O‘ahu Farmer Makes Yummy Ice Cream Sandwiches From Natural Ingredients

Handmade ice cream and cookie treat came out of the farmers market.

Photo: Laura Metzger

We have the Hale‘iwa Farmers Market to thank for Uncle’s Gourmet North Shore Ice Cream Sandwiches, a two-year-old company founded by Paul Logan, a former chef turned farmer on the North Shore of O‘ahu. The idea came to him after visiting the market (held in Waimea Valley Park) where he noticed there weren’t a lot of dessert options amid plenty of stands that offered dinner plates. “I made up 20 ice cream sandwiches and they all sold out. The next week I made up 30 and they all sold out,” he says. “And so I thought, ‘maybe we’re on to something.’”

Logan, who grew up in Hawai‘i and spent time as a merchant marine, had previously run a restaurant in Idaho where he made everything from scratch, including soups, sauces and dressings. He applies the same dedication to the D.I.Y. spirit with his ice cream sandwiches, making the ice cream and cookies at the Waialua community kitchen. “I use real, natural ingredients. I don’t try to cut corners,” Logan says. “It’s no big secret why it tastes good.”

The most popular flavors include liliko‘i (which Logan makes using fruit he grows on his farm) and cookies and cream, but he’s always experimenting with new flavors, such as the recently introduced honey and macadamia nut, and likes to incorporate seasonal produce.

As a full-time farmer (he grows microgreens for Pūpūkea Gardens, which supplies many North Shore restaurants), Logan has no immediate plans for a storefront, but he encourages customers to come check out the Uncle’s stand at the Thursday evening Hale‘iwa farmers market or in any one of the retail outlets that carries the sandwiches (Hawaiian Chip Co., Beet Box Café, Island Salads, Waialua Fresh and others).

Uncle’s Gourmet North Shore Ice Cream Sandwiches (check the Facebook page for a complete list of outlets), 238-9021, facebook.com/UnclesNorthShoreGourmet