Scroll Ice Cream

Now I’m no ice cream connoisseur, but I do enjoy the stuff. My first ever job was in an ice cream shop. In fact, as a child I wrote a letter to Streets demanding they bring back the Mud Puddle Paddle Pop (Streets - I’m still waiting, but thanks for all those Paddle Pop Lion tattoos).

So when I was asked to review an ice creamery, I was enthusiastic. But upon reading about Scroll, I became skeptical. The whole premise sounded a tad pretentious: Aussie backpackers in Phuket stumble across serving ice cream in a unique way and decide to start a business in Prahran to cash in on the technique. We already have an abundance of gourmet ice creameries in Melbourne, so what was so special about this one?

Well, here’s the scoop: It seems I was too harsh. When I entered the little store just off Chapel Street, I immediately noticed the array of board and card games on offer. As the aesthetics began to soften my skeptical view of the place, I looked up at the menu. Vegan and gluten free options were stated very clearly, and the flavours did sound pretty good. To the right of the counter there were post-it notes for customers to write flavour suggestions.

The first flavour I tried was ‘Pav-lover.’ As one of the staff made it, he explained to me what he was doing: pouring the cream and milk mixture over the berries onto a -20 degree cold plate, smashing it all together, smearing it across the cold plate and then scraping it off into little scrolls. Because there’s no egg in the mixture, the ice cream tasted smoother yet somehow more icy and refreshing. After tying another flavour – Espresso – which was also excellent, I was invited behind the counter to give it all a go myself.

So I donned an apron and gloves and poured, chopped, smashed, smeared and scraped. Having suspended my gym membership literally a few hours beforehand, I began to question this choice – my arms received quite a workout. It’s not as easy as it looks, and I gained a newfound appreciation for what these people were creating all day. It’s tiring stuff; a lot harder than simply scooping ice cream - and I only made one.

So it turns out my presumptions about the pretentiousness were not precise. Overall, Scroll is definitely worth a visit. If I am in the area again, I’ll definitely stop by. Unless of course, Muddle Puddles do make their most-anticipated return.

Scroll Ice Cream
190 High Street, Windsor
scrollicecream.com.au