Supplier Stories: Archer's Ice Cream

Supplier Stories: Archer's Ice Cream

How are Bettys' four varieties of ice cream made? What is the secret of their marvellous, majestic creaminess? Only one way to find out: we need to visit Archer’s Jersey Ice Cream in Richmond where their small team of craft chefs stir up desserts to die for.

“You eat ice cream first with your eyes”, explains Sue Archer, one half of the husband-and-wife team that owns Archer’s Jersey Ice Cream. And having just watched Bettys Vanilla Pod Ice Cream pour from the blender in smooth, buttery ribbons, it’s hard to disagree. I can’t wait to try some.

Set within The Station – an impressive community-owned venue which houses a cinema, offices, and facilities for several artisan food producers – Archer’s Ice Cream Parlour is a popular destination for visitors, especially schoolchildren who come to learn how their favourite treat is made.

The Archer family have been farming in the shadow of the Richmond hills for nearly 40 years and diversified into ice cream making almost a decade ago, investing in a herd of 350 Jersey cows and opening their first ice cream parlour for farm visitors in 2004.

Archer’s herd is managed in a welfare conscious system, monitored by Red Tractor Assured and the National Dairy Farm Assured Scheme. In the summer the cattle graze freely on the acres of lush clover rich pasture and in the winter months they feed on conserved forage made on the farm from red clover, rye grass, winter wheat and maize.

The milk they yield is delivered to Richmond fresh every day and is the velvety secret at the heart of their magical ice creams. The Vanilla Pod variety I sampled goes from milking to munching in around five hours, and Leaf – one of two chefs who work in the parlour – is sure that it’s the rich creaminess of the Bettys blend that makes it stand out.

“We use jersey milk and double cream, and that results in a really thick mixture. The flavour comes from real vanilla pods which we slit and skim the seeds from. If you look carefully you can see them in the mixture.”

Ice cream making requires patience. It isn’t something you can hurry – not if you want the final result to be the very best. Leaf manages the process expertly, and though the kitchen is – as you might expect of an artisan producer – not much larger than the one you have at home, it is as neat as a pin. The sign of a chef in full control of their craft.

As well as Vanilla Pod, Archer’s produce Strawberry, Chocolate and Brown Bread varieties – each of them exclusive to Bettys. Unless you’ve tried it, Brown Bread might sound like a somewhat unusual flavour, but Sue say it’s their favourite.

“It’s the caramel taste – it’s completely delicious and really one-of-a-kind”, says Leaf. “We make it from Bettys bread which is delivered especially from the Craft Bakery. It’s lovely – like bread pudding” adds Sue.

For Sue, the handmade ranges for Bettys are a natural extension of her own ice cream making business. “I’ve never wanted to go down the route of volume production or selling to supermarkets,” she insists. “Our ice cream is manufactured fresh every day on site and visitors can watch it being made. If they come to the farm they can see the herd grazing on the fields and in Richmond we have a video playing which shows the Jersey cows and helps people make the connection between farming and the food they eat. That link is very important to us and one we’re very keen to promote.”

Passion is an over-used word, but it is completely fitting when applied to Archers. You might even call it ‘passione’ as Sue has visited Italy many times to hone her skills. Before I leave Sue shows me their range of celebration ice cream cakes, which are part dessert, part work of art. I’m sure that the ice cream makers of Milan, Rome and Naples would fully approve of Archer’s approach and that they too would be seduced first not by tingling tastebuds, but by these tempting treats for the eyes.

If you'd like to enjoy our ice cream is the most glorious of surroundings, you'll find our ice cream kiosk open every day in the gardens at RHS Harlow Carr. And nearby in our Teahouse, you can now buy 100ml tubs of our famous brown bread ice cream.