Chef Profile: Douglas Quint, Big Gay Ice Cream Truck
The Chef: Douglas Quint, proprietor of Big Gay Ice Cream Truck in New York City, which has expanded to its very own storefront at 125 East 7th Street in the East Village. Plus, he’s turned into a veritable food celebrity himself since we first profiled him on BehindTheKnife, mingling with — among others — the Deen Brothers and contestants on Top Chef Just Desserts. Follow him on Twitter at @biggayicecream.
The Tools: “I don’t use a lot of tools, but I have lots of bins for toppings,” says Quint, who is a professional bassoonist and currently on the road in China. But last summer, he saw a Facebook post from a friend looking for someone to drive an ice cream truck, and the rest is history.
“I do have jars of sea salt and lots of squeeze bottles filled with dulce de leche and olive oil. I have to decant everything, so it’s always about the size of the opening on the squeeze bottle for me,” he explains. “The biggest hassles are the different consistencies of the toppings. The olive oil bottle has to have a small opening and I only serve it in cups otherwise it will run off the cone. And dulce de leche comes out differently, a narrow ribbon vs a wide blob of goo, so I need medium gauge for that.
“I also use pumpkin butter, which easily clogs squeeze bottles, so I had to look around for a really massive opening. I did a lot of clipping and cutting last summer, but without a clean break it leaves jagged edges, so I’d rather do it myself.”
More Tools: “I use a cheap Oster blender with a milkshake blade to make my toppings, which makes all the difference,” says Quint. “Oster makes a stock milkshake blade which aerates everything.”
Holy Grail Tool: “When I was a kid, my sister worked on a Tasti Freeze truck, and there was a sprinkle-distributing wheel, like a ferris wheel, that evenly distributed the sprinkles. I called the distributor, but they don’t have them in stock right now, and people call them once or twice a month because they’re rabid to get the sprinkle wheel. I occasionally see some on eBay and on an online ice cream forum, but they’re always snapped up immediately.”
Editor’s Note: IMO, the best combo is the Salty Pimp. Vanilla soft serve with dulce de leche, a sprinkling of sea salt, all dipped in chocolate. Wow.
Editor’s Second Note: Douglas is holding Peckerhead, star of my long-dormant blog, WhereInTheWorldIsPeckerhead.com
