A mouthful of summer

In 2016 American president Joe Biden publicly proclaimed his love for ice cream In his own words spoken at the headquarters of Jenirsquos Splendid Ice Cream in May 2016 ldquoMy name is Joe Biden and I love ice creamrdquo The thenVice President added ldquoYou all think Irsquom kiddingmdashIrsquom not I eat more ice cream than three other people yoursquod like to be with all at oncerdquoBlueberry cheesecakeAlthough the frozen treat has plenty of ardent fans its popularity dipped sharply globally when the Coronavirus pandemic descended on the world last year Industry experts in India believe that apart from lockdown restrictions ice cream sales were affected by the misplaced fear that ice cream and frozen treats make one susceptible to COVID19 Mercifully wisdom has prevailed and ice cream brands are now reportedly witnessing double digit growth against the preCOVID sale levels of 2019Last September when the meltdown was still a reality Robin Chatterjee an entrepreneur from Mumbai went against the grain and launched Sooper His family runs a micro dairy unit called Caro ldquoThe pandemic and the ensuing lockdown stalled our business The segment shrunk and this forced us to be reactive We had always wanted to venture into ice cream but this peculiar situation compelled us to pivot from B2B to B2C almost immediatelyrdquo Sooper then was born from the need to survive Chatterjee believes ice cream is a science as much as it is an art ldquoOwning the entire production line allows us to monitor the quality at various stages from milking storing to transportation and production Moreover adulteration is very common in the milk business sometimes what you read is not what you get We were able to avert thisrdquo This writer called for the ice cream on a day when the heat index had hit a new highWhile the brand launched with classics such as Belgian chocolate salted caramel and hazelnut brownie the menu has now been expanded to include Alphonso mango Rs 140 for 250 ml white chocolate raspberry Rs 175 rocky road a mix of roasted hazelnuts marshmallows dark chocolate shavings smarties and lotus biscoff for Rs 200 and tiramisu served with brownie Italian biscuit and a dark chocolate fudge sauce for Rs 185 The mango speckled with soft and bright yelloworange fruity bits was aesthetically pleasing even in its fully frozen state We let it thaw a little and it gained a deliciously smooth texture Itrsquos amazing how a simple flavour can be deeply satisfyingRobin ChatterjeeWe didnrsquot quite know what to expect from the white chocolate raspberry Being dark chocolate lovers the idea of sampling its paler cousin wasnrsquot appealing Interestingly despite the title the white chocolate did not overpower It almost felt like a secret ingredient tucked snugly under a blanket of cream If itrsquos a seriously luxurious scoop yoursquore after we suggest the salted caramel It is an instant pickmeup What was common to the flavours we sampled was consistent texture And like pastry these ice creams come with toppings For instance the blueberry cheesecake was served with blueberry jam and cheesecake crust Chatterjee who is buoyed by the consumer response says people often ask him how is your ice cream so creamy ldquoItrsquos because of the goodness of the milk which isnrsquot stored for longrdquoTo order getmesooper InstagramCall 8657437370