Entrepreneurship campers design new ice cream flavor

About 40 kids raised their spoons Thursday afternoon before dipping into a delectable ice cream treat that one of their fellow campers created.

Removing the lids all together, the kids from the Youth Entrepreneurship Camp, run by the University of Iowa's Jacobson Institute for Youth Entrepreneurship, held their spoons high in the air and chanted.

“I scream you scream, we all scream for ice cream,” and then dug into the new flavor. Multiple murmurs of “yummy” followed the sampling.

Ten year-old Nina Elkadi, of Iowa City, said she came up with the winning ice cream flavor when she designed and ordered it at Cold Stone Creamery.

Titling it Chocolate Xtreame , Elkadi took chocolate ice cream and mixed it with white chocolate chips, mini-marshmallows and brownie pieces.

Camp director, Dawn Bowlus said the campers will continue to unveil a new ice cream flavor every year to honor Paul Heyn, former owner of Heyn's Ice Cream , 811 S. First Ave., Iowa City, who passed away almost three years ago and used to make an appearance at the camp annually.

Bowlus, who's been with the camp since 2000, said Heyns Ice Cream has let the campers design an ice cream flavor pretty much since the camp's launching in 1996.

Monster Mash, a Heyns flavor that blends peanut butter, cookie dough and M &Ms, was created by campers about five years ago, and is one of the shop's top five selling flavors, Bowlus said.

“When one out of ten is a super big hit, that's pretty good odds,” the 39 year old said.

Heyn's current owner, Peggy Cullivan, said she picked this summer's winner because it combined thee different kinds of chocolaty tastes–milk chocolate ice cream, white chocolate chips and fudgy brownie pieces.

The new Chocolate X-tream flavor will be available in the store Monday and continue to be sold for the following two weeks, she said.

The 31-year-old shop owner said she will continue carrying on Heyn's tradition until the camp stops asking her to come.

“He loved kids, loved teaching and coming in and doing this,” she said. “I knew he would want this to continue.”