TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Etna Ice Cream

Anyone know where you can still buy Etna Ice Cream. In the six weeks here I have cleaned out both Carrefour stores.
Someone told me Etna may have gone out of business. Any info on that ?
Thanks

I know Etna was for sale but I hadn't heard that it closed.

Have you tried the Carrefour in Jordan Village?

In Simpson Bay a little store on the right side across from the casino (left side) when you first enter from airport had it last year.

Update Facebook page read that machine broke had to get parts from Italy and is now up and running with limited supply

Thanks RD, Now I'll keep looking

Did you know? The lady who developed Etna ice Cream, Betty Larsen, was an 8th grade Social Studies teacher in Mountain Lakes, NJ in the1970's.

Hey Neil! Hope all is well with you.

Where did you get that information? I had heard many years ago it was a man that came from Italy and named it after the volcano there.

Rosemary--while I don't know, my guess is that Neil met her in person.

I've known Betty since 1972 and moved to SXM in 1988 for 20 years

Neil--are you originally from New Jersey? I never knew that.

Born in NYC, raised in Mountain Lakes and then Rutgers

OK thanks

Just checked Peli Deli for Etna and none there either. Scuba it's been a while since I was in Peli and Shipwreck, when did the renovation happen there it looks really nice now.

They were working on it last year if I remember right.

We found Etna ice cream last fall in Super U, Hope Estate. They also carry another locally made ice cream; Willy ice cream- saw the factory/warehouse also in Hope Estate over by One Love store area. We love the popcorn flavor, believe it or not!

I can't even conceive what popcorn flavored ice cream tastes like. Is it vanilla with popcorn in it?

in dec/jan i found it in one of the first asian grocery stores you see on the right as you enter Simpson Bay from the airport

Yes, a vanilla base. Kind of that sweet/salty combination. We got it 2 years ago on a whim, but actively looked for it last Oct.

Willy makes other flavors, too. A very good ice cream.

Glad to hear Pony, that Willy makes other flavors because popcorn doesn't sound appetizing to me and I like most flavors. My favorite is Rhum Raisin from Etna.

I’ll definitely have to look for the popcorn flavored ice cream on our trip in May! Thanks for the information.

Yep. Rum Raisin my favorite. A little hint of chocolate syrup on top is yummy.

Is this the same Willy that was previously bar tender at Club O and now has a restaurant in Hope Estates ?

Scubaman, whatta ya mean A little hint of chocolate. I didn't;t think there was such a thing as "little" when it comes to chocolate.

Hahaha. Don't want to overwhelm the rum raisin flavor.

I'm not sure, Island Gem. That's a good question, though.

Island Gem-
Doesn't sound like it. I found an article on sxmcooks.com :

Willy Ice Cream Factory

Underneath the house is the ice cream factory. Willy lead us down into the cool interior and explained how he get the delicious end result. He makes a 100 liters of a flavour at a time and packs them into various sized containers. These he personally delivers to his customers in special cooler bags. He imports top quality flavouring, for example, chocolate from Holland and fresh local ingredients for his sorbets. The sparkling clean factory is equipped with appliances imported from France.

Willy was born in Guadeloupe, his family moved to France when he was small. Willy divided his time between Paris and Poitier when he was growing up and attended a prestigious chef school in Paris. Eventually, after working in various restaurants, Willy let the travel bug set his feet on a course that took him to Australia where he met his partner.

The intrepid travellers found themselves in Guadeloupe during the hurricane season of 2017. Involving himself in an association with humanitarian relief aid Willy brought much needed supplies to St. Martin by boat after Jose had passed by and finding there was a lot to do to help out here the couple stayed on. This lead them to meeting up with the owners of Adam and Eve and the rest is history.

Willy is now the proud owner and maker of the most delectable artisinal ice cream on the island.

How does it compare to Etna?

When I met Willy, he was working at Adam et Eve Residence and did his manufacturing there; I saw his equipment. He was pulling chef duties there. I was attending a dinner put together by Jeannie of Shop 'n Drop on a night when there were no guests, and it was fabulous. Part of the dessert was tastes of Willy's ice cream, served in escargot dishes.

Thanks Pony for that great information. That perfectly answers my question. I hope his ice cream is a success.

Yes, me too. It's really good and a good competition for Etna.

Went to Carrefour by the causeway yesterday. Lo and behold they had some Etna ice cream. No hum Raisin by several other flavors.

Good news!