KOCHI: Besides sporting activities, the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium has evolved as a foodie hub in recent times. The walkway around it is dotted with bustling street-food outlets.
While on a night stroll here, a food truck catches my attention. Three young men are busy preparing ice cream. They pour milk onto a frozen plate, mash fruits with it, spread, roll, and serve it in paper cups to eagerly waiting customers.
The process of making rolled ice cream might not be new to those hooked to social media, as there are hundreds of reels out there. However, most of the customers closely watch the process. Some capture videos.
Said to have originated in Thailand and then moved to the West, rolled ice creams are a delight for anyone with a sweet tooth. The “childhood dream” to do something together as friends and their experiences from a Thailand trip back in 2021 motivated the three young IT professionals – Navin Sebastian, Nikhil Jose, and Delpher K C – to attempt to do something unique.
They quit their corporate jobs and launched the ‘Scream Rolls’ ice-cream truck a few months ago. “Making rolled ice cream involves a unique process. We thought it would intrigue the public,” says Navin.
Scream Rolls opens at 6pm and closes at midnight. The desserts – in four fruit flavours and seven non-fruit ones – are priced between J139 and J 149. ‘Mango Tango’, ‘Pina Punch’, Berrylicious’, ‘Exotic Passion’, ‘Creamy Cheese’, ‘Choco Blast’, and ‘Crunchy Caramel’ are some of the popular picks here.
“Most of our customers are youngsters. So far, the response has been great — people love the taste and appreciate the pricing. Initially, we wanted to focus only on fruit flavours, but due to demand, we introduced other varieties as well,” Navin adds.
From purchasing the ingredients to serving the delicacies, the entire process is handled by the trio. “We had initially planned to hire two or three employees. However, when we started looking for skilled people, we realised only a few knew how to make it,” says Delpher.
“So, we bought a customised machine and taught ourselves through YouTube and other platforms.”
He says that the trio had worked in the corporate sector for over three years. “However, we always wanted to stay together and run a business. The rolled ice cream stalls in Thailand were new to us, and we decided to bring something similar to Kochi,” he says.
Navin adds that they initially considered launching a mobile food truck to travel across the city. However, this idea was dropped due to the need to adhere to local regulations.