Summer lols

Evocative of childhood trips to the seaside and baking afternoons in the garden running through the sprinkler, ice lollies were always a sweet sticky treat. But Bex Spillings of Lickety Ice has reinvented this summer staple with her eco-friendly, handcrafted lollies made only from fresh fruit and natural ingredients.

Bex first launched her natural fruit ice lollies back in 2016 as one of the new producers at the Aldeburgh Food & Drink Festival. They were an immediate hit with children and adults alike as not only are they packed with delicious natural flavours, but because they contain no artificial ingredients, they are a healthier option of this much-loved summer treat. Now, seven years down the production line, we catch up with Bex to find out more about her business and what she’s got in her freezer! The production hub is on an industrial estate just outside Lowestoft, which is also where her husband Johnny has a unit for his business, The Penny Bun Bakehouse, but today we meet at their home where Bex is keen to show me the new composting system they are trialling.

In essence, Lickety Ice has stayed true to the original principal of handmaking ice lollies in small batches and only using fresh local ingredients. In the beginning, the fruit was sourced from local farmers, but now Bex grows a proportion of her own fruit, especially for the seasonal specials such as the Strawberry, Elderflower & Rhubarb twists that they made for the First Light

Festival. The rest mainly comes from Marshalls Produce, a fruit and veg wholesaler from Lowestoft, who is delighted to sell on his over ripe produce to Bex, which is perfect for her as it is high in natural sugar. With production rising from just 1000 ice lollies in the first year to now nearer 50,000, Bex employs a small team during the summer season, mainly working mums who, like Bex, need to juggle the work/life balance.

The team works through the flavours in turn, perhaps zesting and blitzing batches of orange, lime and ginger one week and then trays of sweet strawberries and passion fruit the next. Two of the most popular lollies are the Vanilla Choc Shard and Mint Choc Shard which both contain the highest quality Belgium chocolate. This is tempered in the production hub, usually at the start of the season where they spend two weeks slowly melting the blocks of chocolate and then piping it into thousands of thin shards that are then stored ready for use. The preparation method is relatively straightforward as the ice lollies only ever contain fresh natural ingredients, but the skill is in the method of rapid freezing that Bex has perfected over the years, in order to produce lollies that have a soft almost creamy texture.

Another innovation that Bex has recently introduced is a plastic free wrapper made from NatureFlex - a special compostable cellulose film – and she has set up a scheme where customers are encouraged to return the wrappers to her via some rather brilliant comPOST boxes. She is trialling the scheme and currently has boxes on site at her larger stockists, including Thorington Theatre, the SWT Café at Carlton Marshes and Jimmy’s Farm. Customers are encouraged to post their wrappers in the boxes, which are then collected and incorporated into a complex composting system which Bex has set up with the help of Catherine Supple, the head gardener from Langham Walled Garden. The 3-bay system, which also incorporates all the peelings and waste from production, is producing high grade compost in one year. There is a beautiful synergy to this, as not only does it mean there is no waste product at all from the making of the lollies, but in fact, the recycled material is actually beneficial as it is used to fertilize the garden ready for next year’s crop. Genius!

Lickety Ice can be found at about fifteen outlets across Suffolk and Norfolk, including The Adventure Island Play Park in Lowestoft, Scoops ice cream van in Walberswick, Suzie’s Beach Café in Southwold, and Earsham Street Café in Bungay and Snape, and Bex and her distinctive solar-powered Lollypod can also be seen at various pop-up events and festivals this summer. It has been a busy six years and her drive and passion for running a business with such solid eco-credentials should be applauded. Bex is hoping to roll out the scheme on larger scale, but for now, with two small chief tasters, Savannah and Otis, keeping her busy, she is looking forward to a summer full of family fun – and of course an ice lolly or two!

Pizza to meet you!

The Tipi at Snape is back for the summer, kicking off with a fabulous meze evening on the 22nd July, closely followed by their utterly irresistible stone–baked pizzas which will be served up alongside traditional Italian starters and sides throughout August.

Either order on the eveninggluten free and vegan options included – or book your table ahead on their website. Oh, and whilst you’re there, look out for more themed evenings over the summer!

www.brittenpearsarts.org/ visit-us/snape-maltings/foodand-drink

It’s www.pitagreekstreetfood.co.uk

If you fancy a taste of Greece this summer without the hassle of getting there, you’ll now find it on Saxmundham High St, the new home of Pita, Greek Street Food. Run by Ross Pemberton and his chef Ali, who have been good friends for over 20 years, the pair believe in awesome sustainable fast food and use the very best independent Greek suppliers, the highest quality local meatgrass-fed Suffolk beef and free-range Suffolk pork, specialty selected cold pressed Greek olive oil and classic Bukovo birch-aged chilli. Ross’s father “Pete the Greek” is a great cook and is responsible for many of the specials, using recipes handed down from his mother, and with traditional dishes and others with a modern street food twist on the regular menu, plus tasty vegetarian and vegan dishes too, our mouths are watering!