Maine Ice Cream Shop Turns Lobster Into a Waffle Cone Scoop — and It All Began With a 'B' Grade

An ice cream flavour that swaps chocolate, fruit and nuts for one of Maine's most famous exports is drawing fresh attention online. A video from Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium has put the shop's lobster ice cream back in the spotlight, showing how a dessert built on a butter-flavoured base and chunks of lobster meat is assembled before being served in a waffle cone.

The combination may sound jarring to some palates, but the flavour has been part of the Bar Harbour store's summer offerings for years — and the story behind it is as unusual as the scoop itself.

A diner's verdict that changed the menu

According to the video's narrator, a couple from New York once visited the shop and fell for its peanut butter fudge. They were ready to rate it highly, with one exception: nothing on the counter featured their favourite seafood. The couple, who the narrator said return to Maine every year because of their love of lobster, could not bring themselves to award the top grade.

“But they said they could only give the store a grade of 'B' because the reason they come to Maine every year is because they love lobsters. And a store without lobster can never get an ‘A',” the narrator explained.

Rather than shrug off the remark, the owner took it as a challenge and set out to work lobster into an ice cream recipe.

An experiment that earned an 'A+'

The result was a butter-based ice cream studded with lobster meat. The owner prepared roughly 25 gallons of the flavour, according to the narrator, and when the couple came back the following day they tasted the creation and were won over. The store finally received the “A+” rating they had earlier withheld.

With a substantial batch still on hand, the owner decided to offer the remaining ice cream to other customers. It reportedly sold out over a single weekend, earning the odd creation a permanent place on the shop's menu.

From one-off experiment to summer staple

Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium, located in Bar Harbour, Maine, now prepares the flavour every week during the summer. What began as an attempt to satisfy two visiting customers has become a regular seasonal offering, with the recipe still built on the same pairing of butter-flavoured ice cream and lobster meat.

For travellers willing to try something different, it remains one of the more distinct options on a New England ice cream stand's board.

Disclaimer: The Times of India has not independently verified the claims made in the video. The views expressed in it do not necessarily reflect the views of the publication.