For the first time, Forbes is bringing together 1,000+ members of the Forbes 30 Under 30 list with some of the globe’s top leaders and mentors to create partnerships that will change the world over the next 50 years. The Under 30 Summit will take place in Philadelphia from Oct. 19 – 22.
Natasha Case’s master’s degree in architecture gave her the perfect education to craft ice cream sandwiches. Case, who studied architecture at UC Berkeley and then UCLA, is CEO and cofounder of Coolhaus, an artisanal ice cream outfit bringing architecturally-inspired creations to cities across the U.S.
She will take her inventive desserts to the streets of Philly, offering a final course to cap off the Under 30 Summit food festival, where some of the top young culinary masters will battle each other for the title of America’s best young chef. Case will join other leading food industry up-and-comers like Max Sussman, Adam Leonti and J.J. Johnson.
Case, 31, first discovered the concept of channeling architecture through food in college. A professor criticized the student housing project she had designed, claiming her model resembled a layer cake.
“He said it like it was a negative thing,” Case said. “I thought, ‘Why? Layer cakes are awesome.’”
For the next round of her assignment, she baked the model as an actual cake. It grabbed her classmates’ attention and she knew she was onto something. Case continued making desserts for family and friends on the side after graduation, dubbing her approach “Farchitecture” (a portmanteau of “food” and “architecture”). She went to work at Walt Disney Imagineering and met Freya Estreller, who had been working as a real estate developer.
Adding Estreller’s background in business and real estate to the mix, the two set out to take Case’s concept to the next level. They converted a used postal van to their first ice cream sandwich truck, launching Coolhaus just in time to make a big debut at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, where it was an instant hit.
“My parents basically had an intervention with me,” Case said. “They said, ‘You went through seven years of architecture school and now you’re driving an ice cream truck.’”
But Case remained confident in her business plan. She told her architect father and animator mother that they would all be laughing about their concerns in a year. She also assured them that architecture would be a major aspect of Coolhaus and she wouldn't be giving up her career. Just a month and a half after Coachella, though, she did give up her job. What started as a hobby had become a full-time profession.
Case’s creations seek to bridge the gap between architecture and public awareness. After years of schooling, where she found the subject lacking a human face, she set out to show that architecture can be fun and interesting. Her method: Using food to explore structure and teach customers about the field. Popular flavors include Im Pei-nut Butter, Mies Vanillie Rohe and Mintimalism. The name “Coolhaus” itself is a pun: The triple entendre references the Bauhaus design movement, Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and the anatomy of the ice cream sandwich itself—a “cool house”—according to the company’s website.
“We definitely have a lot of fun with what we do,” Case said. “We like to be playful with our ingredients and branding.”
Case and Estreller added ice cream bars and pints to their product portfolio this year. Coolhaus desserts are sold in two brick-and-mortar locations in Southern California and at 2,500 retailers across the nation, including Whole Foods, FreshDirect and Sprouts. And Coolhaus still travels the streets with old-fashioned ice cream trucks (alerting the public via Twitter instead of a loudspeaker). They also supply dessert for special events and private catering.
Last May, Case and Estreller released Coolhaus Ice Cream Book: Custom-Built Sandwiches and Crazy-Good Combos of Cookies, Ice Creams, Gelatos, and Sorbet (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). The authors offer a blend of recipes, stories of their experience creating an ice cream company and facts about important architects.
“I’m excited about the conversation and networking," Case said when discussing the summit. "So much collaboration and business development can come from where you least expect it. Two years later you might say, ‘I can’t believe it all started with that conversation.’”
