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Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Cupertino resident Gale Tan-Ong is one of 10 finalists chosen out of 38,000 in a Dreyer's Ice Cream Contest. Tan-Ong's recipe is for a new flavor called 'Unforgettable Peach Cinnamon and Walnut Caramel Swirl.'
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Everything's just peachy for Cupertino finalist
Resident going to Houston for Dreyer's homemade ice cream þavor contest
By AMY JENKINS
"I never would have dreamt of this happening to me," said Cupertino resident and ice cream contest finalist Gale Tan-Ong.
Tan-Ong is referring to becoming a finalist in Dreyer's Homemade "Traditions in the Kitchen" ice cream flavor contest. She is one of 10 finalists competing Sept. 6, 7 and 8 in Houston.
"I am very excited to go to Texas; I have never been there," said the 32-year-old Tan-Ong.
A resident of Cupertino for three years and longtime resident of the Bay Area, Tan-Ong lives with her husband and two daughters, ages 6 and 4. She says her whole family loves ice cream, preferring grocery store ice cream to ice cream shops, to save money.
Out of more than 38,000 entries nationwide, Tan-Ong was selected for her flavor, "Unforgettable Peach Cinnamon and Walnut Caramel Swirl."
"There were a couple thousand Bay Area entries," said Dreyer's public relations manager, Kim Goeller-Johnson. "We found that California is a haven for ice cream lovers."
Aside from Tan-Ong, the only other California finalist, in Long Beach, created "Plum Crazy."
Although Tan-Ong invented the flavor, she says she has been unsuccessful at making the ice cream. She describes the flavor as "a smooth luscious peach ice cream, lovingly speckled with tender bits of peach, lightly tickled with a dash of cinnamon, delicately embraced by toasty walnut nibbles and deliriously dressed in caramel ribbons."
Tan-Ong says she has a family tradition of "attempting" to make ice cream. The tradition began because the men in the family love ice cream.
"Granny loved peaches," she says. "She was lovingly called Granny Peach after she fell off a ladder while picking fruit off a peach tree. In her kitchen she tried making peach ice cream that turned out hard as a rock. Granny and I giggled, laughed hysterically and sat on the kitchen floor eating 'peach rock.'"
She says her mother was unsuccessful as well.
"Mom would pour liquid into glass Pyrex and freeze it," Tan-Ong said with a laugh. "When it didn't work, her neighbor told her to stir it more; I told her to blend it and make it into a smoothie."
As for Tan-Ong, she gave up trying to make ice cream herself. She substituted caramel for peanut brittle, her grandmother's favorite candy, because it was too hard to put into ice cream. But the caramel wasn't easy for her to make either.
Tan-Ong does not need to worry about making the ice cream for the contest; Dreyer's takes care of that. The finalists direct a person in charge of mixing flavors until it suits their taste. When the product meets the finalist's expectations, a panel of judges tests each flavor. The winner will be announced that same day.
Regardless of the outcome, each of the finalists is guaranteed a sweet reward--a one-year supply of ice cream.
Tan-Ong is nervous about competing against flavors such as Lullaby Lemon Crumble and Cream, Plum Crazy, Cinn-ful Pecan Caramel, Grandma's Finger Licking Peanut Butter Fudge, Berry Patch Spice, Blue Ribbon Carrot Cake, Sugar Cookie Crumble, Cocoa and Cookies, and Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice.
If Tan-Ong wins, she will get $25,000 makeover for her 30-year-old kitchen and Dreyer's will make her flavor seasonal. However, Tan-Ong says she would rather give the money to the food bank charity.
"When I get nervous about competing, I tell myself I need to eat more ice cream, sit down and chill," she says.
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Cupertino, California Since 1947
