I grew up in a family of six children with a mother who was not only an excellent cook but had a sweet tooth. Mom was a stickler for fresh, in-season ingredients, which helped me develop a discriminating (some would say picky) palate. 

 

In 1971, I moved to Boston where I discovered Steve’s Ice Cream store around the corner from where I lived.They made their own ice cream so I could get my fix every day after work. Its founder, Steve Herrell, is viewed as the godfather of homemade premium ice cream in the United States.

 

I was part of the original pioneers who worked on building packet-switching networks. We call it the internet now. When I retired (young) I was living in the Beaches in Toronto with my Canadian wife Jennifer. I could find no Steve’s around the corner, I started to think about opening my own local, hand-made, premium ice cream store.

 

I experimented in my kitchen for over a year to replicate the pure tastes my mom created. I tested them on my willing neighbours and to perfect them, I enrolled in Carpigiani University courses, led by the renowned artisanal gelato master Luciano Ferrari. When I felt I had developed the recipes to the high standard my mom had set, I took the leap and opened my first Ed’s Real Scoop in the Beach – in March 2000.

 

My mom got to pass judgement and she approved! Happily so did our customers. In the  years we have been open, it has been gratifying to have Ed’s Real Scoop recognized as one of the pioneers that contributed to the appreciation Torontonians now have for local shops, offering premium products, that are not mass produced but hand-made on site with pure ingredients.  

Thank you Toronto, 

Ed Francis