What a race! The Helen Ross McNabb Center cardboard sled race, that has been held for six years now at Ober Gatlinburg, was held Feb. 2, 2007. It is a sled race down the snow packed slope at Ober Gatlinburg. Any business or individual can enter to participate as long as you follow the guidelines for building the sled. You have to build the sled out of cardboard and tape. You can have 2 to 4 people who ride the sled down the slope.

Mayfield has participated for the last three years. Each year Randy Ballew designs and builds the sled with the help of fellow rider Russell Mahery. The creativity and talent that they put into building the sleds is unbelievable. This year our sled was a giant Snow Cream Pop Stix that bursts out of the carton. With only one set of handles built into the front of the sled, Russell was holding on for dear life, with the rest of the team (Heather Buchanan, Ashley Reed, and Randy) behind him. Just as we were on our sled and waiting for the time to go, the course staff members could not hold our sled on the starting line, causing us to be disqualified due to a false start. Even though we didn't win, our sled definitely stood out among the others. As we handed out snow pops to our competitors, they couldn't help but to cheer for us. After all, we are Mayfield....."The World's Best Ice Cream".

Ashley Reed and Heather Buchanan

 This year's sled

 Sled from 2 years ago

It has been a long time since I have been ice skating and Saturday I decided I did not need to put on a pair of skates to enjoy the Ice Chalet in Knoxville.  The folks at the Ice Chalet were kind enough to let us sample their skaters with our four new flavors of ice cream for 2007.  I think it is supposed to be a surprise and I am not supposed to mention the flavors in this blog, but since that was the reason for being at the Ice Chalet and a bunch of folks sampled them, I think I should tell you about them. 

First, I need to mention the Ice Chalet experience.  It was great!  It was obvious people were having a great time.  I saw some folks who appeared to be regulars and some who were first-timers.  One family I knew was attending a birthday party.  As they arrived, the Mom and Dad said, “This should be interesting.”  I think the ages of their children were 4, 7 and 10.  As they were leaving, they said, with a big smile, “That was interesting.”  The place was packed.  We served ice cream inside the skating area near the spectator stands.  There was a big fireplace in the lobby area, which made it really warm.  The rink area was appropriately cold.  The manager said, “The colder the weather - the bigger the crowd.”  Personally, I think we should all mark our calendars to go visit in the summer when it is too hot to be outside.

Now for the flavors:  Chocolate Cream Pie, Olde Savannah Caramel, Coconut Cake and Peanut Butterific.  OK, I’ll do the formal descriptions and then tell you our preferences:

Chocolate Cream Pie – Chocolate ice cream with bon bon marshmallow, a graham cracker swirl and chocolate chips.  (Dark chocolate chips)

Olde Savannah Caramel – Caramel ice cream with a caramel ribbon and English Toffee pieces.  (My personal favorite)

Coconut Cake – Coconut ice cream with a white icing and cake pieces.  (Similar to Birthday Cake ice cream - only Coconut.  Even people who professed to not like coconut liked it)

Peanut Butterific – Peanut butter ice cream with a chocolate peanut butter swirl and chocolate-covered peanuts.

Here are the results of those of us who listened to comments and did some sampling of our own.  The Chocolate Cream Pie ran out first so we think it won, but only because people tried it by itself and then they started mixing it.  I’m not sure whether the combination of Chocolate Cream Pie and Coconut Cake was preferred over the combo with Peanut Butterific.  I thought it went well with the Olde Savannah Caramel, which came in a close second as a stand alone flavor.  I think Coconut Cake and Peanut Butterific tied for third.  Generally speaking, it looks like a tasty ice cream season coming up. 

One thing we need to talk about and get some input on is:  How do you say “Caramel?”  Is it car-a-mel or care-a-mel?  I always say care-a-mel, but I sure did hear a bunch of people say car-a-mel.  Regardless of how you say it, it sure does taste good.  The pieces of English Toffee are really good.

These flavors should be in the stores in March.  We will probably have some folks stock them early, so go check-out the stores.

Scottie

Here's some pictures from the event...

