A SOUTH Tyneside business is celebrating after scooping a top award in a national ice cream competition. Minchella & Co, who have been making ice cream in South Shields for more than 70 years, won the Silver Challenge Cup for their rum and raisin ice cream, and a silver medal in the artisan class.
The National Ice Cream Competition, organised by national trade body The Ice Cream Alliance, attracts entries from across the UK. The winning recipe was created by Joseph Minchella, 23, who is the fourth generation to join the family business, which has cafes in Ocean Road and Sea Road, South Shields. His father, Michael, said: “I’m so pleased for Joseph – to achieve this level of success at his age is really something special.
“We firmly believe that the secret to making exceptional ice cream is a combination of the best-quality ingredients and years of knowledge and expertise, passed down through the family for generations.
“The competition doesn’t always have a class for rum and raisin, but the last time they held it, we won that one as well, so we must be doing something right! “The family has recently invested in extending its seafront cafe, and the award is a welcome boost.
“We are great supporters of South Shields and play an active part in the town’s continued development and popularity as a tourist destination, and hopefully this award will provide another reason for people to come and visit the town and enjoy all its amenities,” said Michael.
Zelica Carr, chief executive of The Ice Cream Alliance, which represents more than 650 ice cream makers and businesses in Great Britain and Ireland, said: “Every year Michael and his family work harder than ever to perfect their entries, and once again they have shown their ice creams are exceptional.”