A PRESTIGIOUS award was the cherry on the cake for a hugely successful ice cream company- which has "worked around the clock" to keep the county in delicious ice cream throughout the pandemic.

English Lakes Ice Cream, which is based in Kendal, was awarded a two star Great Taste Award for one of their brand new flavours - Mascarpone and Cherry gelato.

This latest accolade joins previous successes in 2019 when the company received a two star for their Double Jersey and one star for their Thunder and Lightning and Raspberry Pavlova flavours.

The Westmorland Gazette:

“We are extremely proud to have received two stars for our Mascarpone and Cherry gelato,” said Operations Director, James Stephens.

“The team have worked so hard to perfect the range and we decided to enter the awards primarily to get some feedback from the expert judges before releasing it to the marketplace.”

Area Sales Manager, Andrea King said: "It is great to receive another Great Taste badge of honour, especially in these uncertain times, it adds so much value to our business in terms of credibility, opening doors to new retailers and increasing brand awareness and sales.

The Westmorland Gazette:

"It has been a great boost to the whole team as the last six months have been very tough with the challenges that the pandemic has thrown at everyone.

"Our lifeline during this time was the way that our customers were quick thinking and came up with ways to diversify!

"For instance, many of our wholesale customers offered door to door deliveries and click and collect services as well as many pubs, restaurants and cafes offering takeaway services.

"During lockdown the retail sector has been one of our saviours, there has been a huge increase in sales from both national retailers such as Booths and Morrisons and local retailers such as Pioneer Foodhall, Plumgarths, Cranstons, Levens shop, Haverigg Gift Shop, A Days Walk, Chocolate Fayre etc.

"Thankfully, when establishments were able to reopen their doors, the shear increase in tourist trade during July and August, due to people choosing to holiday in this country, was a huge relief.

"I cannot thank our customers enough for their continued support and I am so proud of our staff, who have gone above and beyond, especially during the time when demand for our products soared.

The Westmorland Gazette:

"They worked around the clock, seven days a week to keep our customers supplied with ice cream."