From Kitchens to Coolers: Craftsmanship Speaks ‘Clearly’ in Both Worlds

“Below freezing” and “subzero temperatures” are generally not phrases anyone jumps for joy upon hearing; even for hearty Upper Midwesterners whose lungs and bones have become well accustomed to this region’s frigid effects of howling northerlies and bitter wind chills. But those two phrases were realities that quickly normalized when I joined Minnesota Ice in 2021 as manager of the manufacturing facility in St. Paul.

Having spent the previous 17 years of my professional life cooking and leading hospitality kitchen teams as a chef, the about-face in physical work environments was stark. It was surprising how conditioned my hands and forearms had become, tolerating searing temperatures from years of standing in the blast zone of inferno oven doors, affront range tops, and wood fired grills. But mere moments after the first time I lowered them down into the basin of an ice-block-making unit to check and feel for progress, I needed to remove them and vigorously shake circulation back from numbness while jumping about in agony.

Fast forward, and I’ve learned new processes with this unique medium. I found familiarity with the systems and routines followed for assessing ice block progress and stepping inside production freezers to connect with team members confirming inventory and order status. The magnetic North Star that pulled me to this organization—and continues to keep me passionate—is the pursuit of and dedication to craftsmanship, on full display and rooted in the vision of Minnesota Ice. Drawing from memorable lessons on repetitive execution and experiential knowledge gained through years of cooking, my perspective on the technical intricacies and nuances of our manufacturing reflects those from the various restaurant establishments in the rearview mirror.

This is the intersection where craftsmanship transcends and connects diverse environments. It involves understanding the properties and capabilities of a vessel or tools and applying skill, science, and intuition to coax out a remarkable result.

It’s the same manner a chef learns the amount of energy transfer and timing necessary for a beautifully seared and rendered duck breast. In our case, at Minnesota Ice, we’re working with a basin of water converted into a magnificent 300-pound block of crystal-clear ice, which we can break down from raw form into our various product lines. I often tell friends and family that I work with wizards.

Our team members are brilliantly precise wielding a chisel. They are humble and steady-handed behind a saw blade and inspiringly artistic in their vision and execution while crafting clear ice into a dynamic 2-inch “rock,” so versatile in cocktail communities, or a life-size replica of an arctic fox and polar bear.

At Minnesota Ice, we hope you see and enjoy the results of this affinity, shared with our vendor partners near and far, through the dedication to show up each day harnessing this universal reverence of craftsmanship and its guiding path into the future.

Jackson Felde is the St. Paul Plant Operations Manager for Minnesota Ice.

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