"Purple potato ice cream, anyone?" I admit it didn't sound the most tempting of questions a mum could ask two young children as we rocked up at Cheshire's latest countryside ice cream parlour.
The Mobberley Ice Cream Company has been making a name for itself in recent years for its range of unusual flavours and artisan blend, and has now opened its own parlour with indoor and outdoor seating in the pretty rural village. And I was keen to see if my kids would be bold enough to try something a little more adventurous than your boring old raspberry ripple.
"Yuck," said the 7-year-old at the purple potato suggestion. "Ice cream, ice cream" said the 3-year-old - which was enough of an affirmative for me to buy him a pot of the stuff and see what he'd think.
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I didn't have high hopes of the little 'un eating it, mind. I thought it would probably be left to me, in the way mums often do, having to eat up his leftovers. But to my surprise, he demolished it.
When I asked for a taste he started backing away going "no, no". He literally started slapping my hands as I reached over to try and grab his spoon. I couldn't believe it, how good could this ice cream be?
The older son, meanwhile, was tucking in to a more traditional flavour of chocolate (ok they call it milkiest milk chocolate) - but he did let me have a taste of his. And I was stunned.
It was the most unusual, creamiest, chocolatiest, yes milkiest milk chocolate ice cream I think I've ever tasted. Unsurprisingly, the tagline for this place on social media is "You've never tasted anything like it" and after our visit I'd have to firmly agree.
But the purple potato ice cream intrigued me even more - so I snapped up a cone of it myself inside the shiny new parlour, created inside a former dairy shed at Dairy Farm in Mobberley. Believe it or not, no colour was added to this ice cream - the "ube" purple potato made it into this vibrant colour.
I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but taking a tentative lick, the gorgeous thick, creamy flavour instantly hit. I don't know if it is the potato itself that gave this ice cream an extra, thick, almost fudge like quality but it really was quite unlike any ice cream I've ever eaten before.
The bad news is, this ube creation was a daily special - so that means by the time you read this, it might have all run out. But the good news is, the ingenious folk behind this ice cream brand are coming up with new, unusual flavours all the time and they're all hand-crafted small batch confections.
The friendly staff in the parlour also told me that the Ube flavour had been such a hit with everyone that had tried it, that they were going to urge the owner, and chief ice cream maker, Brian Brereton to make it again.
Just to ensure the quality of the other ice cream flavours (ahem) I also sampled a scoop of the sticky toffee pudding ice cream here too. And again I was staggered by the ingenious way Brian has managed to get the REAL flavour of the pud running through into a dense, creamy ice cream.
Owner Brian first started his ice cream business in 2020 after moving to the UK from his native America. It started initially being sold from a small farm unit through lockdown, but was such a success that he and wife Deborah could see they would need larger premises.
The ice cream parlour opened last month, just as the sunny weather has been cheering us all up, in a cute little countryside spot. You can buy a single (generous) scoop in a cone or tub for £4, or go for a double for £7.
They also serve home-made brownies to go with your ice creams, and a range of milkshakes and hot drinks too.
Interviewed at the launch of the parlour about his ice cream, Brian said: "When I first moved to the UK, I asked my wife Deborah to take me to all the good ice cream places.
"But I couldn’t find a single ice cream that tasted great. Most were made using powders and mixes, and just tasted the same as each other.
"I realised that if I wanted to have some proper all-natural ice cream like I’d tasted in America, I’d have to make it myself!"
And for all of us ice cream fans in the north west, we can be very thankful that Brian did exactly that.
How to get there
The Mobberley Ice Cream Parlour is at Dairy Farm, Church Lane, Mobberley, near Knutsford in Cheshire. For sat nav use the postcode WA16 7RA.
It is around a half hour drive from Manchester to the ice cream parlour. The nearest mainline train station is Mobberley, which is around a 15 minute walk away from the farm.
The ice cream parlour is open daily from 9am to 6pm, and on Sundays from 9am to 4.30pm.
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