Sadie Bean’s is a full-body experience: mouth-watering flavours, eye-popping visuals, and head-scratching names like THEY CAN’T LOOSE THE DOGS ON US BECAUSE THE DOGS LIKE US MORE THAN THE DOGS LIKE THEM, which combines salted peanut butter & bacon ice cream, sweetened condensed banana milk schwirl [sic], and frosted grape Pop-Tart crumb. Source: Instagram. Compiled by Kiefer Uuksulainen/Apt613.
Launched in 2021, the eccentric small-batch ice creams and vegan sorbets are the handiwork of Tim Alleway, owner/operator of Sadie Bean’s Ice Creams, who doubles as a chef at Ten Toes Coffee House.
Feverish fans gobble up pint after pint of the nearly 300 limited-release flavours with impossible-to-ignore names (CULT OF C’FRUTHLOOPS and IF YOU WANNABE MY LOVER (YOU GOTTA GIVE ME YOUR SOCIAL INSURANCE NUMBER)) and incredibly inventive mixes: milk chocolate, golden kiwi and passionfruit swirl, and graham-coconut-cornflake crumb and white cheddar, caramelized honeycrisp butter, and cheesy ritzy crumb.
In our interview, Alleway spotlights his culinary mentors, provides a peek behind the curtain of his latest experiments, and reveals the one flavour he “[couldn’t] unleash upon the city.”
Tim Alleway, the brains behind the wildly eccentric Sadie Bean’s Ice Creams brand. Photo: Tim Alleway.
Alleway embodies the very essence of a dairy disruptor. His slicked-back undercut hairstyle and black band shirt reveal an armful of tattoos, fittingly including an ice cream cone on his scooping hand.
One look at Sadie Beans’ Instagram reveals a kaleidoscope coloured with Alleway’s offbeat humour, a manifestation of his life as a teenage punk rocker and late-night comedy connoisseur. The brand feels deeply personal and authentic.
“There’s definitely a kind of style or ethos I’m trying to cultivate with all of the pop culture references, Saturday Night Live bits, and song titles from my favourite bands,” says Alleway. “They’re almost exclusively in-jokes and references for my own amusement. I used to come up with ideas for flavours and try to figure out a name that made sense. Now, the names are increasingly detached from the actual flavour.”
Alleway commits to one naming ground rule put forth by Sadie, his nine-year-old daughter, after whom the brand is named—no swear words. “I have an all-time favourite [flavour name], but I’m not allowed to use it because of her policy. One day though, maybe when she’s older,” laughs Alleway.
Sadie Beans’ unapologetic branding solidified James Erdeg as a loyal customer. “[Alleway’s] style has been consistently fun: from the ridiculous flavour names to the meme advertising, to the great product pictures to the wild flavour combinations. I still buy from each new release because the flavours are amazing and the messaging is still just as catchy.”
Snapshot of the Sadie Bean’s Ice Creams Instagram page.
For others, Sadie Beans’ allure is all about ingenuity. “While I am a big fan of other ice cream joints in Ottawa, Sadie Bean’s has the most inventive flavours,” says Emily Hajduk. “Many of the flavour combinations are things you would not think immediately go together, but they are always delicious.”
Alleway credits his kitchen confidence to formative years alongside Chris Deraiche and Adriana Babineau (both formerly of The Wellington Gastropub). “I can’t stress how useful everything [they] taught me was. I learned a lot about what flavours go together, like pear and pecorino or sweet corn and blueberries.”
Sadie Beans’ “no repeated flavours” manifesto was inspired by Alleway’s time as a hired gun for Mike Holland (formerly of Holland’s Cake and Shake): “I have tremendous respect for Mike’s creativity and talent. I liked the way he changed it up with weekly cake recipes. It made things interesting for the people making it and kept customers engaged.”
If Alleway knows one thing, it’s audience engagement. Just ask Joaquin Ackland-Snow, who “became an ice cream lover after ordering [Sadie Bean’s] ice cream regularly for six months. [Alleway] deserves all the attention, because he really makes a quality product.”
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Alleway continues to craft experimental flavours while leaning on tried-and-true staples. “I love to come back to passionfruit, Cap’n Crunch, key lime, yuzu (a citrus fruit from East Asia), butter tarts, and cheesecake. I also rely on homemade dulce de leche, mostly because it’s one of my favourite things to make. Current stuff in the works includes more yuzu, a blackberry-cold-brewed coffee, and, as always, more butter tarts. I’ve also been monkeying around with banana milk lately.”
Admittedly, experimentation can be a rocky road. “There’s only ever been one flavour that I threw out,” says Alleway. “It was hot dog ice cream.”
Alleway planned to release two real flavours for April Fool’s last year. “One was pickle and the other was a hot dog base with mustard caramel and brioche bun crumble. I did the thing I set out to do—it tasted like hot dogs—but I thought: ‘I can’t do it. I can’t unleash [it] upon the city.’”
Even with the odd hiccup, Alleway has found his groove. “I’m coming up on my 300th original name and flavour and have yet to repeat myself. I have an ever-growing list of names that one day WILL become ice creams. I try to do different things and hope they stick; usually they do.”
Half a dozen flavours (totalling 60 to 80 pints) drop for “Bean’s fiends” to scoop up at Ten Toes Coffee House in Chinatown each week. Sellouts are incredibly common.
Alleway sits in front of an empty freezer, a common occurrence in the days following a new batch drop. Photo: Tim Alleway.
Alleway began his self-described “residency” at Ten Toes toward the end of last year. “During the day I’m here making muffins, brownies, cheesecake, and sandwiches, but when I’m off the clock, I make ice cream. The owners have been crazy supportive. They even put up a Sadie Bean’s sign outside. It was a pleasant surprise [since] I didn’t know they were going to do that. I’m very flattered [that] I get to occupy a little space in the coffee shop.”
Sadie Bean’s Ice Creams (and vegan sorbets) are available exclusively at Ten Toes Coffee House, located at 837 Somerset Street West, for $11 plus tax per pint. New batches are announced via Instagram and sold on a first-come, first-served basis. Batch #43—featuring four limited-run flavours—drops on Feb. 11.
