Ep. 181 – For the Love of Ice Cream with Maya Warren Sr. Director of International Research and Development at Cold Stone Creamery

Our guest today is Dr. Maya M Warren, Sr. Director of International Research and Development and the Tastemaster at Cold Stone Creamery.

I’ve seen Maya twice on TV. One on an episode of the Amazing Race with Amy DeJong (a podcast guest from way back) and last Christmas at my Grandma’s house watching Dr. Oz (my grandma loves the show, not me).

Anyways, I had to get her on the show so I asked Amy for Maya’s contact and we went from there. Thanks Amy!

Maya is a delight to talk to as the first thing you notice about her is that she absolutely loves what she does. I mean, she has her PhD in ice cream, gets to travel the world formulating ice cream, and gets to be on TV to talk about ice cream! She lives and breathes it.

Maya and I talk about the fact that she didn’t even know about food science until midway through college, and even though her college didn’t offer food science, that did not stop her from working mornings at a processing plant and doing her thesis solely on ice cream.

You’ll also learn a bunch of other stuff like how Maya and Amy got on the Amazing Race, how to communicate with foreign product developers, and how Maya expresses her passion for ice cream in multiple ways.

Also, you’ll learn super valuable tips on creating your own ice cream and how to optimize your home ice cream experience. By the way, if you’re listening to this in July, happy ice cream month!

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Show Notes

Winners of the Amazing Race (Season 25) Amy DeJong Interview Dr. Oz and Low-Calorie Ice Cream How do you get on Dr. Oz?: They found me because of being on the race Coldstone Tastemaster How do you describe yourself?: I make people smile Coldstone: 33 countries A big part of what I do is to modify the formulation of ice cream in different countries. How different is ice cream in other countries?: The global landscape of ice cream is different everywhere. For example, US has 10% milkfat and has to be cow milk. Some countries don’t have a legal definition. How did you hear about food science?: I never did until I saw how bacon-flavored soda was made. Carleton College Unwrapped Malt-o-meal company Richard Hartel UW Madison Coldstone was my first job. They found me on the Amazing Race Coldstone uses granite slab Skillsets in your job: Being able to formulate, work in excel and communicate especially in different countries. Sensory science is great as well Skillset for: Bench-top to scale-up: Be aware that things can change Skillset for: Communicating with people in other countries: I mainly communicate with the experts in that country’s field. The dairy and food engineers in that country. Sometimes they use outside consultants to translate. Why Does Your Food Job Rock?:  I love ice cream, and I want to share my love of it to the world. What type of food trends and technologies are exciting you?: We are embracing other people’s foods now McDonald's flavors around the world Turmeric Ube Personalized nutrition Favorite Flavor recently: Brown Sugar Texture Innovations: Gelatinized Starch and Chia textures Chia Pets Flavor is usually showcased through money and exposure Halo Top Is Halo Top actually healthy? Same with Plant-based burgers. Is it healthy? One thing in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: Plant (or other) alternatives for milk Perfect Day Ice Cream Ben and Jerry’s CBD ice cream Ice Cream Maker – Happy Joy Batch Freezer Remember: The freezer can really abuse ice cream My ice cream is really hard and my spoon bends: bad formulation or no overrun Twitter: @mayawarren Maya M Warren Official Website: MayaWarren.com

 

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