Northern Ireland scoops medals at National Ice Cream Awards

Two Northern Irish artisan producers secured a series of awards at the recent National Ice Cream Awards held at Harrogate in Yorkshire.

The award winners from Northern Ireland were Maud's, Carrickfergus, County Antrim, and Morelli's, Coleraine, county Londonderry. They were among ice cream and sorbet producers from the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland taking part in the annual awards, the industry's most prestigious event, part of the Ice Cream Expo.

Morelli's, which recently celebrated the centenary of its formation by Italian immigrants to Northern Ireland, claimed a top prize, the Silver Challenge Cup, in the Dairy Ice Cream category, while Maud's earned a Special Diploma of Merit in this category.

Morelli's also gained Special Diploma of Merit awards in the Mint, Open, Raspberry Ripple, Cadbury and Open Flavour classes. In the Open Class the company won the Diploma of Merit for its salted caramel and choc chip and a Diploma for a unique 'Violet Explosion' ice cream.

Maud's, another family run business, also gained a Special Diploma of Merit in the Toffee category, a silver medal in Raspberry Ripple and a Diploma in the Cadbury Class.

The event, organised by the Ice Cream Alliance, the primary trade body, is held to showcase the contribution of the ice cream industry to the UK economy. Ice cream is currently a £1 billion industry which has remained buoyant during the present economic difficulties.

Morelli's vanilla ice cream was voted 'Champion of Champions' in the 2012 competition. The business produces around 50 different flavours of ice cream at its Coleraine factory and supplies hotels and restaurants, as well as Tesco supermarkets across Northern Ireland and Scotland.

The company, a specialist in Italian ice cream, has been expanding direct sales in the Republic of Ireland and has invested in a fleet of refrigerated vans. It has a distribution agreement there with Crossgar Foodservices, now owned by Pallas.

The Morelli family came to Ireland from Italy in 1911 and has been at the centre of the ice cream industry since then, earning widespread recognition and local customer particularly for unique ice cream sundaes sold through ice cream parlours and cafes. The company, still family owned and managed, now supplies retailers including Tesco, Mace and Costcutters with a range of ice cream packs.

Formed in1982, Maud's has developed its own recipe using the best quality, freshest milk and cream from local dairy herds. Its sources the finest ingredients including chocolate from Belgium. As well as supplying retailers, the company operates ice cream parlours and scoop cabinets. It has won more than 130 awards for its ice cream and is sold in hundreds of outlets right across the island of Ireland.