Meet Daniel Colby | Chef/Managing Partner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Daniel Colby and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Daniel, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
We were looking for a 20-ish table restaurant space to do a Chef Driven New American Bistro, nothing too stuffy but certainly upscale. I have cooked for others, in some capacity, from the age of 7, My business partner was committed to helping me express myself, on my own terms. Initially I didn’t think he was serious so I was just humoring a friend, who enjoyed real estate shopping. Once we found a spot that was perfect for my vision and he placed an offer on the location, I realized that he was very serious. I then had to reevaluate everything: my goals, my commitment, my confidence that I could do this myself. All of your fears manifest the moment you realize that something you always thought was out of reach, was directly in front of you. We didn’t get that space ultimately and went a completely unexpected direction, but I still ended up with my own business, which is thriving even in the current environment.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Craft ice cream is a unique skill. I only made ice cream twice before I owned an ice cream shop. Vanilla is by far the most difficult flavor to make because it’s pure and the base of the vast majority of your other flavors. To date we have made 703 flavors in 7 1/2 years. I have always searched out ingredients like a mad scientist, exploring cultures and honoring the ingredients that set those cultures apart. It took over a year to be comfortable that what I was doing wasn’t “breaking” the American “ice cream shop experience.” Our environment is more a “lounge” experience with soft seating, bold colors, music verging on too loud and atypical for this environment. It was not an easy road to get people to accept that what we did was a valid offshoot of traditional ice cream. I studied methods, bases, sweeteners, milk varieties, custards and ethic niche “ice cream adjacent” products, learning more and more with each recipe. We don’t apologize for being what we are, and our audience now trusts us. If I make an ice cream with an algae, a seaweed, a bush seed, a local leaf, an emerging superfood, or a twist on a normal flavor, my guests are now fearless at trying things they would have never considered previously.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
EATapas Anthony’s Clam House
Angelo Elia
Wicked Cheesesteaks

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I grew up in a catering family. My Grandmother taught the entire family to cook via her business, ABC Catering. She mentored, led by example, and coached each of us to treat all people fairly with respect. She taught that nice goes a long way and either you are or your not, there’s no kinda nice. She imbued Hospitality into each of us, no matter what our eventual career path became.

Website: www.wiltoncreamery.com

Instagram: @wiltoncreamery

Twitter: @wiltoncreamery

Facebook: www.facebook.com/wiltoncreamery

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/wilton-creamery-wilton-manors-3

Image Credits
Justin Jones Daniel Colby Joseph Casalena