Coutts Woman

Lola's Restaurant

Morfudd Richards, owner of Lola’s Restaurant on Islington’s trendy Upper Street, had a vague idea about starting an ice cream venture, when browsing eBay she saw a 1975 Bedford ice cream van for sale in Cornwall.

After a fierce bidding battle, she won her prize with a £500 offer and Lola’s on Ice was born…well, almost. Days later the venture was nearly frozen in time.

‘The engine blew up 100 miles out of Cornwall,’ explains Richards. ‘But luckily I had joined the RAC the day before. Mr Whippy and I got a lift all the way back to London.’

Richards joined the Bedford fan club in order to source a new engine and fitted her van out in psychedelic colours, plastic flowers, butterflies and a peacock. Some months later, she disconnected the Tannoy that played ‘Teddy Bears’ Picnic’ – ‘it was driving me mad’ - and installed an MP3 player.

Unlike traditional ice cream vans’ offerings, Richards eschews emulsified palm oil, additives and 20% pumped air in her products. There are no pumps in her van, as all the ice cream is made at the restaurant.

‘The basic ingredients are milk, sugar, eggs, cream and flavouring. The process involves a lot of churning,’ she explains. ‘We do not use preservatives, but there is a high turnover so each batch lasts a maximum of two days. However, obviously because it is frozen, the ice cream will keep a long time but it loses its flavour.’

"Horseradish and Wasabe ice cream are great because you get the sensation of hot with the cold"

And what flavours they are. Vanilla, made with Bourbon pods from Madagascar, served with a brandy snap rather than a 99 Flake, Valhrona chocolate, caramelised fig and orange and, in December, Christmas pudding are all on the menu.

‘Children tend to prefer traditional flavours,’ explains Richards. ‘But we produce more off-the-wall ice creams for adults. Horseradish and Wasabe ice cream are great because you get the sensation of hot with the cold. And we offer a beetroot cassis sorbet, which is based on an old English recipe that served beetroot jelly next to blackcurrants.’

Transforming alcoholic cocktails into sorbets is also popular. ‘Gin and tonic and Cosmopolitan sorbets are favourites. Everybody loves ice cream, it harks back to childhood,’ adds Richards. ‘But people are increasingly concerned about the provenance of the ingredients. There is so much more emphasis on sourcing and quality.’

When Richards first bought the van, she drove around Islington streets just as the schools were breaking up to sell ice cream. ‘It was quite good publicity. I had to register with the council as a street vendor, and I could stop for up to 20 minutes if I was hailed,’ she explains. ‘But many ice cream vans are family owned businesses and they can be fairly aggressive about their pitches.’

Today, though, the van is used for parties, weddings and corporate entertainment. ‘I am restricted in where I can go as the van only does 25 miles an hour, which means it takes six hours to get to Oxford,’ laughs Richards.

But she is considering branching out. ‘It would be a perfect franchise operation. If I had limited funds and wanted to set up a new business, this would be a good option. Obviously you need a kitchen that passes health and safety regulations and to buy an ice cream van, but then you’re good to go. This van paid for itself within four months.’