From left, back row: Arianna McElyea, Falcon LaBorde, Me, Lucy Han, Marsean Oyler, Ashley Boling, and Ella Hulsey.

From left, front row: Tori Dziezyk, Jeshua Jacklet, Kelley Dziezyk, Rebecca Varnon, Holly Pattinson, and Kaleigh Lain.

Hi, I'm Tiffany, and I work in Consumer Affairs with Jan.  One of the best parts about my job is hearing funny stories from Mayfield fans.  You never know when you're going to hear one that brightens your day and maybe even add a little laughter.  I recently received an e-mail from a customer who was looking for Hog Heaven.  Unfortunately, it is discontinued and I had to break the bad news to her.  Fortunately though, she took the upset in stride and her response back to me was a story that I want to share with you all...

I must run with Ice Cream aficionados!  My son, when he was about 15, told me to speed up to catch up with a Mayfield truck.  He climbed up out of the window and yelled "Pull over.  I've got a spoon and I'm not afraid to use it!" while he pointed his spoon at them!  Then one day, my friend and I pulled into a gas station where we saw a Mayfield truck, and (although she is tiny) she said "Pull up by him, I am pretty sure we can take him!"  I wondered how many people think the same thing when they see a Mayfield truck.

We wonder too!  Do you get an overwhelming urge to do something silly when you spot one of our bright yellow trucks?  Tell us your story.  We would love to hear it!

Tiffany

Occasionally, consumers contact us to see if we have any events happening in their area where they can sample ice cream flavors.  One such event is coming up in Knoxville, Tennessee and I wanted to let you know about it.  February 3rd from 2pm until 5pm is Mayfield Day at the Ice Chalet.  During this time, we will be giving visitors a sneak peek, and more importantly a FREE taste, of our new 2007 Feature Flavors before they are available in stores.

A discounted admission price of $2 will get you into the Chalet and skate rentals will be $3.  So, this would be a fun and affordable afternoon for your whole family to skate and sample some terrific new ice cream flavors!

Also, be sure to tune in to WVLT, Channel 8 and Chef Walter for a chance to win free tickets to the event as well as a Mayfield prize pack.

Jan

If you like coffee flavored ice cream, you should try our new one.  It’s called Coffee House Fudge and it’s only available in our Select 2-piece package.  This product is actually a reformulation of our old Jamocha Fudge, except with a much better flavor.  It took some tweaking, but with the help from our friends at Virginia Dare we finally came up with the combination of coffee flavors that we were looking for.  It’s simply a smooth coffee flavored ice cream with a ribbon of chocolate fudge running through it. 

Scott

Here’s a little more information about the history of Mayfield Snow Cream…

Three years ago I was approached by company president Scottie Mayfield about an idea for a wintertime feature flavor. It seems he had come across a lady from Spruce Pine, North Carolina who had a formula for a product she called “Snow Cream,” and she trademarked the name to deter infringement on her idea.

Now, when I was growing up in East Tennessee we received about two snowfalls a year and, besides schools shutting down, one of the highlights of such an occasion was making homemade snow cream. The recipe was quiet simple – take a bowl of freshly fallen snow, add a half cup of whole milk, half a teaspoon of vanilla extract and sugar to taste. What a treat!

As much as I loved this concoction as a kid, I had reservations about its potential success as an ice cream flavor. After all, I didn’t know if other folks had similar experiences (like Rob) or if people would even know what snow cream was all about.

Still skeptical, we designed a unique carton fitting of the name and made the first run of this product in October 2003. Believing the initial production would last us through December, we promptly ran out in five days! The product was an instant hit and became the buzz of Mayfield lovers throughout the South.

Because I had so underestimated the volume of this product many grocers’ shelves were without until we were finally able to get enough cartons to supply our entire region. Additionally, the enthusiasm surrounding the product spawned offshoots such as Snow Cream Stix and Snow Cream Lowfat Vanilla Milk.

Today, Snow Cream® continues to thrive, and a product that had an expected life of four months has stretched that to three years…and counting.

Alan