Overview
Ever wanted to nom on Louis XIV? Feast on Emperor Jing Zong? Connoisseur ice cream have taken some royal cues with their brand new dessert line: the Connoisseur 'Empire Collection'. An epic thematic stretch (but a tasty-sounding one we can raise a spoon to), the collection is inspired by historical figures or 'tastemakers' who supposedly "had a connection to the very origins of ice cream," according to the Connoisseur team. Though the historic heavyweights' connection to ice cream is somewhat vague (and annoyingly they're all dudes), we're not ones to say nay to academic dessert.
Kicking off the all-star historic lineup is Emperor Nero, embodied in coffee-flavoured ice cream (because Italy) littered with chocolate-coated hazelnuts and hazelnut liqueur. In between all that tyrannic ruling, fire-starting and attempting to assassinate his own mother, the Roman Emperor apparently used to have ice brought from the mountains and top it with fruit. What a decadent ass.
Next up, King Louis XIV trots in with a French vanilla ice cream (der) with chocolate flakes and armagnac sauce worthy of Versailles. Iced desserts were served at the court of the 'Sun King', so he makes the cut.
The origins of ice cream are sometimes credited to the Chinese Song Dynasty, leading to our next ice cream inspirer Emperor Jing Zong — realised as red bean and toasted coconut. Finally, King Cyrus of Persia gets his own iced confection, with pistachio ice cream swirled with cinnamon, honey and date sauce. The Persians have a strong connection to the history of ice cream; they'd apparently pour grape juice over snow, making a kind of ancient snow cone.
Royally-inspired ice cream needs some pretty packaging, so Connoisseur have enlisted the help of Melbourne street artist Steve Cross. "It’s a tale of four men, connected by ice cream and I really wanted to bring them to life through the packaging and design to create something truly unique,” says Cross. "I was inspired both by the ingredients used and the historic figures with their rich back stories. It’s a great acknowledgment to history, bringing these legends alive today — a beautiful demonstration of the blending of two eras.”
You can check out the four flavours in the freezer section at Coles and Woolies for your less-than-Ben and Jerry's price of $7.99. The Connoisseur team are also pushing the collection further, with a one-week exhibition at Blank Space in Surry Hills: The Empire Collection Pop-Up Gallery (September 17 - 22).
Couldn't have thrown in one female figure, guys? Queens dig ice cream too.