Iraqi ice cream maker brings rolled treats to Twin Falls
Owner Sam Al Zohiry stocks his containers of fresh, organic fruit May 26 at My Ice Cream Roll in Twin Falls. Every day, produce is visually inspected to ensure it passes Al Zohiry's quality standards. "If you want it to taste good, it has to look good first," he said. | Photo by Pat Sutphin
Story and photos by Pat Sutphin
Sam Al Zohiry began his first business as a small child.
Armed with an old-school American ice cream maker, Al Zohiry took to the streets of Ramadi, Iraq, to turn a profit from his frozen treats.
“As soon as I sold two ice creams, I let my grandmother take over and I took the money and ran away,” he said with a smile.
Owner Sam Al Zohiry pours is homemade ice cream base onto a chunk of banana as he makes the Big Monkey Roll.
Al Zohiry never imagined a spontaneous business idea made three decades ago in a country halfway around the world would affect his future career plans, but here he is.
Last March, Al Zohiry opened My Ice Cream Roll in the Lynwood Shopping Center in Twin Falls.
To be fair, ice cream wasn’t his initial intention. Al Zohiry actually planned to open a high-end European cafeteria with a rolled ice cream corner in a building in downtown Twin Falls.
After ordering the machines and powder base for his ice cream, the sale of the building fell through. That’s when he found the property in the Lynwood Shopping Center and decided to focus solely on rolled ice cream.
“I was practicing in my kitchen at home and my wife said, ‘Keep that poison away from my baby,’” he said.
His wife, Noor Al Zohiry, was not a fan of the powdered ice cream base and the unknown types of chemicals it contained. Her protest opened his eyes to the powdered product he was practicing with.
“I can’t serve food I’m not willing to eat myself,” Al Zohiry said.
For the next two months, he experimented with his own ice cream base, constantly tweaking the recipe to account for human error. If one of his employees adds too much or not enough of one ingredient, it could offset the flavor of the entire dish.
Through trial and error, Al Zohiry designed a natural base for his desserts. Besides the benefit of bold flavors, the base is also much creamier than the powdered alternative.
Of course, no strange chemicals or artificial flavors does restrict his menu options.
“Not everything works for what you want,” he said. “One of my biggest problems was I needed ingredients that I can make something good from.”
Part of that solution was in his produce selection.
Whenever available, Al Zohiry stocks his shop with fresh, organic fruit. The fruit is infused into the ice cream base and used to top the dishes.
“When you order raspberry ice cream, you’re not getting raspberry flavor,” he said. “You’re getting actual raspberries.”
My Ice Cream Roll offers 19 different flavor options, 18 topping choices, six sauce drizzles and a variety of fresh fruit.
Al Zohiry tries to add a new flavor option to the menu every month, and he regularly adds or switches topping choices depending on customer preference.
And then there’s the special requests. Some regular customers prefer menu items no longer offered. Others want ice cream made from their own produce, such as the bag of fresh huckleberries currently sitting in the shop’s freezer.
Al Zohiry will do his best to accommodate all requests if they’re within his power, even if that means purchasing fruit he doesn’t normally offer.
“If you like it, we’ll make it,” he said.
For anyone looking to experience unique ice cream in the Magic Valley, My Ice Cream Roll is the only business offering this format of dairy delicacies.
“From Boise to Idaho Falls, no one else does rolled ice cream,” Al Zohiry said.
Visit My Ice Cream Roll
1301 Filer Ave E, Twin Falls
3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Thursday
3 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday
Closed Sundays
208-961-0004
Orders can be placed online at www.myicecreamroll.com
