Ilya Frozen Yoghurt Elsternwick is one of many frozen yoghurt spots that’s opened up across Melbourne over the past year. I was invited to Ilya’s “Frochella” event to sample their offerings and find out what makes Ilya stand out from the competition.
Husband and wife owners Natasha and Jason explained to us at the outset what they were trying to achieve with Ilya and acknowledge that it’s a crowded froyo market place out there. Ilya’s point of difference was explained as being the focus on the quality of ingredients. The froyo is 100% natural and is made using organic milk, 5am organic yoghurt and, instead of sugar, Stevia and Erythitol (natural sugar substitutes) are used. When it comes to the flavoured yoghurt, high quality ingredients are used – for example the chocolate froyo contains Belgian couverture chocolate.
The above is all great stuff, but what about flavour? We sampled 15 flavours of froyo during the night, and the quality of the ingredients really stood out. The chocolate one, for example, was wickedly indulgent while the mixed berry flavour, which was one of my favourites tasted great too. What I was a fan of was the willingness to experiment with flavours. Along with the usual suspects, highlights for me included “Doughnut Speak” (churros flavoured), “Welcome To The Jungle” (coconut and pandan flavoured – kaya toast!) and “Lana Del Grey” (Earl Grey tea with dried cranberries).
I love seeing people who have managed to break free from the corporate 9-5 and follow their passions, and Natasha and Jason are on the right track with their attempts to differentiate their product. The froyo is of the highest quality and their are some really experimental flavours that I haven’t seen elsewhere. There are also dairy free and vegan options.
I’d be lying if I said that I’d be making a special trip out to Elsternwick just to eat some Ilya Froyo, but if I was in the area I’d have no hesitation eating it again.
Oh and if you want, visit the Facebook page and vote for my Flavour Master Competition suggestion “rose & lychee”. If it gets the most votes it goes onto the menu 🙂
Ilya Frozen Yoghurt
277 Glenhuntly Road
Elsternwick
Victoria 3185
Australia
Telephone: (03) 9077 1080
Email: n/a
Website: http://ilyafroyo.com.au/
Open
Mon – Sun: 12:00pm to 10:00pm
