Criterion Ices Prepares for a Bright Future

Thurston family-run ice cream maker Criterion Ices has just completed the installation of a new blast freezer that will enable them to double their output over the next few years.  They are certainly well placed for summer 2020.  More immediately, they are looking forward to another hectic Panto season with their many theatre clients at their busiest time of the year.

The new unit, measuring 8 x 8 metres, will allow up to 5,000 litres of finished ice cream to be frozen down rapidly every day.  Paul Myatt, Managing Director, who has been in charge of the project for the past year, stresses that one of the secrets of making the best ice cream is to hammer the temperature down in the shortest possible time.  “Our target now is from -5°C to -21°C within two hours,” says Paul with a smile.

“The project has been carried out using entirely local East Anglian skills and businesses, including groundworks (Paul Sayer, Wickhambrook), cold room (Anglia Cold Rooms, Norwich) and refrigeration (Sapphire, Ipswich).”

Family funding has been backed by the New Anglia Small Grant Scheme, which is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

“As our contribution to the environment, completion of the works will reduce our carbon footprint by around 10 per cent through efficiencies and modern technology,” reports Charlie Myatt, Sales & Marketing Director.

“We could freeze down up to 40,000 of these individual tubs a day.”  Charlie Myatt