CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Hidden in the depths of the labyrinthine rooms of the former Promise Bakery, Phillip Bricker is crystallizing ginger in a pan on a kitchen stove. Thinly sliced pieces of the root simmer under a shallow skim of sugar water. It smells wonderful.

"It's part of something else we're doing," Bricker said. "I want to make candied fruit toppings people can put on ice cream, or anything, really. It just sounds like a better idea, and better for you, than chocolate syrup."

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Bricker and Ballard say Wooden Spoon has dozens of recipes, but they’re introducing them slowly.

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Getting a locally produced product into grocery stores isn't easy. Over the past year, Bricker and his business partner, Chris Ballard, have worked on recipes, purchased equipment and attended countless fairs and festivals. 

"I've lost count of how many samples we've given out," said Ballard, 35. "Thousands and thousands. It's been a lot of little plastic spoons."

Bricker and Ballard have focused most of their energy on Bricker's line of fruit sorbets, something not quite as familiar to the average consumer as "Rocky Road."

"Yeah, we've had a couple of people call it sore-bit," Ballard said. "They didn't know what it is."

The men are trying to change that, spoon by spoon.

Bricker handles the recipes, something he never stops working on, and most of the preparation. Ballard acts as a second pair of hands and jack-of-all-trades. He fills containers, applies labels and helps juggle their busy schedule, which only gets more ambitious.

Bricker and Ballard grew up in Charleston. Friends since high school, both worked at one restaurant or another through their teens and twenties, washing dishes, making pizza or working as line cooks. Between the two of them, they've worked everywhere from Gino's Pizza to Fazios.

"I've done everything from delivering pizzas to washing dishes," Ballard said.

Bricker says he didn't grow up cooking. He wasn't the kind of kid to take over in his mother's kitchen, but he discovered he liked the quick pace of working in restaurants. It eventually led him to Carver Career Center in 2002, where he studied culinary arts and became a chef. He was the chef at Logan Country Club, then at Berry Hills Country Club.

"I wasn't really happy at Logan," he said. "It was all mashed potatoes and green beans. That's what they wanted. Doing more than that was trouble."

He left Logan Country Club for Berry Hills, where he first started toying with serving sorbets.

"I got a couple of cheap ice- cream freezers from Wal-Mart," he said. "The sorbet was a big hit."

Eventually, he grew restless. When Bricker left, he took his recipes and freezers with him. He says his relationship with Berry Hills is pretty good. He'd like to put his sorbets back on its menu.

Bricker says Wooden Spoon is talking to area restaurants about supplying them with their sorbet. He says there's interest.  

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Hidden in the depths of the labyrinthine rooms of the former Promise Bakery, Phillip Bricker is crystallizing ginger in a pan on a kitchen stove. Thinly sliced pieces of the root simmer under a shallow skim of sugar water. It smells wonderful.

"It's part of something else we're doing," Bricker said. "I want to make candied fruit toppings people can put on ice cream, or anything, really. It just sounds like a better idea, and better for you, than chocolate syrup."

Not that the 36-year-old Bricker has anything against chocolate. Last year, his recipe for fresh mint and chocolate ice cream won the West Virginia State Fair's recipe challenge. The prize package helped Bricker launch his business, The Wooden Spoon. He makes high-quality sorbets and ice creams, which he hopes soon will be available at a supermarket near you.

Getting a locally produced product into grocery stores isn't easy. Over the past year, Bricker and his business partner, Chris Ballard, have worked on recipes, purchased equipment and attended countless fairs and festivals. 

"I've lost count of how many samples we've given out," said Ballard, 35. "Thousands and thousands. It's been a lot of little plastic spoons."

Bricker and Ballard have focused most of their energy on Bricker's line of fruit sorbets, something not quite as familiar to the average consumer as "Rocky Road."

"Yeah, we've had a couple of people call it sore-bit," Ballard said. "They didn't know what it is."

The men are trying to change that, spoon by spoon.

