Artisan Creamery Coming to Carousel Village

Newtown, you’re in for a treat. Literally.

OwowCow Creamy, an artisan ice cream shop that has enjoyed wild success at its Ottsville location, is coming to Carousel Village in May.

When we say this won’t be good for your waistline, we mean it.

But, really, who cares about their waistline when honey lavender ice cream enters the picture?

OwowCow founder and owner John Fezzuoglio said he’s excited to bring his product to the Newtown area. And what he serves from the scoop is not your average ice cream.

Fezzuoglio makes his product literally from scratch and with all-natural ingredients. That means no factory-produced ice cream bases with chemicals and preservatives. No high-fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, sweeteners, or flavors.  Just organic cream from Way-Har Farm, locally-produced free-range eggs, organic sugar, and other all-natural ingredients.

Not only is the cream from a local dairy farm, but Fezzuoglio also buys his ingredients from area producers whenever possible. For example, the lavender is from Peace Valley Lavender Farm, the honey is made from local producer Bill Mondjack Apiaries, and when in season, fruit and berries are selected from local farms.

The result is an ultra creamy, extremely satisfying dessert that supports Bucks County farmers.

Fezzuoglio, of Pipersville, opened his shop in Ottsville two years ago after deciding he needed a change from his career as a graphic designer in Manhattan. A native of Brooklyn, N.Y. with a strong Italian heritage, Fezzuoglio said he wanted to pursue a career that was central to who he is as a person.

“I’ve always wanted to please people. My culture tells me to please them through food,” he said. But the current culture of food in America has strayed away from the family farm to big business creating artificial replications of once wholesome products, he said.

“I just wanted to be independent from the food industry and be plugged into the small family farm,” Fezzuoglio said. And so OwowCow, with its artisan approach and all-natural roots, was born.

Fezzuoglio has a license from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture to pasteurize dairy right in his shop. His ice cream base includes organic cream, eggs, honey, organic sugar and organic powdered skim milk.

He combines this base with everything from berries, to espresso, jalapenos, lavender, blood oranges, sweet potatoes, rosewater, and more to create flavors that will stun, and ultimately, satisfy your palate.

“I hate being predictable,” Fezzuoglio said. “I’m always trying to break the rules, be part of an exploration.” From the beginning, he added, “I wanted to do an ice cream that assaulted the palate."

You’d be hard pressed to find OwowCow’s flavors in the supermarket freezer: chocolate jalapeno, lemon ginger, honey lavender, chai cream, sweet potato wasabi, and cannoli cream are just a few of their offerings.

There’s no such thing as plain vanilla, either. Instead there’s a choice of three: Madagascar, which has a pronounced flavor and is a good compliment for chocolate; Tahitian, which goes well with fruit; and Indonesian, with an earthy flavor that's a perfect match for a root beer float, Fezzuoglio said.

“I just try to create a flavor that is so satisfying and quintessential of what that flavor is supposed to be,” he said. But Fezzuoglio uses no recipes in the process; he makes ice cream by taste and memory. “A recipe is a dead thing,” he said.

Each day, Fezzuoglio continues to experiment with flavor, creating new and interesting combinations. “The moment it becomes predictable, then I stop doing it,” he said.

Fezzuoglio said he plans to offer the same flavors and products that have attracted people from all over to visit his Ottsville location.

The shop will be located in the barn at Carousel Village. It’s a historic barn, which is in line with Fezzuoglio’s mission to reconnect with Bucks County’s agricultural roots.

He's planning to open May 1.

Eventually, he hopes to move all ice cream making operations to the Carousel Village location and will even grow some of his ingredients right there next to the shop.

For more information about OwowCow, visit their Facebook page at “OwowCow Creamery.”