Drexel Ice Cream Now Available at Franklin Fountain

"Dragon's Breath" pints in the freezer at the Franklin Ice Cream Bar. Photo credit: The Franklin Fountain.

A new addition to the ice cream list at Franklin Fountain, a local historically themed ice cream parlor and soda fountain, has strong ties to Drexel University — and is only available for the month of April and has a special Drexel discount.

“Dragon’s Breath,” which is a saffron- and orange-infused vanilla ice cream flavor with cinnamon and pistachio honeycomb, was created by Nora Vaughan ’21, a culinary arts and science major in Drexel’s Center for Food & Hospitality Management. It will be sold at Franklin Fountain this month and faculty, staff and students with a Drexel ID can receive a 30 percent discount.

It was the winning flavor in a Drexel-themed ice cream contest held by Drexel and Franklin Fountain in February. Dragons got to have a special taste test of the ice cream on April 10, when Vaughan and the co-owners of Franklin Fountain, Eric and Ryan Berley, helped distribute cups of that ice cream for free.

At the event, which was held at 3 p.m. in Behrakis Grand Hall, people were lined up all the way past Mandell Theater to try their free ice cream. The first group of people in line — first-year entertainment and arts management students Amaya Montalio and Arianna Balbo and first-year computing and security technology student Max Brightman — had arrived at 2:30 p.m.

Over 12 gallons of the ice cream were ultimately served to Dragons — and senior graphic design major Isabella Akhtarshenas’ dog, Basil, gave two paws up.

The partnership between Franklin Fountain and Drexel started earlier this year, when the Berley brothers worked with Vice Provost and Executive Director of the Lenfest Center for Cultural Partnerships Ros Remer, PhD, for a two-day strategic planning process to refine their business objectives. Instead of receiving consulting fees at the Lenfest Center for Cultural Partnerships, Remer suggested that the Berley brothers work with the Center for Food & Hospitality Management to create a Drexel-themed ice cream contest, which ultimately offered prizes and opportunities to culinary students.

Nora Vaughan was one of three finalists compiled out of 33 entries in the competition; students were tasked with developing a flavor that represented Drexel and followed Franklin Fountain’s ethos of creating ice cream flavors with historic ties and local and/or sustainable ingredients. Vaughan’s “Dragon’s Breath,” which derived its name from Drexel’s dragon mascot and had used organic cinnamon from Red Ape Cinnamon, which donates proceeds to adopt and protect orangutans, was declared the winner at a Feb. 27 tasting event by the contest’s judges: Jim Burke, a chef instructor in the Center for Food & Hospitality Management; Michael H. Tunick, PhD, an assistant clinical professor in the Center; Eric Berley; and Daphne Macias, chef at the Franklin Fountain.

Vaughan then worked with Berley and Macias to refine her ice cream to be sold by Franklin Fountain in the large quantities for retail. She also met with Pavia Burroughs, Franklin Fountain’s graphic designer, who presented ideas on labeling the packages.

DNEWS, the quarterly news magazine broadcast from the Westphal College of Media Arts & Design’s Cinema & Television Department, was at the April 10th giveaway. Roy Aguilar, a communication major, and Kaitlynn Stein, an entertainment and arts management student, shot the video. Michelle McHugh, the assistant professor overseeing DNews, edited the piece after writing it alongside students in her “TV News Writing” course.

Here’s their video segment of the day’s events: