Hell Pizza serves up the world’s first cauliflower ice cream

Hell Pizza has begun selling cauliflower ice cream, created by New Zealand plant-based foods start-up EatKinda.

The Strawberry Swirl and Mint Choc Bikkie flavours mark a world first in commercially produced ice cream made with cauliflower.

EatKinda founders Jenni Matheson and Mrinali Kumar have gone from making ice cream on their kitchen bench to producing it commercially, with the help of Hell.

Matheson – a vegan for more than 20 years – came up with her cauliflower ice cream recipe while looking to use up vegetables from her garden. She found that cauliflower had the ideal texture without an overpowering taste, making it a perfect base to create various flavours.

EatKinda uses “rescued” cauliflower for its ice cream whenever possible, avoiding the waste of produce that does not make it to supermarket shelves, usually because it looks ugly.

The rescued cauliflowers have cosmetic imperfections such as being the wrong size or an odd colour, but they are still good to eat. One of its suppliers is Perfectly Imperfect, a social enterprise that saves cosmetically imperfect food from rotting in the ground. This practice helps to tackle issues around climate change and food waste.

Hell Pizza‘s founder Callum Davies says the team was amazed by how delicious the cauliflower ice cream tasted, adding that Hell has always been big on plant power, showcasing plant-based alternatives and showing people that being kinder to the planet does not mean compromising on taste.

Ben Cumming, CEO at Hell, says sustainability is one of the brand’s core values, which is why it believes it is important to support companies like EatKinda.

EatKinda wants to revolutionise the ice cream industry by changing how science and technology are used in the primary sector to create sustainable, animal-free sweet treats.

Hell has been working closely with Matheson and Kumar to ready the ice cream for a nationwide expansion, something the brand is familiar with after opening its first store 27 years ago.

The plant-based ice creams from EatKinda are already available at every Hell Pizza store.

A new gelato brand has launched in Australia that aims to do more than just satisfy tastebuds – it also seeks to do good for the planet.