When you mix 110 years of ice cream expertise together with responsive technology and the finest ingredients from around the world, it’s a recipe for success – and the highly acclaimed Best Vanilla in the UK National Ice Cream Alliance Awards.

Beating off stiff competition from companies large and small, artisan sole trader Enrico Mastrocola of Kingstonian Ice Cream raised the trophy high – and let us into a few secrets of his success.

“Kingstonian is a family business, started by my great granddad back in 1913, then passed down through my granddad, his brothers, my dad, and now me,” says Enrico, who took over full responsibility for the business last year, but has been making the ice cream since the 1980’s. “I think our award-winning recipes are due to a combination of the wealth of knowledge and expertise accrued through the generations, coupled with my love of learning and experimenting with new ingredients.”

With Enrico at the helm, his first key business decision was to invest in a brand new ROKK RFE400 Continuous Freezer and Cattabriga PSK 185 Pro Batch Pasteuriser – an award-winning production plant combination.

“I did a lot of research into the different options available, and was initially considering a computerised freezer,” explains Enrico. “However, when I saw the ROKK RFE400 on the Machinery World stand at the Ice Cream Alliance Exhibition in 2016 and spoke with the team, they convinced me a manual machine would suit me better – and how right they were!”

“At Machinery World, we passionately believe in matching the machine to the customer,” explains Phil Darvell, Managing Director at ROKK Processing, part of the Machinery World Group. “We always get to know their business inside out to ensure the advice we give them is tailored to their bespoke needs and methods of working.
“Enrico is a consummate professional and knows exactly how his ice cream and gelato should come out in terms of consistency and texture – so having a manual machine like the ROKK RFE400 is the perfect fit for him, as he can adjust the settings exactly how he wants them.”

It’s not just the ability to control and perfect the production process that won Enrico over – there’s a whole host of other reasons he is delighted with his decision:

“The ROKK is so easy to use, really robust – and competitively priced, which, for a small business, is a key consideration,” continues Enrico. “When you combine this with the fact that the consistency throughout the cycle is excellent, that it freezes more quickly and will last for decades, I am totally satisfied – and so glad I took Phil’s advice.”

So, with the Best Vanilla in the UK trophy proudly on display, will Enrico take a well-deserved rest?
“Not at all!” laughs Enrico. “I never rest on my laurels, and love trying out different ingredients and recipe tweaks. My new equipment enables me to manufacture more ice cream faster – the ROKK can freeze 400 litres per hour – and the Cattabriga is really flexible, pasteurising up to 180 litres per batch, or smaller batches of just 50 litres, so I can easily put new flavours to the test with my regular customers and receive immediate feedback.”

Frederick’s Ice Cream of Chorley, Lancashire has been making delicious ice cream to a traditional Italian family recipe for over 100 years – but the company has recently added a new ingredient or two to their mix.

The Federici family, now in their fourth generation of ice cream expertise, have invested in their brand new Cattabriga Multifreeze 18 Pro Batch Freezer and ROKK RIF1500 ingredients feeder, and are already noticing the difference.

“We chose these two machines from Machinery World’s wide range because they are not only reliable but also extremely energy efficient, which is very important to us,” explains Donna Townson, a third generation Federici who runs the business with her parents Tony and Liz, brother Louis and sister Roseanne, “but they are also so versatile and easy to use, enabling us to add ingredients in a whole range of different ways”.

Another unexpected benefit was the texture of the ice cream, as Louis, who runs the production side of the business, explains:

Cattabriga are the Ferrari of batch freezers, so we knew the technology would be top of the range and give us so much production flexibility and thus efficiency,” he says, “but we were surprised – and delighted – with how much smoother the ice cream is – it’s the perfect texture for our range of luxury ice creams”.
There certainly is a range to be proud of: Frederick’s have over 100 delicious handmade flavours in stock at any time, and more than 200 recipes to choose from, each made using a blend of the highest quality natural ingredients combined with Italian passion and expertise.

The ROKK ingredients feeder enables the family to add inclusions such as honeycomb, Oreo cookie pieces, chocolate chips and fruit preparations to the ice cream as it comes out of the continuous freezer, which is invaluable for their wholesale customers as Donna explains:

“Many of our hotel, garden centre, restaurant, dessert bar and even wedding customers like to offer bespoke flavours, designed perhaps to complement a specific menu, season or celebration. Our new equipment – and on-site labelling facilities – mean we can produce small, high quality batches quickly and efficiently.”

So is the relationship with Machinery World another new recipe for Frederick’s?

“Not at all,” laughs Donna: “Machinery World are a tried and tested part of our history, just like our ingredients”.

The relationship began about six years ago, when they traded in two small machines for a second-hand continuous freezer which had been refurbished to the highest standard by Machinery World’s in-house expert engineers. The team continue to service the machine, ensuring it never misses a beat.

“We love working with Machinery World,” says Donna. “They really understand our business and are extremely knowledgeable, with superb after sales service. They are also hugely versatile: we were able to trade-in one of our older machines, which made it possible for us to afford the new, top of the class machinery we really wanted”.

Whilst the two latest additions to the Frederick’s mix feature the latest technology, it is the way in which the family combine traditional recipes, luxury ingredients and age old ice cream expertise with the use of modern machinery that the fourth Federici generation, Emma and Amy are learning, ensuring every lick will continue to taste unbelievably delicious for years to come.