Our Story

MilkMade is a craft ice cream company founded in 2009 out of our desire for a better pint. All of our ice creams are made from scratch and crafted by hand in small batches. We source only the finest local and natural ingredients and we never use gums or stabilizers, which allows our inspired flavors to really shine. This is ice cream as it should be.

Initially launched as an ice cream of the month club in December 2009, we created two new flavors each month and hand-delivered them directly to Members' homes and offices in New York City. Members described MilkMade as “the best part of living in New York." 

During our ten years running the Membership, we operated our own local courier service in the city and built a nationwide shipping operation, packing up thousands of pints each week. We created 214 unique Membership Flavors and served hundreds of other Signature 'Screams and Seasonal 'Screams at our Tasting Room in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn.

After leaving NYC in 2020, we continued offering DIY recipes at home during covid, secret pint releases, and local catering in Southern California.

MilkMade is now in Los Angeles, offering limited pint releases and local catering.

 

Chef Diana Hardeman

The MilkMaid herself. Entrepreneur, ice cream chef, stroke survivor, and mother of two, Diana Hardeman shares about how it all began.

I started MilkMade out of my desire for a better pint. After years of buying a pint a night from my local bodega, I was left increasingly unsatisfied. Pints had shrunk, the ice cream was no longer natural, and flavors were not exciting anymore.

So I took matters into my own hands. In the summer of 2009, I bought a small home ice cream machine, got in touch with local farms, and started crafting my "dream 'screams" — ice cream flavors that I had only dreamed about. Like any good secret, word got out. Stories were published, a waitlist sprang up, and I quickly realized I wasn't the only one who wanted a better pint of ice cream.

MilkMade officially launched a few months later in December of 2009, pioneering the New York food movement, defining the craft ice cream market, and building the first model for food subscription services. With the help of the Milkmaids, I slowly grew the Membership, expanding our ice cream delivery service neighborhood by neighborhood in NYC, eventually serving thousands of Members across the city and shipping pints to thousands of homes nationwide.

We operated in what was the smallest dairy plant in NYC located in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn and housed a thriving scoop shop in the front of it. After ten years in NYC and just months before covid hit, I decided to close our scoop shop and shutter the Membership. My family relocated to California and since then I have been offering limited catering, pint drops, sharing home recipes on our blog, and working on a much requested recipe book.