Globe-Trotting Entreprenuers Raise The Bar For Flavors

Artisan Ice Cream Emphasizes Local Ingredients and Handcrafted Tradition

Scottsdale AZ – Former investment bankers Helen Yung and Jan Wichayanuparp met at their firm’s global training program in New York where their friendship was formed on a common passion for food. Their career took them all over Europe and Asia, exposing their palate to the culinary creations of the world’s finest chefs. Following extensive culinary training, they realized their dream of becoming culinary entrepreneurs and opened an artisan ice cream shop in North Scottsdale. Sweet Republic is located at 9160 E. Shea Blvd.

Investment banking afforded both the opportunity to travel and dine in the finest restaurants all over the world, including in such culinary capitals as New York, London, Paris, Rome, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Sydney.  Their travels enabled them to develop their palate through exposure to a wide variety of cuisines and innovative flavors, inspiring them to create deliciously eclectic ice cream flavors.  The unexpectedly successful combination of salty and sweet is highlighted in their Salted Butter Caramel Swirl, while the Cheese Course Duo ice cream is a daring move into savory desserts showcasing Roquefort blue cheese against local Medjool dates. On the herbal front, the inclusion of fresh basil into lime sorbet gives the frozen desert an invigorating twist.  Even all American favorites get a tweak as the classic Mint Chip is infused with real organic mint leaves and Rocky Road is elevated with fresh handmade marshmallows.

“We want to give our customers a taste experience that’s beyond what they would find in a supermarket or a chain scoop shop.” declared Jan.

Handcrafting in small batches right in the store is an intensive process, however they believe it is the only way to achieve singular perfection in ice cream. Starting from scratch with the finest all-natural ingredients and local hormone-free milk and cream, Sweet Republic avoids artificial flavorings and colors, making ice cream the way it’s meant to be. Because they are obsessive perfectionists about every element of the artisan ice cream experience, Jan and Helen insist on making their own inclusions, toppings, sauces and hand-rolled waffle cones – all  entirely from scratch.  This means that when a customer takes a bite out of the Brownie Swirl, she will taste fresh fudgy brownies that were made right in the store.

While the main ingredients for Sweet Republic’s artisan ice cream base is a short list of milk, cream, eggs and sugar, it takes a good understanding of food science to fine tune the right mix composition that will result in a silky smooth texture.  With her pastry training from Le Cordon Bleu in Sydney, Australia coupled with specialized ice cream courses at the Dairy Products Technology Center, Cal State Poly in San Luis Obispo and the Frozen Desserts Institute in St Louis, Helen deftly pull off the fine balancing act.

Top-of-line, specialized equipment from Europe also plays a role in the lush creaminess achieved by Sweet Republic’s artisan ice cream.  A hot mix treatment machine enables proper homogenization of the milk, cream, eggs and sugar, as well as, maximizes hygiene by heating the ice cream mix up to a temperature of 185 degrees before cooling it down to 40 degrees, at which temperature it is held for aging.  The Italian made batch freezer with relatively slow churning speed affects the amount of air whipped in and yields a low overrun ice cream with a smooth texture and intense flavor.  The fresh ice cream goes immediately from the batch freezer into another specialized piece of equipment, the shock freezer.  With a temperature range as low as negative 40 degrees, it rapidly reduces the ice cream’s core temperature and arrests the development of ice crystals.  For storage, a walk-in freezer is used to hold the finished ice cream below 0 degree.

About Helen Yung
Helen is a co-founder and Chief Ice Cream Maker for Sweet Republic.  She was most recently a line chef at Eccolo restaurant in Berkeley, CA where she worked for well-known chef Christopher Lee, a 16 year veteran and former Executive Chef of Chez Panisse. She received her formal culinary training in both cuisine and pastry at Le Cordon Bleu in Sydney, Australia.  Once she decided to focus on ice cream making, Helen refined her culinary training by taking a hands-on gelato seminar with Italian gelato maestro Luciano Ferrari. To be further educated in the science behind the art of ice cream making, Helen also attended specialized courses at the Dairy Products Technology Center, Cal State Poly San Luis Obispo and at the Frozen Desserts Institute in St. Louis.  Prior to embarking on her culinary career, Helen was an investment banker and qualified Chartered Financial Analyst who worked at Citigroup’s New York, London and Tokyo offices.

About Jan Wichayanuparp
Jan is a co-founder and President of Sweet Republic. Prior to opening Sweet Republic, Jan enjoyed a successful career as Vice President of Asia Pacific Equity Capital Markets at investment banking powerhouse Citigroup, where she oversaw billions of dollars in equity and equity-linked transactions. She has worked in Citigroup’s Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok and New York offices.  She received her ice cream making training at the Frozen Desserts Institute in St. Louis.

For more information visit www.sweetrepublic.com or call 480-248-6979.