Saturday mornings in the back room with Ffion: three hours, six people, two flavours you make and take home, £45, a child with an adult £25
The ice-cream school
On Saturday mornings from October to March the back room becomes a classroom: three hours with Ffion, six people at most, how a custard base works, how to balance sugar so it scoops, a sorbet, and two flavours you design, churn and take home in tubs. £45 a head, £25 for a child over eight with an adult, gift vouchers available; private sessions for six for £240.
People kept asking Ffion how she makes it, so in 2019 she started showing them, on winter Saturday mornings when the parlour does not open until noon. It is a real lesson, not a party: you will understand why supermarket ice cream is full of air, why sorbet goes hard in the freezer, and how to make a flavour at home that scoops.
The morning runs from nine to twelve in the back room. First the base: a custard of Gower milk, cream, egg yolks and sugar, cooked to the right temperature and cooled, and why each of those matters; then a sorbet, with a refractometer to show what sugar does to it. Then each pair designs two flavours from the larder (the fruit in season, the chocolate, the spices, the Welsh things), makes the base, churns it in our machines, and packs it into tubs to take home in a cool bag.
Six people at most, so everybody churns. Saturdays from October to March, booked on the order page; £45 a head, £25 for a child over eight with an adult, coffee and a hot chocolate at half time, aprons and recipe cards to keep. A private session for a birthday, a hen party or a team is £240 for up to six on a Saturday or a winter Monday or Tuesday when the parlour is closed. Gift vouchers for the school are the second most common present we sell, after the mixed box of tubs.
What is included
- Three hours in the back room with Ffion
- Six people at most, everyone churns
- A custard base and a sorbet, explained
- Two flavours you design and take home
- Aprons, recipe cards and coffee
- Private sessions for six, £240
What it costs
The Saturday school £45 a head, a child over eight with an adult £25, a private session for up to six £240, a gift voucher for any amount. Tubs, aprons and coffee included. The flavours page has today's sixteen with the vegan, gluten-free and nut-free ones marked; the cart page says whether your date is free.
Questions about the school
Can children come?
From eight, with an adult, for £25. The machines are cold and heavy and the custard is hot, so younger than eight is not fair on anyone.
Do I need a machine at home?
No. The recipe card has a no-churn version for a freezer and a fork, and the lesson explains what you lose and what you keep without one.
Sixteen in the window today, and a tub ready in two hours.
The flavours page shows today's sixteen from the thirty-two with the vegan, gluten-free and nut-free ones marked. Order a tub to collect without queuing, book the striped cart for a wedding, or a place at the Saturday school, on one form.