Bored of spending your days cooling down with a few scoops of vanilla ice cream? One Cumbrian business is here to fix that.
Ravenglass Handmade Ice Cream goes above and beyond with its unusual flavours, selling everything from black ginger, to salted liquorice and dragonfruit.
Owners Sam, 40, and Andy Bowden, 45, who live in Bootle, now work full-time running the parlour after the idea to set up shop came during the first lockdown.
Sam said: “I used to work for a company that sell products for making ice cream and I used to go around and teach people how to set up their businesses and actually make their ice cream.
“I was classed as an expert in ice cream and then the lockdown happened and everything shut down. We have a daughter, Isla, who is now seven and she also got used to me being at home as I’d always worked away before.
“My husband Andy said well why don’t we look into doing something, we live near a beautiful place, instead of you setting up other people and teaching them how to make ice cream, why don’t we do it ourselves?
“So really it all came from us being sat at home twiddling our thumbs during the lockdown.”
The duo initially started their ice cream journey selling from a trailer in Ravenglass on the courtyard before finally getting into a shop in the village and also setting up another shop at Muncaster Castle in the Nose Bag café in the courtyard.
The duo have always been set on creating unique flavours and said they spend a lot of their time brainstorming new combinations.
Sam added: “Because I used to teach other people how to make ice cream, you’re always looking for the new thing and something different.
“We think that when someone comes for an ice cream, even though vanilla is still massively popular, it’s nice to try something new and we hope it makes them remember us.
“Last year everyone wanted our sea buckthorn flavour – which is a berry that grows locally at Drigg – because it was so different, so for us once we realised how open people were to trying new stuff we’re became always open to trying new something new.
“At the moment we’re hoping to get a new Mulberry flavour out, which is unique because it’s a berry that you don’t see used as much and we’ve tried all sorts of different things this year.
“But when we’re at home all we ever talk about is flavours of ice cream – Isla is our biggest critic and will tell us if a flavour is no good!”
The rest of the team working at the ice cream parlour are also encouraged to pitch flavour ideas and get involved with the idea generation.
Sam said: “It’s me and Andrew mainly, he has just as much input as me really, but we’ve also got fabulous members of staff and we always say to them if you have a dessert or something that’s got a unique flavour let us know and we’ll chat about it.
“So us and the team chat about ideas constantly and we all try and input ideas of what the next flavour might be to try and give it a go.
“It also depends on the seasons as well, so with winter we do things like rhubarb crumble so it’s a twist on autumnal and wintery fruits as well as things like Christmas pudding, tiramisu, brandy cream and mince pie.
“But at the moment we’re all about fruit, everyone wants something refreshing at the moment.”
Other unique flavours made by the team include the likes of pomegranate, cherry cola, ginger and birthday cake.
The parlour also collaborates with local businesses and organisations to create special pots of flavoured ice cream.
Sam said: “We’ve just done a collaboration with St Bees School, they wanted to bring over an Eastern-inspired flavour and that’s where our black ginger and honeycomb flavour came from.
“It’s vivid black in colour and it gives that wow factor so people remember it, but obviously it still has to taste amazing regardless of how it looks!”
The duo are also working on an additional red bean paste and biscotti flavour with the school and as part of their working relationship with Muncaster, they created a ‘Muncaster mess’ flavour that is only sold at the castle and uses local brambles and meringue pieces.
Gosforth Amateur Dramatic Society are the latest organisation to collaborate with the parlour to celebrate and promote their performance of Peter Pan.
Flavours Tinkerbell, which tastes like candyfloss and is full or funfetti sprinkles, and Hook’s treasure, which is filled with honeycomb pieces and topped with a gold white chocolate disc were sold on a limited edition basis.
The flavours on offer at the parlour change as the year goes on – but the classic vanilla, chocolate and strawberry are always on offer alongside more decadent dessert inspired flavours including s’mores, biscoff and their signature ‘Ravenglass storm’.
The ice cream can be purchased traditionally in a cone, in a small personal tub or in a 550ml pots to be taken home.
Sam said: “Elderberry is doing really well at the moment as well as our black ginger and we’ve just done a ruby grapefruit which is really refreshing and in our little tubs.
“We’ve also got a lime and chocolate going out and our dragonfruit with chocolate chunks is another one that goes down really well with people.
“One of Andrew’s favourites is salted liquorice which actually came from one of our customers. They’d come from Scandinavia and asked if we’d ever tried salted liquorice and we said no and he said it was amazing and a massive thing over there.
“We were immediately sold on the idea so we were working on it that evening seeing if we could figure out getting the balance right. But I’m a peaches and cream girl myself, I absolutely love it, it’s dead subtle.”
Alongside selling ice cream, the parlour also doubles as a small village shop where other Cumbrian products are sold alongside sandwiches, cakes and camping essentials for those using campsites locally.
When the parlour is closed, the duo have an ‘honesty hut’ where visitors can snag a tub of their favourite flavour outside opening hours and pay by popping coins or notes into a box.
On top of selling the ice cream locally, the husband and wife team also do special wedding and event pots where couples can pick their own flavours for themselves and guests on their big days.
Vegan ice cream is also available and pet owners can also get their very own ‘doggie ice cream’ which is specially made to be suitable for dogs to consume.
All of the ice cream is handmade in five litre jugs on site in Ravenglass and every pot of is hand piped.
Sam added: “I’m a proper foodie, I love food and Andrew does too. I’ve got so much passion for good quality, even in our little shop we try and do as much as we can local. It’s just all about being that little bit different for us.
“We use the best we can and use as much of the top end ingredients as possible, it’s just traditional ice cream full of the goodness of double cream.”
The ice cream is currently sold in Ravenglass, Muncaster Castle, Bootle Stores and The Sawmill in Wasdale with plans on the horizon to sell pots in Ulverston also.
Sam added: “It’s the pot side of the business we’re pushing at the moment. The hardest thing for us is staff and getting really good people to work for us because unfortunately there’s not many properties in Ravenglass.
“So it’s the wholesale side of it and getting our pots out to a wider audience is where we’re going to focus for now.
“But it’s really important to us to see people supporting local, whether it’s the ice cream shop or butchers or bakers or something else. At the moment things are tight and it does make a difference if you shop local and go to these little family run businesses.”
