Two brand new flavours will be launched next month as Yorvale real dairy ice cream company of Acaster Malbis near York, celebrates its tenth anniversary, but the details remain an industrial secret.

All will be revealed by Ian and Lesley Buxton when they make their debut appearance at the four-day Food and Drink Expo 2000 at the NEC, Birmingham, starting on March 19.

Already they have made a huge success of a fig and brandy ice cream which sold like cold cakes at Christmas - the first off the production line in a new 450 sq m manufacturing facility they have just built at their farm.

The investment totalled £180,000 and included a dedicated pasteurisation room, production area, cold rooms and freezers, where up to 80,000 litres of ice cream can be produced annually, based on milk from the couple's 58 Friesian cows which graze on 80 acres at Fossfield Farm.

The business has expanded where other York-based ice cream makers have failed. Just before Christmas the Ebor Ice Cream Company in Lawrence Street, first established in 1921 went into liquidation.

But Ian Buxton says that unlike Ebor, his firm had avoided distributing "impulse" products like Mars and Walls and instead concentrated on premium dairy ice cream with natural ingredients.

"There will always be a demand for it," he said, adding that while there were four permanent staff employed increasing to up to 12 seasonally, diversification into gateaux and cheesecake desserts plus growth of a catering, wholesale and retail trade, has meant continuing demand throughout the year.

Meanwhile the guessing goes on about the new flavours by other local Yorkshire Pantry food producers who will be at the Birmingham show. But rule out Amaretto and toffee pecan or rich chocolate. These are already among Yorvale's range of 21 flavours.

Ah well, if you can't lick 'em, wait for 'em...

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.