March 2011 News

I’m sure everyone in the hospitality industry can’t wait for the Easter holidays this year as it’s been a long time coming! Let’s hope the sun shines and that we kick off the season with a good start!

The Prince Of Wales Joined The Brown Family For Tea

A February afternoon that the Brown family and their team at Bluebells will never forget: The Prince of Wales joined the Brown family in their kitchen at Brunswood Farm, Spondon Derbyshire for tea and homemade Derbyshire Fruit Loaf. Rosemary Brown said, "The Prince of Wales was so interested in what we do as a business. He wanted to understand how we managed our business and our objectives for the growth of the Bluebells Real Dairy Ice Cream brand." After tea, Geoff and Oliver Brown showed The Prince of Wales chocolate ice cream being made using the equipment bought from RSS. He then toured the farm before visiting the cow yards and calf shed. Following this Rosemary and Henrietta Brown showed him the stunning displays of homemade cakes and local produce before introducing him to the team working in Bluebells Farm Shop and Café. He asked them about their roles at Bluebells and made everyone feel extremely relaxed. The final stop was the ice cream cabinet where he discussed ice cream production and flavours in great depth with Oliver Brown. He then asked to try Bluebells Strawberry flavour and the recipe that was developed especially for his visit; Bluebells Bread and Butter Pudding Ice Cream. Oliver Brown reflected on the visit; "It really was an amazing afternoon. He showed such genuine interest in what we do at Bluebells. The highlight for me was to see The Prince of Wales enjoying the ice cream that we have made with our own fresh farm milk at Bluebells."

Caroline’s Dairy voted Cream of the Crop!

Sidlesham based Caroline’s Dairy was named as the Sussex Food Producer of the Year at a gala awards ceremony on 27th January 2011. Caroline’s Dairy, who is only in its third year of trading, is no stranger to such accolades, having recently won three awards from the Ice Cream Alliance and been presented with the Diversification Cup by the National Farmers Union. Chief ice cream maker and founder Caroline Spiby says “It’s been an incredibly busy year for us, but we’re really excited about the coming season. We’re supporting the National Trust south-east regional shops starting in March and Brasserie Blanc will also be stocking our ice cream for the summer. We’re also starting to take lots of bookings  for our traditional ice cream bikes to attend local events and weddings, so I guess we need to crack on and make lots of ice cream!” Congratulations to Caroline and her husband Chris who make their produce on their farm in Sidlesham, West Sussex using milk from their own mixed breed herd and with Telme equipment from RSS Hereford. Their ice cream is known for being particularly smooth and creamy, and where possible they flavour their ice cream using local ingredients. For more information visit www.carolinesdairy.co.uk.    

Property Deals to be Done

As of April 1st 2011, there no longer exists small business relief for the non-payment of business rates on un-occupied business premises. Those of you that are looking to open new business should therefore find that deals may be done on rates to occupy as landlords will be very unwilling to have to pay business rates themselves on empty premises!

Special Offer

If your cabinet is letting your sales down then take a look at the Bocchini Display Cabinets on the  website as they are currently offering a 20% discount off the list price of a Bocchini standalone ice cream display cabinet from the Castalia, Andromeda or Acaia models. With discounted prices starting at £7995 + vat for a 12 flavour Castalia cabinet, now could be the time to invest in a good cabinet and reap the rewards of increased ice cream sales for years to come. Offer ends April 30th 2011.

To Lease or Not to Lease – that is the question!

It’s a well known fact that recessions grow entrepreneurs, but the current financial climate makes it difficult to fund such new businesses. With ice cream equipment costing the proverbial arm and a leg, RSS has teamed up with Armada Finance who has been supporting new start ups and established businesses for over 37 years. If you are a new start-up or simply need to invest in some new equipment then visit our website and read an article about how it is still possible to borrow money in a recession.