Cold Stone Creamery worker competes in international cup

photo Derek Myers mixes extra ingredients into ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery.
photo Derek Myers gets a sample for a customer at the Cold Stone Creamery store in Chattanooga.
photo Derek Myers puts some finesse on a Cold Stone Creamery order by catching a ball of ice cream in a paper cup.

For the second year in a row, an employee of Cold Stone Creamery downtown has made the semifinals in the Creamery Cup, a company-wide competition that puts a premium on showmanship.

Derek Myers, 26, an assistant manager with eight years on the job, is in Scottsdale, Ariz., this week, competing against nine other contestants. He'll spend the next three days trying to wow judges with his knowledge of the product, the store and his ability to entertain.

He'll try to nail the "entertain" part by singing his own original "tip song," something each employee does when a customer leaves a tip, and by tossing scoops of ice cream behind his back, through his legs and anywhere else he can think of. Think Tom Cruise in "Cocktail."

Courtney Branson, who also works at the Chestnut Street location, competed in the Creamery Cup last year, though she did not win.

Fifty employees from the 1,500 Creamery locations from around the world submitted videos of themselves as part of the contest. In Myers' video, he shows off his skills playing the drums and tossing ice cream into the air, and he creates an original treat he calls Date Night that features sweet cream, brownies, strawberries and chocolate. It's mixed on the store's marble slab, which is kept at a cool 16 degrees. The video ends with him being "arrested" by Chattanooga police officers only to later escape and head off to Arizona.

"We were shooting during Riverbend, and the person doing the filming saw (the cops) and thought it'd be fun," Myers says. "They had fun with it."

Rita McCoy, co-owner of the store, located near the 21st Century Waterfront, says Myers is a model employee with a lot of creativity.

"He's very dedicated to his his job," she says. "He serves as a mentor and is involved in the new hiring. He is our go-to guy and he's very creative."

The contest winner gets a trip to Japan for two and $5,000 in cash. Runner-up earns $2,500 and each of the semifinalists gets a prize package, plus the three-day trip to Scottsdale.

Myers says he is not sure exactly what will be asked of him during the contest part of the trip, which takes place Tuesday and Wednesday. He knows he'll be tested on making one of the store's signature dishes showcasing mixing technique, serving sizes, mixing speed, proper ingredient order and "the X factor," which includes throwing ice cream, dancing and singing.

"I haven't figured out my tip song yet," Myers says. "It's basically a few lines from a song that we change. I've been playing around with a song from 'Frozen,' but I don't know yet."

Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-413-6354.

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