My friend William Blackburn, who has died aged 92, was an American businessman who – before the arrival of Häagen-Dazs and Baskin-Robbins – introduced the British to ice-cream flavours from the US.
Horrified by his first bite into the English product, Bill saw a golden market waiting for an entrepreneur. His New England Ice Cream Company, set up in London in 1972, was soon selling its delicious flavours from ice-cream parlours in some of the city’s department stores, including Harrods, Debenhams and Barkers.
