Food Truck Profile: Jason Angeles of Frozen Kuhsterd

When Jason Angeles started his Frozen Kuhsterd truck in 2011, he had just been laid off from Charles Schwab were he’d worked for 10 years in IT.

A serious sweet tooth and entrepreneurial spirit propelled him to use his severance package and money from his saving account to start his truck.

“The main goal was to bring something new to the Bay Area and build out a new food niche,” he says.  With crazy flavors like Kettle Popcorn and Ube (purple yam), Angeles has cultivated such a following for his frozen dessert that he is now looking for a permanent retail spot.

We spoke to Angeles about starting a Bay Are a food business, the difference between his product and ice cream, and his fantasy frozen custard flavor.

We don’t see much frozen custard in California. What is it?

Frozen custard is a cold dessert similar to ice cream, made with a higher egg yolk content and it isn’t inflated with air or ice

Does that mean it has more fat than ice cream and gelato?

I would say frozen custard is mix of the two, so we are right in between.

Frozen custard is popular in the Midwest and East Coast. How does yours compare?

Our style is Midwest style, where it is scooped out of a bucket. Most East Coast frozen custard shops have theirs come out of a soft serve machine.

You used to be quite the avid baker, right?

My friends still give me a hard time about my sweet tooth, but it’s what satisfies my creative energy.

What is it about baking that you like so much?

It makes sense to me. I can add remove and modify with results that, in most cases, are expected.  Even at my worst, the end result isn’t that bad

It sounds as if you like experimenting. How do you go about creating new flavors?

Sourcing the ingredients and tasting as we blend  it into our custard base.

Speaking of sourcing, why did you decide to make your custard organic and with local ingredients?

I decided to go the natural, organic and local route because we live in an area where consumers are more educated and conscious about what they eat.  I wanted us to compete with the top ice cream shops in San Francisco.

Is that also why you feature so many alcohol flavors – to have a competitive edge?

I see it as another sub-category in the frozen dessert segment that hasn’t been properly explored.

Besides alcohol-flavored custard, you have some pretty wild flavors like Salt and Pepper Potato Chip. Where does that creativity come from?

I like us to be unconventional but palatable. It’s always fun when you do something that hasn’t been done before and it tastes good.

I know you do a lot of catering. Do you ever take flavor requests from guests?

We can make it if you can dream it and are willing to pay for the ingredients, if they are higher priced than most of our typical ingredients.

On the subject of dreaming up flavors, what’s your fantasy flavor?

It would be the world’s most expensive scoop—Louis the 14th Cognac Base infused with a really expensive dark chocolate.  I just can’t afford to buy goods to make it.

While you figure that one out, what’s next for Frozen Kuhsterd?

We are always scanning and bouncing ideas. I personally take inspiration from places I’ve been and dishes that leave a mark with me. The newest flavors that have been well received are our White Coffee, Cocoa Nib and Black Sesame.

Find more details and locations at the Frozen Kuhsterd website.