York Olive Oil Co. -

An article on the York Ice Cream Company in Ripe magazine, October 2015. Click here to download the original article.

York Ice Cream on the cover of Ripe magazine, October 2015

OLD-FASHIONED FLAVOUR HIT
By Bobbie Hinkley
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice-cream! But let’s face it, that’s just bad manners.
So instead, I’m going to suggest that when you next visit the York Olive Oil Company (or the Penny Farthing Sweetshop in York) you politely ask for one of its freezing-cold, flavour-packed and above all delicious York Ice Cream Company ice-creams – you will not regret it.
It’s a story that started out in the kitchen of Arnaud Courtin, a French foodie who moved to York in 1996 with his family and kick-started the Ashworth Road-based York Olive Oil Company which began churning out olive oil in 1997.
For years olive oil, real jams and marmalades, chocolate, wood fired sourdough breads and tapenade were crafted with home-grown and quality-bought ingredients and sold in the onsite shop on the outskirts of town.
Until one day in 2009 when Arnaud’s wife Danielle decided to make a batch of ice-cream using a small Sunbeam machine designed for the home kitchen.
It was such a hit with her friends and neighbours that Danielle decided to enter it in the annual Perth Royal Show’s ice-cream class.
Arnaud protested, telling Danielle that product entered into the show needed to come from a registered business and not just the home kitchen of any Tom, Dick or Harry.
So Danielle did what any passionate woman would do – she registered a business name, entered her old fashioned honey flavoured ice-cream and won gold.
Since then Arnaud has acquired a business partner in close friend and neighbour Jenny Baxter, while his wife Danielle and Jenny’s husband Matthew Chinn continue   to work other jobs outside of the olive oil and ice-cream realms.
Traditional methodologies and investment in new (and larger) equipment has seen the boutique factory and olive crushing plant morph into a labour of love with ice-cream (and supreme quality extra virgin olive oil, jams and breads) at its very heart.
Arnaud’s original olive grove and herd of goats brought a taste of Europe to the Avon Valley and he says the recipes and dedication to the good quality, handmade and wholesome products has simply evolved, and perhaps even got a little out of hand thanks to the enthusiasm of all who are involved in the business.
But despite his passion for every product that rolls out of the kitchen, ice-cream is where it’s really at.
“Ice-cream is a very pleasant thing because it makes people happy,” Arnaud said.

Arnaud Courtin (left) with his business partner Jenny Baxter’s daughter Mary Chinn (9) at the recent York Medieval Fayre. According to Mary’s dad, she’s a big fan and devourer of vast quantities of the York Ice Cream Company’s chocolate hazelnut flavour.

“In France we eat in moderation and we like things that are quite decadent.
“It’s rich in flavour and calories of course – I don’t make the diet stuff.”
And why would he, with such an amazing assortment of beautiful and natural flavours on hand.
Everything is done the hard (and old fashioned) way without the presence of artificial flavours or colouring.
First the eggs are cracked and yolks separated from the whites before sugar is added as well as milk and cream to form a custard.
Then the all-natural flavouring is added in the form of jarrah honey, chocolate, salted caramel, chocolate hazelnut, lemon sorbet, liquorice (made with real Pontefract Cakes from England), macadamia, mango (using Kensington Prides grown in Carnarvon), nougat, rum and raisin, espresso, pistachio, strawberry and vanilla (prepared using seven Madagascan bourbon vanilla pods for every litre of milk).
Arnaud and Jenny are also starting to dabble in the making of sorbets flavoured with passionfruit, raspberries and strawberries depending on the season and fruit availability.
Batches of about 500 little pots are made at one time which means Arnaud works with seven to nine litres in the kitchen.
It’s a slow process. When Ripe caught up with Arnaud at 2pm one afternoon last week he had just finished putting the final touches on a batch of ice cream he started making at 4:30 that morning.
With no formal training in the ice-cream or gelato business he took a short course a few years ago to see what the rest of the artisan market was up to.
Arnaud was surprised by the number of boutique businesses which failed to make custard from scratch and use real fruits, nuts and produce over processed syrup flavourings and artificial colours.
“I was amazed that hardly anybody does it anymore,” he said.
“And for that reason our product is completely different to anything else on the market.
“To me, most gelato tastes the same.
“Everything we do here, including the jams and things we make with our home-grown fruit, is based on the premise that if the label was to fall off you’d know exactly what it is you’re tasting.
“Unfortunately that’s not always the case in the wider market.”

How to pick just one when there are so many flavours?

Arnaud said the business continues to make small inroads when it comes to making a name for itself and in a bid to maintain its integrity, doesn’t advertise or market its product.
The York Ice Cream Company’s ice-cream is made all year long and contrary to popular belief, more is sold in winter thanks to the regular stream of travellers that come to have a look around the Avon Valley during the cooler months.
“Small businesses are about perseverance and not having expectations that are too high,” Arnaud said.
“If you do what you love you’re always bound to succeed.”
So next time you’re in York stop for a picnic in the York Olive Oil Company’s grounds, wander around the olive groves, sample some award winning extra virgin olive oil and whatever you do, don’t forget to top it all off with one of Arnaud and Jenny’s fantastic ice-creams.
Also keep an eye out for Arnaud on his ice-cream tricycle at local events throughout the regions.

This article, written by Bobbie Hinkley, originally appeared in Ripe magazine, Volume 9, Number 10, October 2015. Ripe is a monthly horticultural, lifestyle and small farms magazine published in WA’s biggest-selling rural newspaper Farm Weekly.
Click here to download a PDF version of the article.