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Partners in business and life, Claire and Martin Wilson are the proud founders of Love Icecream. Their mission is simple – to make the best possible ice cream in the most delicious flavours using good-quality local ingredients. They may be familiar to you from La Cerise, a wonderful patisserie formerly on Great Junction Street. And dare I say, they were partly responsible for the huge upswing in pastry offerings in Leith.
From La Cerise, they developed a love of making ice cream, so naming their next venture was easy.
Based in Haddington and featuring many East Lothian ingredients, they are forging their way, with direct sales at markets and farm shops.
Martin previously worked with Brose, perfecting their oat milk recipe, and Love Icecream was originally going to be vegan ice cream, but the call for traditional was stronger, so they now do both.
The four vegan flavours include Double chocolate with Chocolate Tree chocolate and Honeycomb (honeycomb made with sugar and bicarb). They also offer SLF (Super Low Fat) made with yoghurt and skim milk: Strawberry, Blackberry or Mango. Their Lemon sorbet is rather special, Martin has mastered the texture so it’s not too icy but has a slight gooey-ness – a perfect palate cleanser for dinner parties. Other flavours include the brand new Biscoff Caramel crunch, Mint Choc Chip, Jumble Berry (a mix of East Lothian berries), Raspberry Ripple, Salted caramel and Bubblegum - you know, for kids. Love Icecream runs regular competitions on their ‘socials’ for new flavours.
Claire emphasises that environmental responsibility is high on their agenda: all packaging is recyclable, there’s almost zero food waste, and they choose the best ingredients for the planet (no palm oil, no soy).
This summer they launch a mobile ice cream parlour, Annie. In true Love Icecream style, Martin has renovated a horsebox, transforming it into a mobile ice cream outlet that will pop up at weddings and events. The biggie this year is the Haddington Agricultural Show on Saturday 29 June. See https://haddingtonshow.co.uk/ for more info. (T. Griffen)
Find Claire, Martin and Banjo the dog at Haddington market on the last Saturday of every month. Visit www.loveicecream.biz for more info and delivery throughout East Lothian. Instagram / Facebook: @loveicecream
