Katie "Zoe" Ferris, a longtime 4-H club member with a passion for fresh Hudson Valley ingredients, came up with the plan for a homemade ice cream place while studying baking and pastry arts at the Culinary Institute of American in Hyde Park, The Poughkeepsie Journal article said.
The “soft opening” for Zoe’s Ice Cream Barn at 1181 Route 55 in LaGrangeville, went off without nary a hitch Monday, according to Facebook reviews from happy customers who lined up for cones, sundaes and milkshakes.
Zoe's also sells handmade cobblers and pies, whole or by the slice. They have ice cream sandwiches, ice cream cakes and will even pack you a pint or two to go.
According to Ferris’ website, Zoe’s sweet treats are made from milk that makes it from the cow to the cone in less than three days.
Zoe’s gets its dairy products from Hudson Valley Fresh, a farming cooperative in Dutchess, Columbia and Ulster counties.
Here’s where Ferris’ 4H background comes in.
By buying locally, and giving the dairy operations a fair price, Zoe’s is helping them keep farmland out of the hands of developers, its website said.
The farms involved are currently preserving 8,000 acres of open lands, according to Zoe’s.
Hudson Valley Fresh farms have won awards for their products, which are, by the way, also kosher.
And, with a slight twist on its "from cow to cone" motto, Zoe's says it plans to start serving hamburgers and hand-cut fries this fall.
For moo-re information about Zoe’s, click here.
To read The Poughkeepsie Journal article, click here.
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