Phinizy and Phebe

My lovely friend, Jess Eddy, has embarked on a new adventure, one that involves creating delicious ice cream in Brooklyn, NY.  Her new business, Phinizy and Phebe (please note that the "and" is actually an ampersand but blogger won't let me use this character!), which she started with her partner, Crista, has just recently been unveiled.  But, before I get into that, let me give you a little snapshot of Jess.

I met Jess in college through one of my teammates and we became instant friends.  We didn't hang out all the time, but when we did, there was always loads of laughter, lots of inquisitive discussions, and more than enough silliness.  One of my fondest memories of college is sitting at Jess' kitchen table, drinking coffee, and just talking about anything and everything.  Jess has the kind of personality that you crave to be around: hysterically funny, respectful, intelligent, happy, laid back, and she always makes you feel good.  She's also one of the most creative people I've ever met.  Jess and I worked on the campus magazine together, The Loop, and Jess basically carried the entire project from start to finish.  Her ideas were inspiring, her creativy was astounding, and her drive was impressive.  Through the years, her creativy grew astronomically, she started her own creative design business, moved to Brooklyn, started a food blog, and really fell in love with food.

Now, Jess has always loved food.  She's a phenomenal cook (um, to this day, I will always claim that her homemade pizza is one of the best I've EVER eaten) and she appreciates a great meal.  She also appreciates a cup of coffee and a nice bottle of wine and a nice glass of scotch.  And ice cream.  Enter Phinizy and Phebe. 

Jess sat down with me over email and answered a few questions about her new business.

What is it about ice cream that made you want to dive in and start creating your own recipes / start your own business?

It was mostly unintentional. We bought our first ice cream maker, which arrived Friday, February 12th. We made our first (and what has since become our signature) flavor, Fluffnut on February 14th. There's a small and fairly new ice cream company in NYC that delivers ice cream. We were interested in getting ice cream delivered but were out of their delivery zone and just couldn't wait so we started making our own original flavors.

 

The real thrill for us came after we made our first flavor. After we tasted it we knew we were onto something great. We shared it with friends, got positive feedback then started brainstorming new flavors. This became an obsession - all we talked about. We have a chalkboard wall in our kitchen, which we use to write down the flavor ideas we want to pursue. We have about 25 ideas we've brainstormed, six of which we have recently narrowed in on.

What's the significance behind the name of your business?

Phinizy is an old family name of Crista's and Phebe is my middle name.

What's a typical day look like for you and Crista?

Well right now, we both still work full-time so the ice cream business takes up a lot of our free time. We spend a lot of time organizing and planning as we're in the very begininning stages of our business. We just made our first appearance to the public at a crafts and food fair and got a great reception. Since then we've been invited to other fairs. These milestones really help keep us moving forward. When we are making ice cream a typical day includes just that! A side effect of this is lots of tasting to make sure our flavors are spot on. This has also increased our gym attendance.

Where do you get your inspiration?

I have to go back to our first flavor, Fluffnut. We were originally inspired by the peanut butter and fluff Ritz cracker sandwiches we ate as a kid and wanted to recreate that flavor and experience in an ice cream. As part of our creative process we talk through different flavor combinations and possibilities. This gives us a chance to evolve our idea. Through this process our idea soon turned into a Ritz cracker sandwich that was covered in caramel then in chocolate. This was mainly a strategic decision to protect the sandwich so it would hold up in the ice cream. It also just happened to be delicious. Part of our inspiration also comes from Crista's Southern background, which you see mainly in a couple of our flavors: Coconut Key Lime Pie and Banana DANG! (a banana pudding ice cream).

Describe your new business venture in two words.

Delicious. Insane.

I have no doubt that Phinizy and Phebe will hit the food scene in NY and explode. So far, Jess and Crista have received great feedback from those that have had the honor to taste the deliciousness of their ice cream.   

 

Follow Phinizy and Phebe on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

 

All pictures via Jess Eddy (yeah, she's an amazing photographer, too!)