Ferme du Bois Louvet in Ayr is one of the top 10 ice cream parlors in France according to TripAdvisor.

Like many farms, in 2008 Philippe Cocan was looking for a way to increase milk production at his Ferme du Bois Louvet in Saint-Jean-de-la-Lekker in Ayr. It was through advertising that he was introduced to the Dutch concept of “farm ice cream”, with a recipe based on custard and sherbets without dyes. With no franchise or royalties, the brand quickly made a name for itself in frozen desserts. For fifteen years, the company produces 80,000 liters of ice cream per year, opens a store in the small port of Honfleur from April 1st until All Saints and also during the Christmas holidays, is mentioned in the Guide du Routard and comes mainly from taking 5th place among the best ice cream parlors in France on TripAdvisor and to be ranked among the top 15 sorbets by the national daily “Le Monde” with “Apple Calvados”.

In the laboratory run by Isabelle Cocany, in addition to hygiene, quality is the standard: “Firstly, we select our raw materials mainly locally and seasonally, such as rhubarb, tomatoes, foie gras, calvados, basil, strawberries, etc. Egg yolks come from the Ferme du Pré Servi’Œuf in Eragny-sur-Epte on the Somme, our Williams pears from the Loire, melons from the Loire-et-Cher and apples from the Loire Valley. »

The manager claims that milk from the farm is used “because making ice cream with powder and water does not give the same smoothness and taste as homemade. Inevitably, powder is easier for manufacturers to transport, store, and market. It’s the same with our sherbets: 20% fruit is not the same as our 50%. Here, we gnaw fruit! In addition, we do not artificially overfill our ice cream. We do not introduce air to create volume. We have a 2.5-liter container can weigh up to 2 kg versus 1.2 kg in other places. »

Over the years, with a team of 9 full-time employees (7 permanent, 20 seasonal), about a hundred flavors have entered the ice cream parlor’s catalogue, always with vanilla, salted butter caramel, more recently strawberry basil or even mango. , raspberry and lemon: “We also remain attentive to our customers. For the restaurateur, we prepared ice cream with olive oil from Provence, and for the support – with buckwheat. This is our strength! says Philip Kokan.

Calvados apples, summer success

With this know-how, the Ferme du Bois Louvet directs its products to a geographical area that stretches from the west of Neubourg to Caen, 40% to restaurants, 30% to its farm shop and its kiosk in Honfleur, and the rest to the KZ in grocery stores. , farm shops, cheese dairies “except supermarkets”. The number of customers is growing, especially with the advent of new media. A journalist from the daily newspaper Le Monde, already mentioned in Honfleur’s Guide du Routard as an unmissable address, entered the store anonymously: “He loved our Calvados apple sorbet, made from three types of apples boiled in compote. with the peel, where the taste, sugar and Norman Calvados. At 73°C there is no more alcohol, but the taste remains. It is the concept of the Normandy hole that is very popular among the public and especially among restaurateurs. Since then, we have been asked only what [rires]. We receive calls and emails from everywhere. Even from Vancouver, but we can’t ship there! smiled the manager.

And that’s not all, because recently the American online booking site TripAdvisor placed Les Glaces de la Ferme du Bois Louvet in the middle of the Top 10 best ice cream parlors in France: “We are delighted and confident in our choice. We now produce all year round and will have to push the walls to store raw materials and finished products. This is our short-term goal,” say Isabelle and Philippe Kokan.