WHATELY – Everybody has their own technique to make the perfect cone, said Beata Bielicki, head chef at 5J Creamee and Pasiecnik Farmstand in Whately, while swirling a soft-serve ice cream cone.
It’s a technique that she said has taken a long time — to master making the perfect cone. She said the stand’s soft-serve contains 10 percent butter fat, which helps in the process.
Along with 30 flavors of ice cream, the stand, which is a converted barn, also has a full kitchen and farm stand.
“I eat here like three times a day in the summer,” said Margot Pollard, a local resident who was there one evening this month. “Best ice cream, best food. I come here as much as I can. They get like the bulk of my paycheck.”
The ice cream, food and farm stand at 255 River Road had a steady line of customers at the window throughout that July evening.
“We have food for just about everybody,” Bielicki said. “I cook from my heart. And when you cook from your heart, it’s worth it.”
Bielicki moved to the United States from Poland in the mid-1980s and brought cultural cooking with her.
About five years ago, she started working at the stand and helped revamp the menu with Polish-influenced plates.
From golumpki (stuffed cabbage) to pierogis, grilled kielbasa and more traditional offerings, such as burgers and hot dogs, the menu is pretty diverse.
“Everything she cooks — it’s the best thing you’ve ever had,” said Amanda Jorgensen, who works at the stand.
Beef patties are made fresh daily with spices. French fries are hand cut from potatoes grown in fields near the stand. Vegetables are brought directly from the farm to the table.
Mary Bovino, whose brother James Pasiecnik owns J.M. Pasiecnik Farms, said the stand opened about 15 years ago, through the ingenuity of her children.
“First they started a lemonade stand, then they moved to a wagon right out here,” she said, while standing in the farm store. “Then, we turned this side of the barn into this.”
Located right across the street from Whately’s town ball field, Bovino said on summer nights, the stand is packed with youngsters looking for ice cream.
“We have got to have the most polite kids come to our window,” she said, “it’s always ‘please’ and ‘thank you.’”
Bovino also said the stand attracts a lot of regular customers, many of whom come so often that she knows what they’re going to order before they do.
To the Winn family, coming to the stand is tradition.
“I’m from Baltimore, I drove all the way here for it,” said Mike Winn, who was at the stand with his family. “It’s a stop every time we come up.”
The farm stand is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. between May 1 and Halloween, Oct. 31.
The ice cream stand opens a few hours after each day at 10 a.m. and stays open until 9 p.m.
Bovino said some people order ahead, before they arrive, by calling 413-665-0404.