How about a single or a double dollop of that famous pear and Rogue Creamery blue cheese ice cream? Or goat cheese and black olive brittle? Those iconic flavors and more clever combos helped put this groundbreaking, Portland, Ore.-based ice cream producer on the map. To celebrate a dozen years, they’re making a return appearance and fans are thrilled. Here’s the scoop.
To celebrate its 12th anniversary, Portland, Ore., based Salt & Straw is bringing back some of the … [+]
How it started…
The entrepreneurial beginnings of this venture is the best kind of origin story. Kim Malek and her cousin, Tyler, bootstrapped the project, launching as a cart more than a dozen years ago. Yes, the ice cream was the star, but, ultimately, the sweet idea was to build community.
Scoop shops followed, now with locations in Portland, Seattle, San Diego, Los Angeles and Miami. It’s become a destination dining spot at downtown Disney in Anaheim and Disney Springs in Orlando. There’s also direct-to-consumer options, including monthly deliveries.
The whimsical flavors was what made Salt & Straw stand out in the ever-crowded ice cream industry, but it’s not about making outrageous flavors in the name of going viral on social media. The mission is about telling stories, explained Tyler during a recent phone interview.
“When people come into a shop in Portland, it’s kind of like a jumping off point for the city. They might learn that Oregon grows 90 percent of the nation’s hazelnuts, for instance,” he said.
One of the first big hits — pear and blue cheese — was the result of the cousins wanting to call attention to Rogue Creamery. “This little creamery in Southern Oregon went to a cheese competition in France and entered a blind tasting and won,” Tyler said. “It was a cool way for us to tell their story in a bite of ice cream. Internally, we call it taste provoking.”
Conversation-starting combos definitely go in the savory-sweet direction including a bone marrow and smoked cherry, a hopped IPA and a fried chicken ice cream that showcases crispy bird from Seattle-based Ezell’s, which received a world-famous shout-out from Oprah Winfrey decades ago. Heads up, that limited run fried chicken flavor will return in August.
Since Salt & Straw’s inception, more than 1,200 flavors have been developed. Some of the most popular recipes are being pulled from “the vault” to celebrate a dozen years. Those iconic flavors include the previously mentioned Black Olive Brittle and goat cheese, plus:
- Honey Marshmallow Rocky Road
- Sweet Corn & Waffle Cones
- Strawberry Cilantro Lime Cheesecake
- Mango Habanero IPA Sorbet
How it’s going…
In June, the team will debut flavors featuring their first restaurant-style menu certified by an upcycled food association, which helps raise awareness of useable food that would otherwise end up in landfills.
“We’re really excited about this,” Tyler said, noting that during the month, they’ll be using 38,000 pounds of upcycled food, mostly by partnering with brands that are pioneering members of the association.
“There’s one company in New York that’s saving whey from Greek yogurt makers,” he said. “They’re turning them into energy drinks, which should start showing up soon in Whole Foods. We’re using the tonic from The Spare Food Co. This is a partner we really want people to know about.”
Talk about a feel-good project.
Check out this video from a few years ago of Tyler foraging for seaweed that was featured in a Salt & Straw flavor:
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