They awarded the Champion of Champions title to the Morelli family of Coleraine for their vanilla ice cream and chose Ryeburn of Helmsley, run by David Otterburn, for his nutella flavoured ice cream.
The competition is organised by The Ice Cream Alliance – the trade body for the UK’s £1 billion ice cream industry. CEO Zelica Carr said ice creams from the two makers were outstanding and could rightly claim to be the best of the best.
The Morelli family have been making ice cream in Northern Ireland for 100 years. Arnaldo Morelli, whose great uncle Pietro Morelli founded the business, said: “Our ice cream has won awards in the past but this is the first time we have landed the ultimate honour of Champion of Champions. Quite simply this means we are now recognised as the best in the UK and to be able to say that makes us all so proud.
“We already have people travelling long distances just to enjoy our ice cream and let’s hope this success will go someway to boosting tourism in Northern Ireland.”
David Otterburn, whose family switched from dairy farming to ice cream making, runs an ice cream parlour in Helmsley, North Yorkshire. He said: “This is a wonderful result for us. We have been trying to get to this stage for 25 years and now it has actually happened I really can’t believe it.
“It is the ultimate accolade and I’m sure it will help to raise the profile of not just our business but of the area too. We already have people travelling far and wide just to sample our award winning ice creams.”
Otterburn added: “As former dairy farmers, we really know our ingredients and will always make that extra effort to get the best flavour.”
Source: Ice Cream Alliance
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