A Tattenhall ice cream company have proved they're not here today, cone tomorrow as they mark a special anniversary
They’re celebrating a very cool anniversary in Tattenhall this year, as Cheshire Farm Ice Cream marks 25 years of production.
To mark the anniversary the family run business has launched a special collection of new flavours and a book featuring ice cream recipes provided by some of the region’s top chefs.
The business has been transformed since the first scoops were licked in 1986 - they now have one of the largest ice cream parlours in the country and can produce more than 2000 litres of ice cream a day. They also welcome more than 300,000 visitors to the farm every year.
Company director Jonathan Fell said: ‘My parents were dairy farmers and in 1986 with the introduction of milk quotas they found they were overproducing milk. They had to decide whether to downsize or do something with the extra milk. They chose to start making ice cream.
‘The business started off small with just a little shop on the farm. Tourists and visitors started to come and it rapidly expanded. Local shops began to stock the ice and since then it has naturally progressed.’
The business, which has 150 awards to its name, has constantly re-invented and improved itself over the years. Major refurbishments have taken place and alongside the ice cream parlour, the site now boasts a caf�, indoor play area, a viewing area and an animal corner Jonathan said: ‘The farm is a lot different now compared with when we first moved here. There is an ice cream factory on site and in the last three years we have completely refurbished the buildings. They no longer look like old farm sheds.’
The business shows no sign of stopping, with more development work taking place throughout the anniversary year. Jonathan said: ‘We have launched a new activity area this summer with a crazy golf course, quad bikes and play equipment. We do want to carry on developing but we are running out of room, we’re going to have to stop soon and make do with what we have.’
The company currently produces more than 40 award winning varieties of ice cream - including newly-launched chocolate and chilli and sea salt and black pepper flavours - which can be found in local shops and restaurants and even national supermarkets and international airlines.
A new book has been created to mark the anniversary, which contains recipes using Cheshire Farm Ice Cream from some of the regions best chefs.
Jonathan said: ‘At the moment my favourite ice cream is raspberry pavlova but honeycomb is always good. We are experimenting with a chocolate cookie dough ice cream at the moment which is looking promising.’
