What’s New
www.qns.com I LIC COURIER I SEPTEMBER 2017 11
Tavia Kowalchuk really likes ice cream.
The 18-year Sunnyside resident
started reading about how to make a
perfect batch of the frozen concoction
10 years ago as a way to cut costs. She
found out that it wasn’t much cheaper
to make her own ice cream, but it was
more fun.
Kowalchuk, who works as a book marketer,
founded Bliss Street Creamery in
March and began selling her batches at
food markets like Queens Night Market
and at Socrates Sculpture Park in Long
Island City and Sunnyside Gardens Park.
“It’s something that lived in my imagination
for a long time but finally came
to the public this summer,” she said. “I
was making ice cream as a sort of passion
project at home and I’d share it with
friends and family.”
Kowalchuk uses local and organic
ingredients to makes her small-batch,
handcrafted ice cream at a shared commercial
kitchen. Bliss Street Creamery’s
most popular flavor, Pink Peppercorn, is a
roasted and pureed strawberry base with
ground pink peppercorn for a “fruity and
crunchy” taste.
The Blueberry Buffalo, a blueberry
puree, is made with a special ingredient
Kowalchuk purchases at the Sunnyside
Green Market. Buffalo milk ricotta cheese
from the Riverine Ranch in New Jersey
produces a flavor that she describes as
“a cheese plate after fancy dinner but
sweeter.”
“I’m using the freshest ingredients,
I’m turning over the product quickly and
I’m really taking advantage of seasonal
ingredients that are ripe in the moment,”
she said.
In addition to her pints, which cost $12
and can be purchased through her website,
Kowalchuk also makes custom flavor
ice creams. For her parents’ 50th wedding
anniversary, she created a marzipan bitter
chocolate swirl ice cream that was also
popular at the Queens Night Market.
“The response has been positive,”
she said. “People that meet me at events
have overwhelmingly said we need an
ice cream shop in Sunnyside and they’ve
really enjoyed what they ordered.”
Eventually, Kowalchuk wants to open a
shop in Sunnyside where she is “looking
to make a lot of flavors that are inspired by
the people who live in my neighborhood.”
She’d like to partner with local coffee
roasters, brewers or bakers to incorporate
their “signature products” into her ice
cream. Kowalchuk has already started
looking for a storefront and would like
to be based in Sunnyside.
“I want to be a Queens brand and I
really would love to serve the Sunnyside
community,” she said. “This community
has given so much to me and I would
like to give in a bigger way by having
this ice cream shop.”