Bricker handles the recipes, something he never stops working on, and most of the preparation. Ballard acts as a second pair of hands and jack-of-all-trades. He fills containers, applies labels and helps juggle their busy schedule, which only gets more ambitious.

Bricker and Ballard grew up in Charleston. Friends since high school, both worked at one restaurant or another through their teens and twenties, washing dishes, making pizza or working as line cooks. Between the two of them, they've worked everywhere from Gino's Pizza to Fazios.

"I've done everything from delivering pizzas to washing dishes," Ballard said.

Bricker says he didn't grow up cooking. He wasn't the kind of kid to take over in his mother's kitchen, but he discovered he liked the quick pace of working in restaurants. It eventually led him to Carver Career Center in 2002, where he studied culinary arts and became a chef. He was the chef at Logan Country Club, then at Berry Hills Country Club.

"I wasn't really happy at Logan," he said. "It was all mashed potatoes and green beans. That's what they wanted. Doing more than that was trouble."

He left Logan Country Club for Berry Hills, where he first started toying with serving sorbets.

"I got a couple of cheap ice- cream freezers from Wal-Mart," he said. "The sorbet was a big hit."

Eventually, he grew restless. When Bricker left, he took his recipes and freezers with him. He says his relationship with Berry Hills is pretty good. He'd like to put his sorbets back on its menu.

Bricker says Wooden Spoon is talking to area restaurants about supplying them with their sorbet. He says there's interest.  

Currently, Wooden Spoon's main flavors include Wild Berry, Wildflower Honey and Blueberry, Peach and Berry, and Strawberry Champagne. The line is expanding. Bricker says he has 20 recipes ready to go, but they're adding them slowly.

"We use as many ingredients as we can from local farms," he said, "from farms in West Virginia. All of our flavors are regionally inspired."

"We'd use champagne from West Virginia, but nobody makes it," Ballard said.

Wooden Spoon is beginning with sorbets because it's what Bricker made before he won the contest. There are practical considerations, too, like refrigeration space and storage. Dairy products take up more space and require additional safety procedures. Sorbet was the best fit to launch, although they have a few ice cream flavors available, too. They're just not manufacturing them in quantity yet.

The sorbet the pair makes is a very fruit-dense frozen confection. Bricker says most grocery store varieties are only sugar and water, with very little fruit. Wooden Spoon sorbet is 70 percent fruit. The rest is water and sugar. There's no dairy, which, Ballard proudly announces, "means there's no fat."

They also offer sugar-free varieties, made with Splenda. These are the only sorbets Bricker can actually eat. He's diabetic.

It's also not cheap. Sorbet is meant for fine dining. It's often used to cleanse the palate between courses or as a light dessert. It doesn't work well with a child's birthday cake. A gallon and half of Wooden Spoon sorbet, costs $60 to $65, depending on the variety.

"It's entirely because of the ingredients," Ballard says, "but we should be able to get the price down once we distribute more of it."

They're developing 4- and 8-ounce packages for grocery stores, which would sell for a few dollars each and make them competitive with premium ice cream brands like Ben & Jerry's or Haagen Daz.

The two are staying busy with festivals and fairs. Bricker says they'll be at Multifest this weekend at the Capitol Complex. They're also headed back to the West Virginia State Fair next week, where they'll debut new flavors, offer samples and sell their wares at the state fair's "Country Store."

"We're also doing a beer-flavored ice cream for 'Octoberwest,' for the West Side Mainstreet program," Bricker said.

He swears beer-flavored ice cream will work.

"It's a nice oatmeal stout," he said. "We're getting it from the West Virginia Brewing Company in Morgantown." 

Wooden Spoon is business, but it's fun. Neither of the partners has to work a second job to support their passion for frozen treats. They're proud to have come so far without having to take on any loans and they love the building they're in, which has a sort of bohemian atmosphere.

"This place is great," Ballard laughed. "Upstairs, there's a rock band who practices [Rubber Soul]. There's a kickboxing gym, and our neighbors are the Children's Theater."

"We love the kids," Bricker said. "They're always willing to take samples."

 Reach Bill Lynch at ly...@wvgazette.com or 348-5195.