Business Boost In Republic For Glastry Farm Ice Cream
Glastry Farm Ice Cream, the leading luxury ice cream and sorbet producer in Northern Ireland, has won business with the prestigious Powerscourt Estate and Distillery in the Republic of Ireland.
Glastry, a farm-based producer based at Kircubbin in county Down and a Food NI member, is supplying a range of ice creams and sorbets to the high-end restaurant on the estate which is also close to two championship golf courses near Enniskerry in county Wicklow.
“We are delighted to have won this important business from such a significant operation with a successful Irish whiskey distillery and popular visitor centre on the vast and picturesque estate,” says Will Taylor, the founder and managing director of Glastry dessert ice cream and sorbets which have won a host of awards including from Great Taste and Blas na hEireann, the Irish National Food Awards.
“We are supplying a range of ice cream and sorbets for use in the estate’s successful restaurant in what is an immensely important deal for us which resulted from our longstanding contacts there,” he adds. “The distillery and estate is becoming a major tourist attraction in the Republic.”
Glastry, in addition, has launched its first vegan product, a Raspberry Ruffle sorbet, based on an original product which won gold at the Blas na hEireann Awards.
“The new version of the sorbet is a response to the growing market trend towards free from foods,” adds Mr Taylor.
Powerscourt Distillery, a £15 million development, features a state-of-the-art distillery and stylish visitors’ centre which opened in 2019. The distillery is now distilling Irish whiskies under the Fercullen Brand and is housed in the old mill house on the magnificent estate. It uses mineral water from a nearby well.
The distillery also uses three custom-designed copper stills, while the visitor centre includes six individual tasting rooms, a gift shop and café facilities.
Glastry Farm Ice Cream is among the most successful Northern Ireland farm diversification projects. The company is now a leading supplier to high-end hotels and restaurants in Northern Ireland and the Republic. The ice cream is produced from milk from the farm’s 300-strong pedigree herd on 150 hectares feed mostly on grass.
“We have total control of the process from the grass and clovers that the dairy cows eat, to the composition of the final product,” Will continues. The company is run by Will and wife Cynthia while Gareth and his wife Liz look after the farm.
Other accolades have included UK Grassland Farm of the Year and Northern Ireland Dairy Farm of the Year.
