A Winter Haven baker is ready to serve up unconventional frozen treats. Here's the scoop

A Winter Haven baker is ready to show locals that he can be chill in the kitchen as he launches a new eatery with a "why the heck not" attitude.

Benjamin Vickers, owner of Honeycomb Bread Bakers, has opened a second business: Ripples, a handcrafted ice cream shop in the up-and-coming Bowen Yard, 312 4th St. S.W. in Winter Haven.

"I thought it would be a fun opportunity to stretch my creativity a little bit," he said. "That's the main press behind Ripples."

A soft opening for Ripples was held July 4, offering residents their first taste of a variety of frozen desserts that Vickers said promises not to be a traditional ice cream shop.

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Like many bakers, Vickers said he spent his early career being pushed to be a general, all-purpose chef. Restaurants and catering companies often expect bakers to do it all, from making bread and dessert pastries to ice cream and wedding cakes.

"It's always been a frustration of mine. You have to be a generalist and can't specialize or master one specific field," he said. "You wouldn't ask a sushi chef to be a great barbecue pitmaster."

In 2018, Vickers left working for Nineteen61 to specialize in bread baking and savory pastries, launching his own business, Honeycomb Bread Bakers.

Though successful, it hasn't scratched his itch for a sweet, cold dessert.

"Ice cream was always something that I personally loved," he said. At Ripples, Vickers said the focus will be on serving up gelatos, sorbet and, of course, ice cream. Visitors will find time-tested favorites of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. But those with a sense of adventure can find something more.

"A lot of my choices with flavors are stemming from little gripes I have with store-bought or conventional ice cream shops," he said. "I love mint and chocolate together, but mint chocolate chip tends to be a very waxy texture."

One flavor Vickers is hoping quickly becomes an icon of the Ripples brand is a ruby red grapefruit marmalade.

"It's got just the right balance of tart and creamy," he said. "It's not quite a sorbet. It's so good."

Ripples will have a few flavors that give a nod to Florida's agricultural history as a producer of citrus. There's a lemon sherbet with wild Maine blueberry jam mixed through it, as well as strawberry and mango sorbets. The sorbets are dairy-free and vegan-friendly options.

Vickers said he hopes to offer some unique, custom flavors at Ripples. One created by his nephew featured during the soft opening was called cookie monster, featuring a mint-based ice cream with chocolate shortbread cookie pieces and marshmallow.

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These custom flavors will rotate through the shop, Vickers said. One of the Kickstarter rewards offered when he crowdsourced funds for Ripples' build-out was a $1,000 donation in exchange for the opportunity to create and name a custom flavor.

Ice cream fanatics may be familiar with unusual frozen treat shops of Salt & Straw at Disney Springs in Orlando or the Chill Bros Scoop Shop with five locations in Tampa, including Ybor City. Vickers said these offbeat shops serve as great contemporaries in the industry that he looks up to.

"If we can be in that field alongside those great shops, I'll be honored," he said.

For dedicated Honeycomb fans, Vickers said there's a possibility there will be future experimentation with some baked treats making an unexpected appearance in Ripples' offerings.

"I'm calling it cross pollination," he said. "People have already been asking about getting ice cream sandwiches on our croissants."

Ripples is open Thursdays to Saturdays, noon to 8 p.m., and Sundays, from noon to 5 p.m. Vickers said these hours may change a little over time to align with other restaurants and eateries gradually opening up at Bowen Yard.

"I hope to become a real hidden gem that has a bit of an unconventional attitude toward a product that has become very conventional," he said.

Learn more about Ripples at its website, www.rippleshandcrafted.com. Or check out its current flavor selection on its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Rippleshandcrafted.

Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at [email protected] or 863-802-7545. Follow on X @SaraWalshFl.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Winter Haven baker opens Ripples, a handcrafted frozen dessert shop