Anthony and June-Ann Henry have broken the mould with their latest offering—doubles ice cream.
On July 3, the inventive duo, who experimented with over 100 unique and daring flavours since they started their business in April 2017, thought that it was time that they served up their take on doubles.
“The channa ice cream was an idea that we had in 2018. We had made the channa flavour, but we didn’t want to offer it in cone-like regular ice cream. We wanted to offer it like actual doubles, so we were continuously thinking of how we could mimic what is the bara,” Henry told Sunday Guardian last week.
After putting a pause on their plans for some years, with the economy reopening as the pandemic eased, the ice cream innovators of A&J’s Premium Ice Cream finally asked their 19,000-plus followers on Facebook and other online fans whether they would welcome the idea of doubles ice cream.
“We got mixed reviews, but finally we did it,” Henry laughed.
Savoury crêpes loaded with scoops of channa ice cream and topped with a selection of typical doubles condiments like tamarind (tambrand) sauce, chadon beni sauce and crushed cucumbers were their offerings. For clients wanting slight, medium or a burst of pepper as per their typical doubles fix, their order is spiced with an appropriate serving of scorpion pepper ice cream from their line of pepper flavours.
Some customers on hearing about the creation of the daring doubles ice cream called it creative and innovative. One commentator responding to the news said, “Loving this! Y’all tek win!” while a few were not quite so sure about the new flavour profile, with one person suggesting it was an early 2023 April Fool’s joke but promising to visit them soon.
Denequa Mckenzie Fergus, who tried the doubles ice cream, gave it a good review. Mckenzie Fergus told Sunday Guardian that she had been a customer for about three years, and she and her husband were impressed with the channa flavour coming through nicely in the doubles ice cream.
Karima Rahim, commenting on the doubles ice cream, said, “All the flavours came together and made it awesome. I must commend the Henrys as they’re always trying new stuff, and it’s amazing.’ She suggested that the doubles ice cream could be an option for those looking to keep in shape.
Henry said feedback has been varied.
“It’s building. Some customers when they come, and we ask are like ‘that one is a little too weird for me.’ Some are excited. It’s building,” he laughed.
June-Ann felt those who have tried the doubles ice cream were delighted that they were able to get the real channa and pepper flavours that imitate doubles. The enterprising couple concluded that they had captured the essence of the beloved local street food.
Meanwhile, the entrepreneurs’ other 100-plus flavours have been placed in various groupings and the husband and wife team has observed that there are bestsellers, as June-Ann shared.
“We have our coconut flavours, we have coffee flavours, pistachio-based flavours, cheesecake-based flavours. Coffee generally moves fast, cheesecake is another really popular one. The range of cheesecake flavours does well,” she revealed.
The peppers are the best sellers overall. In this range, there are four flavours: Spicy Darky which is a pepper mixed with chocolate, Pepper Mango, Scorpion Pepper and the most popular pepper flavour Pineapple Chow.
Ice cream in pepper flavours.
Within the cheesecake range, Blue Moon blends vanilla, blueberries and cheesecake chunks topped with a cheesecake crumble crust and Strawberry Cheesecake vie for first place, and caramel mocha cheesecake is not far behind. There is also Thai Curry ice cream, Salt Prune ice cream and Charcoal Coconut.
They are proud that “Espresso Bliss”, a mix of coffee, chocolate and caramel, one of their first blends, remains popular.
And as if these creations do not seem adventurous enough, one person online keeps asking for tamarind (tambran) to be introduced. June-Ann said she was willing to oblige.
It has been so hard for many people to choose one flavour, that the couple has come up with a “Bomb”–eight scoops of ice cream, each consisting of a different flavour.
In early 2021, people were asking for more than just ice cream, so the Henrys responded. Henry and his wife branched out into an all-day restaurant serving breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner items such as paninis, French toast, chicken tenders and waffles and different kinds of pasta.
Anthony and June-Ann Henry and their children share a light moment in front their ice cream shop.
The Henrys keep their children close while they run their business. Six-month-old baby Ava strapped to his back in her baby carrier, Henry often performs his duties serving customers and balancing the cash register. Their eldest, Anastasia, who is now six, spent time in her stroller next to her mother while her mother did sales in front of their home when the business was first started. Anthony Jr came two years later and was also often carried around while his parents worked.
Ice cream was not the couple’s initial venture. It just ended up being the business that took off. They had tried their hands at growing a travel agency, a snack shop and selling bake and shark. Henry said he considered selling ready-made ice cream, as he thought it would be less labour-intensive while they navigated parenthood with then-one-year-old Anastasia.
June-Ann, however, preferred to do something from scratch; something interesting and imaginative that came from them. With no real knowledge of developing ice cream flavours, they took a risk making simple ice cream and then later experimenting with bold tastes to wow their clients as the business progressed from a modest set-up outside their home to a van and then to their current shop in Charlieville.
Their innovative flavour combos aside, the couple, who have been together for nine years and celebrated their 7th wedding anniversary last month, believe that their family-oriented atmosphere and exciting interaction and engagement keep people coming back for more.