Joe’s Ice Cream
| ice cream and ice cream parlour | |
| ISIN | 🆔 |
| Industry | Ice cream parlour/cafe/coffee shop |
| Founded 📆 | Brynmill, Swansea, Wales (1922) |
| Founder 👔 | Joe Cascarini |
| Headquarters 🏙️ | UK, , |
Number of locations | 2 |
Area served 🗺️ | Wales |
| Products 📟 | Ice cream |
| Members | |
Number of employees | |
| 🌐 Website | www |
| 📇 Address | |
| 📞 telephone | |
Joe’s Ice Cream is an ice cream manufacturer based in Swansea.
Background[edit]
The business was established by Luigi Cascarini who immigrated to Wales from Italy. He planned to work his way through Europe and sail to America but boarded a coal steamer leaving Le Havre for Swansea and decided to remain there. Cascarini initially found work as an organ grinder but opened a general food shop on the High Street in Swansea after securing a loan from an Italian friend. He made his own ice cream in the shop and would open very early in the morning to serve workers, including those working at the munitions factory in Bridgend.[1][2]
Cascarini had six children and each of them established a shop in Swansea. His eldest son Joe decided to concentrate solely on producing ice cream and established his shop on Saint Helen’s Road, Brynmill in 1922. The shop made ice cream on the premises, producing a vanilla flavour to Joe’s own recipe which comprised fresh milk, sugar and cornflour. His grandson Rico Cascarini worked in the shop from the age of 14 and commented that after World War II, Joe changed the recipe to include only dairy produce:[1]
"Milk is milk to some people, but there are 40 different types, each one with its own individual characteristics and tastes....Joe blended them until he found the taste he wanted. He used five different ones. People usually use two, with cream."
The other ingredients are sugar, stabiliser and natural vanilla extract.[1]
Brand development[edit]
The original product is a parlour ice cream and it has to be eaten on the day of purchase. It cannot be frozen because it produces powder crystals and turns into a hard block. Therefore, during the 1990s the company developed a soft scoop ice cream using fresh milk, skimmed milk powder, double cream, sugar, dextrose and egg yolk. This enables it to be kept in the freezer.[1]
The soft scoop ice cream has been developed into numerous flavours including cappuccino, mint choc chip, strawberry swirl and more exotic flavours, such as Turkish Delight, Tuscan cassata (a zabaglione-flavoured ice-cream with Marsala wine and mixed fruit), and a seasonal Christmas pudding ice cream.[1]
The ice cream uses milk and cream from Wales, while the chocolate and eggs come from Belgium.[1]
Expansion[edit]
The company still has the original ice cream parlour on Saint Helen’s Road and opened a parlour in Mumbles.
According to Rico Cascarini the company considers itself to be an artisan producer and is therefore focused on quality rather than quantity:[1]
"We're not production managers, we're artisans....I like to think of us being like a little shop in Italy, where the father's making the ice-cream and the mother's selling it. We make it, we sell it, and if people don't like it they don't have to write to head office, they just get on the phone."
One review of the ice cream has commented:[3]
"Joe's ice cream is more than just a love affair between the industrial Welsh valley's and rural Abruzzi Mountains of Italy. This is something special from the heart of Swansea."
It has also been described as local ice cream with a national following, being so popular that people travel from all over the UK and beyond to taste it.[4]
In February 2020, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge visited the ice cream parlour in Mumbles with the Duke commenting to staff that he had "heard a lot about Joe's", while the Duchess asked if they continued to use the original ingredients to make the ice cream.[5]
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic the company started home deliveries in May 2020.[6]
Sponsorship[edit]
In 2019 Joe’s Ice Cream was the Bravery Award sponsor for the National Children of Wales Awards for 2020.[7]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "The Independent, The Ice Cream of Italy in the Heart of Wales". 23 July 2020.
- ↑ "Food Innovation Wales, Joe's Ice Cream". 23 July 2020.
- ↑ "Wriggle, Joe's Ice Cream". 21 March 2021.
- ↑ "Unreal, A brand built on memories". 21 March 2021.
- ↑ "Walesonline, Prince William and Kate Middleton just tried a Joe's in Mumbles and needed a moment". 21 March 2021.
- ↑ "Walesonline, Joe's Ice Cream is now delivering in Swansea". 21 March 2021.
- ↑ "Child of Wales Awards 2020, Introducing Joe's Ice Cream as the Bravery Award sponsor". 21 March 2021.
Further reading[edit]
- The Independent Article on Joe’s Ice Cream
- Walesonline Article on Joe’s Ice Cream
External links[edit]
- Official website
- Joe’s Ice Cream Facebook page
Videos[edit]
- Joe’s Ice Cream Parlour, Mumbles Visit by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in February 2020
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