Miami, FL – May 14, 2018 – If you’re looking to cure your sweet tooth cravings, there’s a new sweet shop in town – MadLab Creamery‘s founder Soraya Kilgore, opened the Miami based sweet shop focusing on soft serve ice cream, fluffy Japanese cheesecake, and chocolate bark located in the Miami Design District’s Palm Court. World Red Eye has partnered with Jennifer Chaplin aka TheFoodLegend, to provide our readers with the inside scoop for Miami’s hottest new restaurants and bars. Jennifer, a foodie since birth, was born at dinner time, and her appetite hasn’t been quenched since. She is constantly on the search for the best meals in Miami and all around the globe and currently manages her lifestyle, food, and drink lifestyle Instagram account TheFoodLegend. Jennifer caught up with Soraya Kilgore at the shop to get a taste of what Miami’s sweetest destination has to offer.

Soraya Kilgore moved to Chicago, and found herself immersed in Chicago’s culinary scene, Kilgore decided to take one final step in her education so she enrolled at Kendall College where she studied to become a pastry chef. It was here she realized that her heart belonged to one specific part of the kitchen, pastries, and she has never looked back. In 2018, Soraya alongside her husband Brad Kilgore dove their spoons deeper into the culinary scene to open the MadLab. MadLab offers over 32 decadent toppings produced from scratch, such as condensed milk with rosewater, violet, mango/passionfruit, halva, apple pie, salted dulce, strawberry/rhubarb, cherry, or guanabana in rotation. As the Miami heat is only getting hotter, you may find yourself looking for a frozen treat to cool down. World Red Eye and The Food Legend brings you behind the scenes to take a bite of the latest twist on ice cream and treats.

WRE: How did the concept for MadLab Creamery come together? 

SK: The idea of opening my own place was always something that I wanted to do, at first I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted it to be although I knew ice cream had to be a part of it. I  never enjoyed eating ice cream much, I always loved sorbet but from time to time I would crave the chocolate/vanilla swirl from a place called Kobs back home. I have always loved making ice cream as well, more than eating it so it just seemed like a natural thing to open my own place.

WRE: What made you decide on the name MadLab Creamery?

SK: Well, I was thinking of what the name was going to be for a while. One day, I was in a meeting with my husband and someone came and asked us “when is the MadLab opening?” as a joke and I loved it so much that we kept it.

WRE: MadLab Creamery is located in Miami’s Design District. How does the neighborhood inspire you?

SK: The neighborhood is full of art and beauty so it inspired me to be creative!

My husband is my culinary mentor. He has inspired me with his hard work and he taught me techniques that until this day I use and a work ethic that is still within me as well.

Soraya Kilgore

WRE: Who do you consider to be your culinary mentors? What are some of the lessons you’ve learned from them?

SK: Definitely my husband, he annoyed me so much for years that I guess it finally stuck lol. But in all seriousness, he inspired me with his hard work and he taught me techniques that until this day I use and a work ethic that is still within me as well.

WRE: How has it been to be a women in the culinary world?

SK: Not a cake walk (pun intended)! Men are aggressive and very competitive but the shift in the past couple of years is palpable.

WRE: Tell us how you come up with these creative flavors?

SK: I feel like the flavors themselves are not super crazy yet, it is hard to make a great soft serve as it is! When I receive the gelato cart which will be in a couple of days I want to create cool stuff with stracciatella, St-Germain, lucuma, carrot, orange or maybe even something with mamey sapote and jackfruit.

WRE: How do you source your ingredients, are they organic? Do you work with local farmers? 

SK: The ingredients come from everywhere, we get the organic strawberries from Oasis in Homestead, I am currently waiting on some guavas from them. The organic chocolate is from Ecuador and they even have the farmers do the milk used for it in small groups which give it a very grassy and rustic flavor that I love. They can’t say they are organic but their practices are.

WRE: What is your favorite ingredient to work with and why? 

SK: I don’t have a single ingredient! Too many different and amazing things to work with to pin it down to one.

WRE: What is the one item that no one should skip on trying?

SK: Definitely the chocolate ice cream, we use República del cacao which is a very nice rustic chocolate that makes it so creamy and just good. I have to say I am a convert, I eat this ice cream every single day! Also the Japanese cheesecake!

WRE: How often do you create with new flavors?

SK: I create new flavors with stuff everyday, making it is as soon as I get my hands on product.