West Winch mum's ice cream business features on national TV
What started off as a hobby last year has turned into a thriving mobile ice cream business for a West Winch mum.
And last week Naomi Gaskins got a special "scoop" of her own when she appeared on national television during ITV's This Morning programme.
Her business Naomi's Traditional Vintage Ice Cream Van began when she had the idea of selling ice creams to raise funds for schools where she served on parents and teachers associations. She and her husband, Neil, bought a 1979 Bedford CF1 in July and the fundraising led to further inquiries for her to attend other events.
She said: "I was involved with West Winch Primary and South Wootton Infants schools. I had post on Facebook and then people started to get in touch to ask if I could do weddings. It has really taken off from there and I already have plenty of bookings lined up for this year, including more weddings, a school sports day and a summer fair.
"It was also through Facebook that I had a call from ITV who wanted me to be in the background of filming they were doing at Darwin Escapes in Pentney last Monday. It was a live broadcast for This Morning and Loose Women featuring my ice cream van.
"It was a fabulous morning. There were a few hiccups and my part serving presenter Alison Hammond a whippy from my hatch never got shown due to technical issues. But it was a live broadcast and I was thrilled that I had been asked to be part of the set and what had started out as my ice cream 'hobby' had now got exposure on national TV."
Naomi and Neil, who also have another business, NG Vehicles Logistics transporting new and classic cars around the UK, transformed their van which was a shell when they bought it. Neil is a mechanic and Naomi wanted to "put her stamp on it" and designed it with a vintage theme incorporating roses for decoration.
She also adds appropriate extra decorations to suit the occasions she is attending, such as bunting for weddings and birthday banners.
She makes her own ice cream using Jersey luxury ice cream mix and serves traditional cones and scoops with a range of flavours. For weddings, she offers her "posh" flavours such as rum and raisin, chocolate orange, cappuccino and more besides.
She also provides products which are suitable for vegans and free from gluten, lactose and dairy.
Naomi can be contacted on 07747061627 or via her Facebook page.
