Christmas Pud Ice Cream for Glastry Farm in Northern Ireland

Glastry Farm, the Northern Irish producer of luxury ice cream and low-fat sorbets, has launched a tasty flavour for Christmas.

The company, based on a successful family-owned dairy farm at Kircubbin in county Down, has come up with a Christmas Pudding Ice Cream aimed initially at foodservice and available in 2 litre tubs.

Will Taylor, founder and managing director of Glastry Farm Ice Cream, commenting on the latest seasonal flavour, says: "Our new Christmas Pudding flavour is a response to requests from top chefs in hotels we supply in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland for something deliciously seasonal for the upcoming festivities.

"What we've done is to use our multi-award-winning vanilla bean ice cream as a base and then drizzle our home-made Christmas pudding through it for a really superb flavour," Mr Taylor adds. "While it's initially aimed at foodservice, we'd certainly consider making it available to retailers in Northern Ireland and the Republic, probably next year. At the moment, it's for high-end hotel and restaurant menus."

Glastry Farm Ice Cream has won a string of UK Great Taste and Blas na hEireann Irish National Food Awards for its premium ice cream flavours and sorbets, made from milk sourced from the family farm's pedigree Holstein-Friesian herd. The Taylor family has farmed the area since 1856.

Mr Taylor, among the most respected Northern Irish dairy farmers and a former president of the Ulster Farmers' Union, formed the ice cream business as a farm diversification business in 2007.

The company has also received support under the Department for International Trade's 'Exporting is GREAT' Campaign and World of Opportunity Programme to promote exports. This will see its products showcased at Heathrow Airport.

Glastry Farm currently exports to the Republic of Ireland and the Middle East and is keen to expand to other international markets.

It has also been named in the Top 10 Ice Creams by the influential lovefood.com.

Glastry Farm Ice Cream, in addition, has been endorsed in Georgina Campbell's Ireland, the island's leading independent hospitality guide.

The luxury ice cream and creamy sorbets do not contain artificial additives, stabilisers or other artificial ingredients, thereby assuring customers of the wholesomeness of the ice cream and sorbets.

The range currently features more than 20 ice creams and five low-fat sorbets. Other ice-cream flavours include rhubarb and custard, heavenly chocolate, berry blueberry and a unique Teeling Irish Whiskey produced for the Dublin-based distillery.