99 problems? Mr Whippy ain’t one
This summer’s hottest — make that coolest — pudding is seriously posh soft serve. Josh Barrie has the scoop
SOME might mourn the loss of their childhood. Hearing the merry bells of an ice cream truck once granted full licence to gallivant off to it like a wild horse on a hot day, no questions asked. Adulthood does not technically disallow such behaviour, though stern looks might be cast at any grown-ups pushing the little ones out of the way for a 99. Fortunately, there is a satiating solution. Anya Hindmarch doing Branston Pickle gelato? Come off it. This is the summer Mr Whippy’s got his groove back.
Nothing hits like soft serve. Its simplicity is everything good in the world: restorative, affirming, not completely bank balance-destroying. It is this comforting familiarity that chefs are tapping into, albeit offering ices a little finer in design than the originals gathered from vans on London’s commons.
Among the most considered is Tom Booton’s at his newly eponymous grill at The Dorchester. In one of the capital’s most opulent dining rooms, Booton’s £15 selections are jazzed up and sophisticated, with flavours such as coffee and hazelnuts or fresh strawberries — and he is also one of the few to make his own from start to finish. “It’s our biggest-selling dessert by a long way. Soft serve ice cream brings nostalgia, it’s fun and playful, and obviously perfect for the summer,” he says. “We’re selling around 200 a week at the moment. I think people really like a light option after multiple courses.”
It took Booton three months to master the recipe after buying a soft serve machine. He was, he concedes, a little “naive” in thinking it was merely a case of putting cream and sugar into a device, pulling a lever and watching magic unfold. “Once you’ve got it, it’s easy, but it took ages to get the recipe right,” he says. “We bought the machine and I thought, ‘Oh, chuck it all in and out comes [soft serve].’ But there’s an art to it — to capture that texture and flavour isn’t straightforward.
It was worth the effort. Who doesn’t love a Mr Whippy?”
Well, quite. Today, these upmarket 99s are flavoured and texturised any which way with various fruits, nuts and sauces. They’re at the big names, too: Fallow, where the hit is sourdough infused with white chocolate; Bentley’s — proprietor Richard Corrigan says they make their own too, with flavours including salted caramel and popcorn — and Story Cellar, Tom Sellers’ recent hot ticket in Seven Dials, where it’s almond and dill.
And then there’s Rambutan, Cynthia Shanmugalingam’s colourful homage to Sri Lankan food in Borough. “Ice cream is a nod to Sri Lankan culture, too,” she explains. “It’s a dessert that affords us the chance to relive our childhoods, and I think it’s so joyful, such a nice way to end a meal. It’s the only dessert we serve. We have a bi-weekly ice cream meeting with [the ice cream maker] Soft & Swirly to discuss flavours. We come up with recipes, focusing on seasonality, but sometimes keep things classic. Either way, we sell about 350 a week.” Fancy soft serve looks as though it might just harbour staying power. The sandwich shop Sons + Daughters, in King’s Cross and Borough Market, was early to what is now a riot of a trend. Co-founder James Ramsden says: “We’ve mixed it up on a preregular basis, generally trying to keep it interesting while remembering we’re in a pretty PG-13 environment. A sweetcorn and jalapeño soft serve might sound lush, but probably doesn’t work for the kids that invade King’s Cross on a weekend.” That doesn’t mean they won’t treat the parents too. “I just remembered we did a piña colada one,” grins Ramsden. “That needs to make a comeback.” We couldn’t agree more.
Sweetcorn and jalapeño flavour sounds lush, but probably doesn’t work for the kids on a weekend