Traditional ice-cream favourite reinvented by artisan producer


Luxury ice-cream company Glastry Farm Ice-Cream is breathing new life into a traditional favourite with both adults and children, as part of a range of new products that also includes a very low-fat pear ice-cream sorbet.



The company, based on a family farm at Kircubbin in County Down, Northern Ireland has launched a new style Ice-Cream Wafer or Sandwich (known as a 'Slider' in Scotland and Northern Ireland).



The Glastry Farm Ice-Cream Slider, aimed at the foodservice markets in Great Britain and Ireland, is a layered terrine featuring the company's popular rhubarb and custard, heavenly chocolate and berry blueberry ice-creams between two homemade shortbread biscuits.



The new Slider, which is supplied vacuum-packed, has been recreated by the company for serving, for example, with a balsamic berry compote, in high-end restaurants and hotels.



The Slider has been developed and enhanced by Will Taylor, Glastry Farm Ice- Cream's founder and managing director, and is made from cream from the farm's Holstein herd. It was developed in conjunction withJay Eisenstadt, executive head chef at the Stormont Hotel, Belfast, part of the Hastings Group of Hotels, one of Ireland's leading hotel groups. Hastings is using the slider as a 'Signature' dessert in all its hotels including the renowned five-star Belfast Europa.



Commenting on the new product, Will Taylor says: "The ice-cream wafer or slider used to be a popular treat in both the UK and Ireland but has been overtaken by the cone since the 1980s. As a result, it's now seldom seen in Britain.



"Over the years we've had a number of approaches from leading chefs for something different in ice-cream desserts. These approaches led me to look back to my own childhood when the wafer or the slider was popular. I worked with Jay to develop a new type of ice-cream filled wafer that's based on a traditional product.



"What we have done is to give it a new look and, of course, a much richer taste using three layers of our flavoured ice-creams between two shortbread biscuits. It's a lot like the Neapolitan wafer that featured three layers of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice-creams between thin waffle-style biscuits. Our biscuits are different in that they are handmade shortbread," he adds.



Glastry Farm Ice-Cream is also expanding its sorbet range to meet the growing market demand, especially from women consumers, for a low-fat dessert. New to the company's product portfolio this season as a pear sorbet (2.5% fat in 500ml retail tubs) for the diet conscious consumers who still want to enjoy a delicious dessert.



Mr Taylor says: "Sorbets are now a very dynamic part of our business. In fact sales of sorbets doubled in 2011 largely because of demands from diet conscious consumers. The introduction of the pear flavour brings our sorbet range to four - apple schnapps, champagne and raspberry ruffle. We see sorbets as an immensely important development for the company."



In addition to the Slider and the new sorbet flavour, Glastry, which has won a string of UK Great Taste Awards, has strengthened its luxury ice-cream portfolio by adding coconut, cappuccino milano and raspberry and lavender.



Formed in 2007 as a farm diversification project, Glastry Farm Ice-Cream recently announced plans for an eight-fold increase in output through the development of a new processing plant, again on the family farm.