Ice Cream Ireland

We have been thinking a lot about flavours and what we offer in our shops, and perhaps for 2010, we will change our offerings in a fairly radical way.

Instead of offering one scoop, two scoops, etc., each portion (small, medium, large) could be made up of two flavours.

This would allow us to design flavours that go well together, and it might be a more fun and satisfying way to offer ice cream.

Each flavour might be simpler in itself, but in combination it could be complex.

So, for example, we could make salt ice cream and a strong caramel. Not too exciting, perhaps, but together they could be fantastic.

We could make honey ice cream and lavender ice cream, instead of an ice cream that is both. That way, the possibilities would be endless. Not only could people mix the two to create our classic honey lavender, but they could also have lavender and chocolate, lavender and coffee, lavender with strawberry (all of which are very tasty). They could also have honey vanilla, honey and chocolate, etc.

Naturally, if people still wanted simply a scoop of honeycomb or vanilla, they could still do so.

What do you think? Is it a good idea? Is it too complicated? Confusing?

I’d love your feedback. Please comment, or there is a poll below.

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Technorati tags: Murphys, ice cream, flavour

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Amazing as it seems, we’re completing our 10th year of Murphys Ice Cream. I thought, perhaps, I’d try to write up a Top Ten highlights of the decade of ice cream, even though there were so many amazing moments…

First Ten Years of Murphys “Top Ten”

1. Opening the doors in Dingle. A dream becomes a reality.

2. Moving the ice cream making from the back of the Dingle shop into our own little ice cream factory. The move allowed us to launch our tubs into Dublin and other places around the country (and happily places like Morton’s, Fothergill’s, Ivan’s and Donnybrook Fair took us in). Suddenly, we were more than just a shop in Kerry.

3. Some of our ice cream and other creations. My (very subjective) top ten of the products that made me proud: Aztec Hot Chocolate, Vanilla Ice Cream, Chocolate Whiskey Ice Cream, Champagne Sorbet, Brown Bread Ice Cream, Extreme Cocoa, Goat’s Cheese Ice Cream, Wiebke’s Fudge Cake, Chocolate Sorbet.

4. Support from the press. From the Irish Tatler to the Irish Times, from Nationwide to Moncrieff, we’ve had amazing support from journalists who care, both here at home and abroad. It’s been such a help, and we’re very grateful!

5. Opening our second shop in Killarney.

6. Awards, from Great Taste Awards to Food and Wine Artisan Supplier of the Year to Blog Awards. What ever one might think of awards, they give a great deal of satisfaction and pride for the whole team for all the hard work.

7. This blog and other social media – finding new ways to keep in touch and spread the message of ice cream, as well as meeting a whole range of new people!

8. Our staff – they have delivered the Murphys experience to thousands upon thousands of customers, entertained us, and kept us going and in high spirits over the last ten years. To all who have worked at Murphys in the past and especially to the team we have now, thanks a million!

9. The Book of Sweet Things – A Murphys cookbook was a dream come true, and we were so happy when Mercier Press decided to take a chance on us. Creating the book was so much fun to do, and I hope that there are many more people out there now happily making their own ice cream.

10. Customers. They might come last in this list, but they really come first in terms how much they have meant to us.

Our customers believed in us and supported us financially and in many other ways. They helped us design our products, improve our shops, and find new outlets. They chided us when we went off course and saved us from many disasters. They kept us laughing and kept us passionate.

From the very young to the very old, from those here at home to those from abroad, we have met so many special people over the years, and we had so many special times with them.

To any of our customers reading this: thanks, thanks, and thanks.

We hope to be there for you for the next ten years!

Technorati tags: Dingle, murphys ice cream, shop, anniversary

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We’ve been having the most beautiful weather here in Co. Kerry, and yesterday, driving home from our Killarney shop, I was treated to the most amazing sunset (photo above) as I drove past Inch Strand. It’s almost as if the elements are doing their part in in trying to people’s spirits after all the bad news of November floods, the budget and the Murphy report. Today is another stunning day, and long may it continue. We could use it!

Last night, we had a little Christmas party with our Murphys Ice Cream team, although we were missing our ice cream maker Christophe, who was sick, and the two from Killarney, one of whom is off preparing to get married.

It’s been a year in which everyone (some of them in the photo) really worked hard to improve the business in many ways, and my brother and I are deeply grateful for their efforts. For Murphys Ice Cream to exist and thrive takes the care and support of our customers and our team, and we thank them both!

Finally, last night was also the 6th wedding anniversary of my brother Sean and his wife Wiebke, and I congratulate the two of them and wish them many happy years ahead.

Here’s hoping this sunny weather is a portent of positive change in 2010, of beautiful days filled with joy (and ice cream) and of quality time spent with people about whom we care deeply.

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The rain continues to pour down, and the flooded streets and angry waters seem to reflect the mood of the country after last night’s soccer defeat to France. I enjoy watching soccer, but I am not a mad soccer fan. And yet, I could help being swept away in the excitement last night as Ireland’s Robbie Keane scored to make the dream of going to the World Cup seem suddenly very real. Perhaps it was the symbolism of it as well – if the Irish team could win against all odds, against one of the giants of world football, then couldn’t Ireland, stuck in gloomy economic times, also perform a miracle and haul itself out of its difficulties?

