Cornbread, goat cheese and sweet corn: probably not the first flavors that come to mind when you think of ice cream. But Jennifer Harding is all about doing the unexpected.
The creative mind behind La Mode Southern Craft Ice Cream, Harding is bringing fresh, whole-ingredient ice cream in unique flavors to the Baton Rouge area.
Making ice cream has been a longtime hobby for the Baton Rouge native. After living in the San Francisco Bay area for about a decade, she became inspired by the city’s food. “It’s kind of this foodie mecca,” she says.
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When she moved back to Baton Rouge, she says opening her own artisan shop felt attainable. When she began La Mode, she was making ice cream for family and friends. But over recent months, the hobby has grown into a home-based, made-to-order business.
Harding makes her ice cream small-batch, and available flavors change every couple weeks. While she can make a classic vanilla or chocolate, her favorite thing is creating ice cream flavors that are more outside of the box. “I like to play with flavors that are unexpected in ice cream,” she says.
She pays homage to her roots by creating flavors that represent the Southern region. One of her favorite flavors is the cornbread & cream. She uses cornbread-infused milk to create the flavor. The inspiration came from her dad, who used to take leftover cornbread, crumble it up and put it in milk.
Other stand-out flavors include her goat cheese & honeycomb and sweet corn & blackberry.
For the fall, she is experimenting with new flavors. She’s planning on creating pumpkin spice, caramel and sweet potato flavors.
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Harding says her goal in the future is to open her own shop. Right now, she’s looking into the perfect location and regulations that come with opening a whole-ingredient shop.
Until then, those interested in purchasing La Mode ice cream can contact Harding directly through her social media outlets or email. She’s also begun doing more and more pop-up events throughout the city. On Sept. 24, La Mode had its own booth at Ogden Park Prowl. On Oct. 5, La Mode will be a part of the Barbers and Blues event at Mercer Supply Co.
La Mode is sold in 12-packs of four-ounce cups, pints or half gallons. Contact information and links to her social media outlets can be found on La Mode’s website.