Melbourne’s Hottest Ice Cream: The City of Melbourne Twists the Senses with Cummins&Partners Activation

With the cold weather comes the ever-present challenge of enticing Melburnians off the couch and into the city. We needed to give them a reason to ditch the slippers whilst driving traffic to What’s On, the city’s jam-packed, digital hub of winter experiences.

So, they took a summer favourite, flipped it on its head, twisted it in every sense and created ‘Melbourne’s Hottest Ice Cream’. A two-day pop-up, that was held July 14th and 15th, celebrated Melbourne’s world-renowned food scene and helped cement Melbourne as a unique winter destination. 

Lord mayor Sally Capp said: “We’re enticing workers, residents and visitors to come into the city early and stay late this winter – encouraging them to make the most of Melbourne’s world-class retail, hospitality and creative offerings that are available only in the city."

The activation, a part of the City of Melbourne’s ‘Only in the City’ campaign, launched by cummins&partners in October 2022, was brought to life in collaboration with Twenty3, AMPR, and local celebrity chef and MasterChef finalist Sarah Todd. 

Together, they developed a piping hot, savoury soft serve, inspired by the culinary melting pot of the city. The one-off dish merged traditional Indian flavours and native ingredients with a creative, Melbourne flair. Melburnians braved the cold to enjoy Sarah's creation, of whipped Aloo Gobi soft serve topped with a naan wafer, Davidson plum syrup, and candied fennel seeds. That was served in a savoury waffle cone with a saltbush rim - straight from the window of our custom Only in the City ice cream truck. 

Sophie Lander, national managing director, cummins&partners, said: “This is an exciting extension of our Only in the City platform that drives visitation and draws attention to Melbourne’s stellar line up of ongoing winter events.”