From Classroom to Cone: Howard Students’ Guava Coconut Joins Featured Flavor for Spring

Imagine being a teenager and seeing the ice cream flavor you made for a class project featured at Clumpies Ice Cream Co. For two talented students from The Howard School, that dream just became a reality… 

Say hello to Guava Coconut, the winning flavor from Howard’s Future Ready Institute Culinary Arts pathway annual ice cream contest! Tropical, creamy, and bursting with flavor, this sweet creation has earned a spot among our nine other Featured Flavors for spring. This student crafted treat, a mixture of sweet cream ice cream with coconut cream, plus an infusion of fruity guava can be found at any of Clumpies’ three scoop shops all spring long. 

Guava Coconut was created by Analissa Ramirez Garcia and Marleny Andres Miguel, students in the See Rock City Institute of Hospitality and Tourism Management Culinary Arts program as part of the project-based learning opportunity provided by Clumpies Ice Cream Co. During the project-based learning opportunity, students in the program visit our production kitchen located less than two miles from The Howard School. Here, they get a behind the scenes view of our production and learn the ins and ice cream manufacturing. We’re happy to share our knowledge and answer any questions the students have regarding the creativity that is required to craft the best ice cream possible.

Afterwards, they take what they learned and work in teams to develop their own ice cream flavors with the guidance of culinary instructors. A few weeks later, our staff returns to Howard to taste test the student created flavors. After much deliberation, we choose one to put into production for the spring season. This collaboration gives culinary students an inside scoop on Clumpies' ice cream making process and provides valuable hands-on experience. Winners have a huge accolade to add to their resume helping them in their future careers, not to mention boosting their culinary confidence. 

This year’s contest featured 36 flavors created by student teams, with eighteen flavors selected to be judged by Clumpies’ top taste masters. They narrowed it down to three finalists before settling on Guava Coconut as the winner of the 3rd annual competition. Clumpies visited The Howard School on March 12 to unveil the winning flavor, bringing a cooler full of Guava Coconut for students and staff to enjoy. 

Regarding the project-based learning opportunity, Chef Kirby said, “After doing this already for two years and still coming with different ideas -- even though it seems basic ... it's hard to do.”   

Seasonality is one of many variables that can affect a recipe, forcing cooks to get creative. This was the challenge faced by the winning team, whose original idea was a mango and banana flavor. However, sourcing mangos and mango jam this time of year was hard to come by, so Chef Kirby suggested the team try a more available ingredient, guava jam. After some trial error, Guava Coconut was perfected. 

The Culinary Arts pathway in the See Rock City Institute of Hospitality and Tourism Management at The Howard School is a hands-on learning experience led by Chef Patrick Kirby and Chef Greg Whipple, a first of its kind in the county. They start with kitchen basics like safe food handling practices and sanitation standards and move on to more advanced concepts like knife handling skills and recipe creation. Their classes aren’t watch-and-learn, but rather an immersive experience offering far more than just industry knowledge. 

“Cooking is an excuse to teach life skills,” Chef Whipple said. He and Chef Kirby enjoy the privilege of sharing their passion with students who may not have ever considered cooking a skill to pick up, let alone a potential career path. Students take on important roles in Whipple’s and Kirby’s kitchen; they’re entrusted with high-grade kitchenware and utensils and must learn to work as a team, just like in a real commercial kitchen. 

“Chef Kirby not only teaches us how to cook, but he also teaches us respect,” said student Nialah Jones, adding that everyone in the kitchen is treated as a coworker. Students gain industry quality experience and will graduate from the program with their ServSafe Certification giving them the opportunity to enter straight into the workforce or offer a jump start should they choose to go to culinary school.

The See Rock City Institute of Hospitality and Tourism Management is one of 28 Future Ready Institutes offered at Hamilton County Schools. Through local community and business partnerships, Future Ready Institutes provide workplace and project-based learning opportunities for students interested in specific career paths. These small learning communities within schools help to better equip students for the job market and are made possible through partnerships with local businesses. In 2023, See Rock City, Inc. (Clumpies’ parent company) funded a state-of-the-art, commercial-grade kitchen for The Howard School, replacing a decades-old vocational kitchen. The company also pledged an additional $250,000 to fund the institute through 2028. 

Here at Clumpies Ice Cream Co. we deeply value our Chattanooga roots. We are committed to our local community and put that value into action via partnerships with local businesses, and opportunities like this one that support the education and development of local talent. We are proud to offer emerging culinary creatives the opportunity to see their flavor available on a commercial scale and hope that it motivates them to continue down the culinary path. Our small-batch ice cream process is not found everywhere, and we are pleased to inspire the next generation of ice cream makers right here in Chattanooga!