank looking for the financial backing to go ahead with the new premises and everything else that goes with it.
Helen Corcoran of National Irish Bank, Rose Inn Street, Kilkenny was wonderful to deal with and backed their idea 100% and that also made it much easier to succeed.
For anyone thinking of doing something different like the Harpers, the farmers' markets around the South East are a great learning centre. "We got so much help there about what sells, we got great advice and feedback from the stall owners and from the public," Nigel said.
It was while attending the farmers' market in Carrick-on-Suir that John McKenna of the Bridgestone guide happened to come upon their stand and after eating the ice cream, asked them a good few questions. "We had no idea who he was or that he was so influential," Nigel remarked. Last year the ice cream received a Bridgestone guide recommendation and a rave review from McKenna which certainly opened doors for the young couple and their fledgling venture. "The one thing I'd say about the Bridgestone award is that it gave us affirmation that we have a good product and that we should be confident in it," Nigel said.
With a growing list of customers the Harpers are where they want to be. "It is very exciting and no one minds doing the hard work if there is a reward for it," he said. That endeavour is paying off for the Harpers and they have a growing list of customers: Langtons, Marble City Bar, Club House hotel, The Ormonde Hotel, Lombardi's and Pordylos in the city; Circle of Friends, Inistioge; Circle of Friends, Thomastown; Grill and Grape, Carlow; La Boheme, Waterford and Park Lodge Cafe, Waterford.
The first shop to take the ice cream was Eurospar, Newpark Shopping Centre where they do their shopping and that was another major moment for them. "It was super and again it was a break-through for which we are really thankful," Carol said.
Cramers Grove ice cream is also available at Supervalu, Loughboy; Blueberry, Market Yard; the SOS Farm Shop; Ardkeen Quality Food Store, Waterford; Supervalu, New Ross and Hennessy's Fine Food, Carlow.
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Wednesday 08 February 2012
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