Tzaneen is known as a ‘tropical paradise’, producing a variety of fruits and other products in abundance... avocados, granadillas, blueberries, oranges, bananas, mangoes, macadamia and pecan nuts are just some of the seasonal flavours that inspire Britt Dando, the dynamo behind the Dando Creamery deliciousness.
Britt was born in Cape Town, but she lived and worked in the UK for seven years after studying and met her husband Chris there before moving back to South Africa and buying a farm in Tzaneen in 2004. Farming is a risky business though and with the climate and weather patterns being unpredictable, the risks are even higher, so they decided to find parallel business opportunities. Britt has loved ice cream since her childhood and this passion combined with owning a macadamia nut farm gave her the ‘romantic idea’ of making and packaging her own ice cream. She made a form of macadamia ice cream ‘for fun’ for dinner guests but it was not until September 2021 that she began to take the idea more seriously.
Britt did not want to invest in expensive machinery if the budding business didn’t work out so she used a simple hand-churned recipe and grew the business organically from there. Research advised to start small and get buy-in from local deli’s and restaurants so she followed this strategy and will always be thankful to the owners who were excited and willing to give her a chance. She worked hard on getting the basics right, using real cream and locally-sourced, seasonal ingredients to support local farmers. Her team of two makes the Dando ice cream one small batch at a time to create a premium product that is creamy in texture and rich in flavour.
Dando Creamery does not skimp on capturing the flavours as intensely as possible. ‘I like to say that if you are going to eat a delicious treat, you must make it worth the calories! I use real blueberries and our own macadamia nuts as well as making the toffee, honeycomb and the pecan-nut flavour from scratch with real butter and sugar. The firm favorites are Macadamia Toffee, Pecan Nut & Rum (and of course Vanilla and Chocolate) but visitors love tasting local and seasonal ingredients and their 120ml tubs give people the chance to taste a new flavour without committing to a big container of an unknown taste experience.
Britt explains that because some of the seasonal flavours like Orange & Ginger or Avocado & Granadilla, are quite daring, customers develop a curiosity to try something new and restaurants love to have the limited editions and look forward to the ‘next new thing on offer’. Britt would ultimately hope to grow the Dando Creamery brand selling the ice cream across the country as well as having a little factory. She says, ‘I would love to be the Willy Wonka of Tzaneen with children and adults dipping fingers into chocolate and ice cream - a dream but a fun one!’ Believe me, it is worth diving right in and trying all the delicious, creamy Dando ice cream options one by one.
Connect with Dando Creamery on 083 297 6196 / britt.dando@gmail.com