Purbeck
Purbeck’s new Sweet Fennel ice
cream works with white fish.
Home of the Dorset Blue Vinny, Purbeck’s
award-winning ice creams are perfect for
those seeking exciting new varieties. As well
as the famous cheese ice cream, you can
sample Dorset Wasabi with sushi, or
follow Rick Stein’s lead and flavour steak
with the ChilliRED. According to Purbeck’s
Hazel Hartle, who started making ice cream
27 years ago, the British public are interested
in unusual flavours, but she admits that the
Vanilla Bean is their most popular ice cream.
Must have something to do with the fact that
it’s made with beans and seeds, along with
milk and cream from their Castle Corfe
Friesian dairy herd.
Get it from: Independent retailers, farm
shops and delis. Download the Purbeck Ice
Cream app to find your local stockist.
purbeckicecream.co.uk
Try this: Dorset Watercress won the most
innovative watercress product at the
Watercress Food Awards.
40
Visit Yeo Valley HQ
Eat out at Yeo’s own canteen or
organic garden cafe
Yeo Valley
You can eat Yeo Valley’s yoghurt and ice cream at
home, but did you know they have their own
restaurant? Yeo Valley Canteen at Yeo Valley HQ in
Blagdon, Somerset is open for lunch from Monday
to Friday. Originally the staff café, it opened its
doors to the public and now serves food using beef
and dairy from the Yeo Valley organic farm, cheese
from local artisan producers and vegetables from the
organic garden. Talking of which, you can also visit
Yeo Valley’s organic garden between Blagdon and
Ubley, one of a handful of ornamental organic
gardens in the UK. After strolling around the beds
and borders, you can have a hearty lunch or
afternoon tea at the organic garden café. Go to
yeovalley.co.uk/the-valley for more information.
You may associate Yeo Valley with
yoghurt, but the Somerset organic
dairy brand produce great ice cream,
too. Fifty years ago, Yeo had a
smallholding with 35 cows but now,
after breeding their own Friesian
dairy herd, they have 400. All the
cows have names and even a family
tree, so the best animals for milking
can be chosen to produce ice cream
flavoured with salted caramel, tangy
lemon curd, vanilla custard and
blackcurrant. Sticking to what they’re
known best for, Yeo also make a
Yeo Valley ice
Greek Yoghurt and Honey ice cream. cream is, as they
Get it from: You can find Yeo Valley like to say, ‘proper
organic’. Innit.
ice cream in major supermarkets,
including Waitrose, Tesco and Asda.
yeovalley.co.uk
Try this: Greek style Yeoghurt and
Honey Ice Cream is lower in fat than
There’s a woodburner in the café to keep visitors warm on colder
normal ice cream.
days, or you can sit on the terrace in the summer months.
www.menu-dorset.co.uk