Peacock Ice Cream Company of Illinois Mug

George Bugelas was an ice cream aficionado for more than thirty years, overseeing every aspect of the Peacock Ice Cream Company, which included the ice cream parlors "Peacock's Dairy Bar" in Evanston, Glencoe and Wilmette and an ice cream factory in Evanston. As an ice cream maker, Bugelas was ahead of his time, creating his own recipes with 16 percent butterfat, fresh fruit, all natural ingredients and no preservatives at a time before premium ice cream was widely available. In addition to his specialty flavors, such as the summer favorite fresh peach, Bugelas created custom flavors for Ravinia, the Drake Hotel, numerous Japanese restaurants other high-end establishments. Beginning in 1976, his ice creams swept all blue-ribbon categories at the Illinois State Fair for 13 consecutive years. When his wife became ill in 1992, he closed the business, rather than risk selling it to someone who might dilute the quality of his ice cream. George Christopher Bugelas died on October 5, 2004.