Friends of Tabletop Restaurant Edition: Carl Hollifield and Alex Ives from Howling Cow

Last year, we started a monthly series highlighting the many social influencers and bloggers who have become not only our colleagues, but our friends throughout our journey with Tabletop Media Group. Well, we recently decided to include clients and people in the restaurant community with a new series called: Friends of Tabletop, Restaurant Edition. We hope for this new series to highlight folks that we admire and love working with + give a little peek into their world and background.

With that being said, we’d love to introduce our special Creamery Edition September feature, Carl Hollified and Alex Ives from NC State’s Howling Cow! Check out our fun Q&A with them both.

Tell us about your position at Howling Cow.

Alex: I am the Dairy Education Coordinator. I organize tours and educational programs at the dairy farm.

Carl: I manage operations of the Dairy Enterprise System, a farm-to-fork dairy system that combines teaching, research and extension into a dairy farm, dairy processing plant and education and retail facility.

What's your favorite thing about working with NC State?

Alex: Helping people have a better understanding of where their food comes from.

Carl: As an NC State grad, I remember my first day on campus and I still enjoy seeing the excitement of new students. I also get to be involved in cutting edge dairy research while still dealing with operational issues that you would see in any small business.

What's your ice cream order?

Alex: The Elvis Split (Chocolate ice cream with warm peanut butter and warm bacon bits & banana) or Cookie Dough with rainbow sprinkles.

Carl: 2 scoops of Chocolate Peanut Butter.

Do you have a favorite fun/crazy story you'd like to share that happened since you started with Howling Cow?

Alex: When kids come to visit the farm and tell me that brown cows give us chocolate milk.

Carl: It was an honor to be able to help the farm management team build a new milking parlor and help them manage the herd through their first-time milking in the new building. Unfortunately, cows typically aren’t excited about new things, and I quickly learned a nervous cow is a pooping cow. I ended up with manure on virtually every part of my body. I’d rather not christen a new milking parlor ever again.

What's your favorite twist on ice cream (i.e. ice cream sandwich, sundae, milkshake)?

Alex: I love milkshakes. Chocolate, Java, & Chocolate Peanut butter spin- this shake will keep you up all night, but if you have a test to study for it's perfect.

Carl: I’ve been a big fan of Union Special cookies since they opened last year. I’m really excited that we can pair our most popular flavor (Wolf Tracks) with such an awesome local product.

What is your least favorite ice cream flavor?

Alex: I'm not a big fruit ice cream fan or anything with coconut.

Carl: I don’t love ice creams that have too much “stuff”. I would much rather have a simple, well-made ice cream.

What would you like for people to know about Howling Cow?

Alex: When you buy our ice cream you are supporting students, research, teaching, and extension. Our goal is to bridge the gap between the farmer and the consumer.

Carl: Over 90% of our total budget comes from proceeds of the sale of milk and ice cream, we’re proud to support the NC dairy industry and the NC State mission of teaching research and extension with very little requirement for state funding.

What's your favorite ice cream/dairy farm in the Triangle or North Carolina (other than Howling Cow)?

Alex: Two Roosters on Person St. & Fresh Local Ice Cream on Glenwood, and Brusters, are a few but there are so many great places in the area.

Carl: Too many, I love making the drive to Maple View, Homeland or Simply Natural to get fresh from the farm ice cream as well as the farm ambiance. If I’m hosting friends or family in Raleigh, we’re going to Two Roosters!

What's the most useful lesson you've learned from being in the ice cream industry?

Alex: The processes and regulations that are in place to make sure milk is harvested properly and processed properly to ensure you get a safe fresh product. And, ice cream is the number 1 comfort food, you eat it when you're happy and when you're sad.

Carl: Safety first! We love to make a product that tastes great, but only after we know that every cup, cone, shake or sundae is safe to eat. It takes a lot of time, effort and money to adhere to FDA and NCDA guidelines, and we’re very proud to be an industry leader in food safety.

Who impacted you the most in your career?

Alex: My parents would be first; here at NC State, it is Gary Cartwright and Carl Hollifield. They had faith that I can help move the Dairy Enterprise System into more of an agri-tourism and outreach farm to accomplish the goal of teaching and extension.

Carl: In 2003 Gary Cartwright hired me to work at the Food Science Dairy Plant fresh out of college and he believed in my enthusiasm. I wouldn’t be where I am today without his mentorship.