A NEW ice cream parlour has seen huge support from the Hexham community since opening in the town.
Claire Harijan, owner of Marketplace Coffee in Hexham, opened the new ice cream parlour Four Beaumont opposite Hexham Abbey and several doors away from the coffee shop on July 19.
And the parlour is already a firm favourite with tourists and residents.
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"It's something I've always wanted to do, ice cream is so fun and it's the ultimate happy food. Having children, I wanted a business that was family-friendly and that they could be part of. It must be every child's dream for their mum to own an ice cream shop."
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Claire is deciding on definite opening times but said the shop will generally be open from 11am until 6pm, at least for the summer holidays.
She is working with two ice cream suppliers, Northern Bloc, which originated in Leeds, and Wooler-based Doddington Dairy. They use only natural ingredients in their products. Claire also sells tea and high-quality filtered coffee, a frequent request from customers in Marketplace Coffee.
"Because I have the coffee shop which is specialty coffee and espresso-based drinks, I decided I would sell really good quality filtered coffee in the parlour," she said. "In the coffee shop, we get asked for filtered coffee. Although we do an Americano, people say they love filtered coffee. Now when people ask if they can get filtered coffee, the staff can just say, 'go a few doors up'."
Some of the Northern Bloc ice creams are made with an oat base, meaning it is both vegan and dairy-free.
She said: "It's great for people who have lactose intolerance but they're absolutely delicious. For people who are excluded from enjoying ice cream for health reasons, it's exciting to offer them something just as nice and tasty."
Some ice cream flavours on offer include strawberry, Madagascan vanilla bean, espresso, Sicilian lemon swirl, cookies and cream and a raspberry and sorrel sorbet, while vegan options are a rhubarb and raspberry combination or caramelised biscuit.
Claire's recommendations for ice cream vary on personal taste, but said her personal favourite is probably the vanilla.
"It depends if you prefer more fruity or just want a classic vanilla. I must say when I tried the cookies and cream I thought it probably wasn't going to be for me, I expected it to be sweeter. But with the amount of sugar in these ice creams, they're not overly sweet. They're just right," she added.
"When I look for an ice cream, it's important the ingredients are all natural, the sugar needs to be balanced and you need to be able to taste the flavour of the ice cream over the sugar. I think all of them are really nice.
"It's so exciting and so much fun. Hexham is such a lovely community and very supportive. People love independent shops here," Claire said.
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