A dairy shop that became an ice cream parlour
Bolletje Blij has been in the old dairy shop on Voorbeeldstraat since 2011. The tile panel with the cow is still on the wall.
Dagmar and Durk
Dagmar and Durk Blij started Bolletje Blij in 2011, in an old dairy shop on Voorbeeldstraat. Dagmar learned to make ice cream in Bologna, Durk built the display and the ice cream cart. We still churn everything ourselves, in the ice cream workshop behind the counter.
Dagmar got her ice cream maker’s diploma and then spent three months alongside the ice cream maker of a gelateria in Bologna. There she learned that good ice cream is mostly patience: a mix that matures overnight, and fruit that only goes into the machine when it is truly ripe.
Durk did the renovation. He rebuilt the display for small tubs, so we can churn fresh more often, and restored an old Italian ice cream cart that now appears at weddings and school fairs.
Dagmar & Durk Blij
From milk to scoop
This is how it goes every day in the ice cream workshop behind the counter.
- 1
The milk
By half past six the milk churn from Kloosterweide is already at the door: whole milk and cream, less than a day old.
- 2
The mix
We weigh everything, heat it to 85 degrees and let it mature overnight in the fridge.
- 3
The fruit
We only cut the fruit when the machine is ready. Anything not ripe goes back to the greengrocer.
- 4
Churning
Ten minutes in the ice cream machine. That gets just enough air in: creamy, not fluffy.
- 5
The display
Spatula into the tub, tub into the display. Small tubs, so everything is eaten fresh.
- 24flavours a day
- 8dairy-free sorbets
- 2×freshly churned a day
Why the parlour is closed in winter
From November to mid-March the parlour is closed. Not because nobody wants ice cream then, but because the fruit we want to work with is not around. And because Dagmar uses those months to try new flavours.
We do make ice cream cakes, even in January. In winter you collect them on Fridays and Saturdays between 12:00 and 17:00. On the first Saturday after mid-March the doors open again, with a free scoop for everyone who comes.
Taste it yourself
Visit during the season, or request an ice cream cake or the ice cream cart.