Soft serve ice cream is really having a moment right now.
Over this summer alone we’ve seen an incredible fusion of flavours, cuisines, and brands which have really brought this cool treat into a contemporary spotlight!
At Carpigiani we’ve always known that as a menu item soft serve holds a lot of value, and with a little thinking outside the box soft serve ice cream has great potential to cross over into different sectors - accompanied by a variation of exotic and avant-garde flavours.
From Gareth Ward’s Michelin-star banana soft serve with maple syrup and N25 caviar to the award-winning team at Ginger Wing’s pairing chicken wings with blue cheese soft serve, we are no longer in traditional territory!
So, what do the two Michelin-star restaurant Ynyshir and award-winning chicken shop Ginger Wings have in common here? They’re using Carpigiani’s 161 machine to serve up these sensational recipes. And they’re not the only ones…
We got a real taste this summer of how brands are leading the way with soft serve innovation, going a step further to playfully blur the lines between a childhood dessert and exotic cocktails in the most tasteful way. Most notable was the pop-up collab between Oatly and Malibu to bring London the “collab no one asked for” – but we absolutely needed! Using Oatly’s dairy-free soft serve mix and Malibu’s coconut rum the two brands brought the Caribbean to Shoreditch with their limited-edition Piña Oatlada!
Dairy-free soft serve, packed with a punch
The Piña Oatlada soft serve was a creamy sweet snack with a boozy twist! The pineapple sauce and coconut flake toppings really elevated the tropical flavours of this treat, as well as the vibe of the pop-up, which was also very much embodied by the venue. As visitors lined up for their complimentary soft serve at the colourful beach hut, they could roam around a vibrantly decorated courtyard packed with plants, sun loungers, and disco balls. Were we actually in the Caribbean? You could have fooled me!
Not only did this collab celebrate flavours of the Caribbean, bringing them to life in such a fun yet impactful way, but it also showed how two brands can come together with one simple pull to wow the crowds: a limited-edition dairy-free soft serve ice cream. Allowing adults to take a moment and relax in the middle of East London like they’re on holiday on a tropical island this initiative was successfully brought to fruition with this staple dessert. It was a delight to see it in action.
Finding the hottest soft serve ice cream machine
Catching up with Oatly’s UK Events Specialist, Olly Crown, at the Paradise Arches pop-up, they said: “It’s been such a fantastic event. Who doesn’t love soft serve? This pop-up was really about bringing people together through food, art, and culture to create a fun and unique experience.
“We absolutely love using Carpigiani’s 161 machines – all the team does. They’re incredibly reliable and easy to use – perfect for the amount of volume we’ve been getting through. The soft serve has been so popular! We have a few more festivals and events lined up throughout 2024 and these machines will be coming with us for sure!”
For more information on Carpigiani’s range of gelato, soft serve, shake, and frozen beverage machines, please visit www.carpigiani.co.uk