A moving tribute has been paid to a late ice cream maker from Machen – just as his firm was scooping another top accolade.
Lewis Richards, of Minolis of Machen, died last August after a courageous battle against cancer, and the firm is now run by his widow Sue, son Geraint and daughter-in-law Emma.
Now Sue has been presented with a trophy in his memory by the Ice Cream Alliance, the trade body for the UK’s £1bn ice cream industry – for which he worked as a senior judge and supervisor.
And the firm has also won a trophy for its entry in the large artistic class at the ICA’s National Ice Cream Competition,with an ice cream Sue created on a wedding cake theme, as well as a bronze award in the dairy continuous freezer class.
ICA national president Maggie Rush, who presented the Marvin Benton award to Mrs Richards, said her husband had demonstrated an “outstanding” contribution both to the organisation and to the wider ice cream industry.
She said he spent the first 30 years of his life as a dairy farmer and then founded an ice cream business with his wife in 1987.
“Lewis wanted to utilise his knowledge of good milk to make good dairy ice cream,” she said.
“So he and his wife went off on a two-week course and learned how to make ice cream. Back home,they experimented in the kitchen with a small ice cream machine borrowed from a friend and came up with a quality product that won them the ICA Champion of Champion award three times.”
She said that when she became President last year,Lewis told her: “Well done Maggie,and if I’m not here for the full year, I’ll be up there keeping an eye on you…I’m sure he’s up above enjoying this moment.”
Geraint said his father would have been “absolutely chuffed” by the award and also the trophy for the wedding cake ice cream.
He and Emma now run the ice cream parlour at the farm,called Basil and Rusty’s – after their childhood nicknames.