Then, of course, this happened:

Suddenly it all seemed so unfair – a goal that should have been disallowed and our dreams evaporated. All the tremendous heart and hard work of our players resulted in nothing. Perhaps, again, it’s the symbolism of it that has Ireland in such a depressed state today. We are, after all, well-used to losing in international sport. However, to put in one of the best performances in recent memory and still lose (unfairly) strikes at the heart of the current Irish predicament. We are a small nation with huge competitive disadvantages due to our size and remoteness, and if hard work and heart is not enough, what is?

It must be said that sport (or life for that matter) doesn’t usually hinge on one moment, even if that moment in retrospect becomes everything. There were a host of missed chances not only in this game, but in previous games as well. We could have beaten Italy and topped the group. We could have played better again France in Croke Park. We could have scored more or defended better in any number of matches, but we didn’t.

Life will go on. There will be more matches, and we will have chances to bring Ireland out of its economic mess. I would hope, once the raw, immediate emotion of anger and disappointment passes, that instead of becoming stuck in negativity and conspiracy theories, we will instead realise that both as a team and a country we can and should do even better – that we have it in us.

We should be proud of our team, because our players showed us last night their potential is far greater than many would have admitted. I believe, for all the obstacles being placed in our path (both internally and externally), that the same is true for Ireland. We must keep the drive, as well as the joy and hope and build a better future for both us and our children. It wont hinge on one game or one moment. It will be a long, hard campaign, but we can do it.

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As an ice cream man and not an economist, I’ve been trying to avoid getting angry about how the current economic mess is being handled in this country, but that is becoming increasingly difficult. The government seems to have only two plans of action: 1. Slash as much money as possible from their budget, and 2. Force through NAMA (a done deal, really, since sadly the Greens are supporting it).

What’s troubling to me is that there is very little debate about the economy outside of these two points. Yet fixing the budget is fairly meaningless unless the economic slide stops, since any cuts will be offset by falling revenue, and the economic impact of NAMA is unclear – even if the banks do offer more credit after the bailout, will people and businesses spend?

Meanwhile, there are so many aspects of our economy that need help. In just one example, Ryanair looks like it will pull most of its routes out of Shannon because the airport fees and government taxes are too high, which will mean 1.5 million fewer tourists to the West of Ireland. Airport director Martin Moroney called the pull-out  ”regrettable.”

Regrettable? 1.5 million tourists have a heck of a spend. People flying into Shannon wouldn’t tend to be “weekenders.” I would guess their average stay is at least a week, and their average spend is at least €1,000. That would mean €1.5 billion lost to the economy. That’s more than “regrettable.”

So why wont the government negotiate? Is it because they are offended by Michael O’Leary? Is it stubborn pride? Even if you don’t look at the larger economic impact and just look at government revenue, it should be an easy decision. I made up a chart to show tax revenue  from the airport tax (€15 million) vs. estimated VAT based on 1.5 million tourists with a €1,000 spend (€225 million). Of course, the government would be gaining far more –  the €225 million is only VAT and doesn’t include the payroll taxes of all the people employed to serve the 1.5 million tourists, the avoidance of dole payments, etc.

Whatever one might think about Michael O’Leary, it seems to me that the government should be crawling to him begging him to keep the routes, even if it means rowing back on their precious departure tax. Sadly, there is little sign of such humility and vision from this government…

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The short list has been announced for the 2009 Blas na hEireann awards, and you can see the three finalists for each category here.

It was very competitive again this year, with nearly 800 entries.

The winners will be announced on Friday, but everyone on the shortlist is guaranteed a medal.

Congrats to all of them!

(In case you’re wondering, we didn’t submit anything because we’re one of the organisers of the awards.)

Technorati tags: food, awards, Irish, Dingle

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 The Ice Cream Journal put me on to the story that Mintel, a food research company, conducted a study that showed that 70% of men prefer plain flavours of ice cream such as chocolate or vanilla, while 74% of women like their ice cream with chocolate chunks or candy bits. However, that seems to be just a first preference since 66% of women also eat plain flavours and 63% of men also indulge in the fancy stuff.  

The only real loser is fruit – only one in three of either sex would choose fruit ice cream.

What do you think?

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It’s amazing how, after a long summer of rain, a bit of sunshine can make such an incredible difference. The sea suddenly looks inviting instead of angry, the landscape softens and the horizons widen.

Those of us living here, I think, appreciate again just how beautiful this country is and many of us have hastened to take advantage of this last gift of summer – a warm spell as delightful as any we’ve seen in recent years.

Barbecues have been rediscovered, swim wear retrieved from the back of the closet, sunglasses dusted off, and ice creams brazenly enjoyed by people who don’t normally indulge. It doesn’t take long to remember how to make the most of a sunny day.

While this all might sound like escapism, given the weighty issues that abound at the moment, escapism is what Ireland offers to the millions both from here and abroad who use it as a holiday destination. And why not? The world’s problems will still be around in a week or so, but at least those of us lucky enough to bask in the Irish sunshine, to swim in our seas, and to feel that stored-up cold and dampness evaporate from our very cores, will feel that bit better than we would have done without it.

Buíochas le Dia!

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