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02
Jun 2021
A Harrogate ice cream van's Mr Whippy cones have been judged the best in Britain.
John Taylor, whose family has been selling ice cream since 1889, is parked outside the Victoria Shopping Centre most days from March to September.
After a desperate few months of lockdowns and cold weather, business is now booming thanks to soaring temperatures and recognition at the National Ice Cream Competition 2021, which is run by the Ice Cream Alliance, the sector’s UK trade association.
C and M Ices, which Mr Taylor runs with his step-cousin Chris Walker, was awarded the gold medal for its Mr Whippy ice cream. It is the most prestigious ice cream competition in the country and has been running for 76 years.
Harrogate born and bred Mr Taylor, who is his family's fourth generation ice cream seller, said:
According to the ICA, the pandemic cost ice cream parlours and ice cream vans £289million of income in 2020.
Mr Taylor said it had been a tough year and he was sad his uncle David McBretney, who also ran the business until he died in September, was not around to collect the award.
He added he hoped the current fine weather continued.
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