Have you ever tried running a café, boulangerie, patisserie and sweet shop while wrangling three young children, one just a newborn baby?

“Something had to give; the baby was sleeping in a banana box on the floor, and
it wasn’t a good look,” laughs Andréa Reiss – better known as Dré – of her decision to sell her highly regarded South Melbourne venues Chez Dré and Bibelot and to open a business closer to home in Woodend.

“With a three-month-old and two other kids I had to think of something simple. Ice-cream in summer, chocolate in winter… it seemed like the perfect solution.”

A shopfront on Woodend’s main drag was
the ideal forum for her seasonal inspiration. But as a perfectionist pâtissière who has worked in Melbourne and Paris’ finest restaurants, things weren’t likely to stay simple for too long.

At Woodend Ice Cream Co (now joined by sibling Gisborne Ice Cream Co) you can choose from 16-odd flavours, along with old-school milkshakes (made with the house ice-cream, “not that pump stuff”). The remit has expanded to include pastries such as crullers (choux doughnuts), the signature cinnamon buns and a rotating cast of one-off specials.

As Reiss says, “I’m a glutton for making good food simple.” Everything at the shops is made in-house, from the fudge and fruit compotes flavouring the ice-cream to the cookie crumbs folded into the cookies and cream version along with a pinch of salt to make it zing.

Perhaps surprisingly, the most asked-for flavour is liquorice, which Reiss melts down to make an infusion: “Then we churn it so it’s really aniseedy. I think it has that nostalgia factor. It’s the sort of flavour people want at a country ice-cream shop. In the city, you have to come up with all sorts of arty combinations to keep
people’s attention but here it’s just the solid repertoire. Consistency is key.”

Boysenberry is also popular, while the mandarin and yuzu sorbet hits some seriously refreshing KPIs.

“The shop might have evolved from the original idea, but it still has that philosophy of giving back to the community,” says Reiss. “Every country town needs a great classic ice-cream shop, where the kids come in after school and families swing by for a treat.”

Reiss’ youngest child is now five years old, which means Woodend Ice Cream Co is also celebrating its half-decade. That makes it the perfect time to launch a new venture, a roaming pizzeria called Mie Mani (“my hands”) with pizzaiolo Mattia Orillia.

The custom-built trailer with its proper woodfired oven launched at the start of September and can be found outside the Tylden Community Hall, 10 minutes’ drive from Woodend, every Friday.

“So far the pizza marinara is the absolute standout,” says Reiss of the traditional Neapolitan pizza style using only tomato sugo, extra virgin olive oil, oregano and garlic. “Getting your head around pizza made without cheese might be difficult at first but everyone who’s tried it says it’s amazing. Pizza and a choc-top… you’ll be living your best life.”

Woodend Ice Cream Co.
03 4432 5616
Shop 97A High Street Woodend
@woodend_icecream_co
icecreamco.com.au

Story by Larissa Dubecki
Photos by Chris Turner