BONS winner Holy Cow Ice Cream Cafe has won national honors for its ice cream flavors.
The North American Ice Cream Association named Holy Cow Ice Cream Cafe – of Gloucester, Peabody, and Salem – the winner of several awards at its annual ice cream competition, held earlier this month in Fort Worth, Texas. The organization’s highest honor, Flavor of the Year, went to Holy Cow’s original flavor Ritzy AF, a salted butter cracker ice cream base, loaded with house-made Ritz Cracker toffee bark. The flavor was introduced last year as a holiday special but sold so well it earned a permanent spot on the menu.
Ritzy AF also won Flavor of the Year for the Northeast region and Eazy Peazy – a lemon curd ice cream loaded with homemade lemon bars – was awarded 3rd place overall.
“It’s honestly hard to believe,” says Mike Schifino, owner of Holy Cow. “You look around this convention hall filled with submissions from some of the best ice cream manufacturers in the country and you see hundreds of people judging their favorite flavors. For us to be awarded first place, as well as 3rd place, is surreal.”
In a separate category, Holy Cow also received a blue ribbon award for its Chocolate flavor, and red ribbon awards for both their Vanilla and Strawberry flavors. The judging was conducted by food scientists from Cornell University, where they were subjected to microbial testing and scored for their flavor, body, texture and color.
Craving ice cream now? Holy Cow has year-round locations at 80 Pleasant Street in Gloucester and 86 Andover Street in Peabody, as well as a seasonal location at Salem Willows.