Millers Ice Cream, Cowaramup
Paul Miller’s a third-generation dairy farmer. In 1932, his grandfather bought the family’s farm in Cowaramup, a town in the Margaret River region with the udderly perfect nickname of Cowtown. With milk prices crashing to unsustainable lows in the past few years, Paul and his wife Trish sought to diversify their business so the farm could stay afloat. They researched different kinds of production, but in the end it made the most sense to stick with dairy – and make ice cream.
Paul Miller, resident ice cream man
Paul and Trish created a family-friendly ice creamery and milk bar-style Farm Cafe in a renovated white cottage on their property, which has now been trading for over 18 months. There’s an adventure playground, picnic benches, a 235-metre bush walk, baby changing facilities and restrooms. Millers also offers accessible facilities with ramp and double-door access to the shop and a disabled toilet. There’s plenty of parking too.
Got a car full of kids? Seriously, consider making a stop here.
You can actually ‘milk’ the cow! The rain’s left an unfortunately placed puddle.
Mum and Dad can eat ice cream on the verandah and enjoy the view while the kids run around on the grass.
Millers make over 50 flavours of ice cream but 16 flavours are on display at the Farm Cafe any one time, including two dairy-free (fruit sorbets or the very popular dairy-free 70% chocolate).
The ice cream display is a glorious sight.
Decisions, decisions…
The ice cream is handmade the traditional way. The cows are milked twice a day (5am and 3pm) every day of the year. The fresh milk is gently pasteurised with all the cream left in. There are no additives and the milk is not homogenised. The flavour ingredients are added to make ice cream, which is then blast-frozen. This really is cow to cone ice cream – you could be eating ice cream made with the milk from cows milked just three hours ago. Fresh full cream milk is also available in 2-litre bottles.
The ice cream comes in a cup or cone: Regular (one scoop, AU$4.50); Medium (2 scoops, $6); Large (3 scoops, $7.50) or an 8-flavour taster for $15. Kid-size servings are also available (Mini Moos, $3) and takeaway tubs of ice cream too. You can also get milkshakes made with Millers fresh milk and ice cream.
It’s non-stop ice cream porn as I agonise over which flavour(s) to choose.
Cookies N Cream
Caramello
Ferrero Rocher
The award-winning marscapone and wild fig
Strawberry and custard
It’s a difficult decision but in the end I choose two flavours: strawberry and custard, and Cowtown coffee, made with coffee by local roaster Yahava. The ice cream is wonderful -smooth, creamy and not overly sweet. Next time I visit Millers, I plan to talk whoever I’m with into sharing an 8-flavour taster. This ice cream is truly worth tasting.
Strawberry and custard (top) and Cowtown Coffee (bottom) – if not for lunch plans shortly afterwards, I’d have eaten more ice cream.
There are currently no distributors for Millers ice cream and milk in Perth; you’ll have to take a trip to the Margaret River region. See the list of Millers distributors.
Millers Ice Cream (Farm Cafe)
314 Wirring Road
Cowaramup
Western Australia
Telephone: (08) 97559 850
Open 9.30 am to 4.30pm.
Closed Good Friday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and for winter break 17th August to 1st September.
Millers Ice Cream Town Shop is run by Paul’s brother Peter
140 Bussell Highway, Margaret River
Open daily 10.30am to 5.15pm
28 flavours of ice cream plus waffles, pancakes, smooothies, milkshakes, Cowtown iced coffee made with Yahava coffee, and 100% farm fresh full cream milk.
Perth Royal Show 2012
29 September to 6 October at Claremont Showgrounds.
This year’s ‘guest town’ is Margaret River.
Millers entered six ice cream flavours in this year’s Perth Royal Show competition.
For more info about the show, visit the website or Facebook page.
I’ll be going to the show this year after giving it a miss the past five years – will eat and tweet my way through – can’t wait!
TFP travelled to the Margaret River region as a guest of the Royal Agricultural Society of Western Australia.