IJs en Spijs named Ice Cream Parlour of the Year 2024
Hooray! It was recently announced: the winner of the Ice Cream Parlour of the Year competition. The winner of the prestigious title ‘Ice Cream Parlour of the Year 2024’ is IJs en Spijs from Haps (North Brabant), run by SVH Master Ice Cream Maker Mark van Gaal and Jade van Gaal.
Because of all the crazy ice creams you see in supermarket freezers, such as pickle ice cream with vodka, and baker Jules Lauwerijssen’s stunt with his Bossche bollekes, you could almost forget that ice cream parlours sell incredibly delicious artisanal ice cream. And it was precisely these ice cream parlours that competed for the Ice Cream Parlour of the Year 2024 trophy.
This year, in addition to the winner, there were five other nominees in the competition organised by the Association of Artisanal Ice Cream Makers. They were all places where you can buy an excellent ice cream, as became clear after several mystery visits and thorough hygiene checks. And the latter is certainly important, because everyone knows horror stories about ice cream machines full of bacteria. You absolutely won’t find those here.
Nominees for Ice Cream Parlour of the Year 2024
The five other nominated ice cream parlours are:
- T IJshofje from Meijel
- Ciolato di’ Cello from Voorhout
- De Smaak! Chocolade & IJs from Eersel
- IJssalon Pisa from Zevenaar
- Luciano from Wassenaar
Previous winner
IJs en Spijs is no stranger to the competition. They previously won the title of Ice Cream Parlour of the Year in 2017. Last year, IJs en Spijs was also nominated for the title, after owner Mark won the 2023 Golden Ice Cream Spatula with his stracciatella ice cream. Although the jury considered it a close call, IJs en Spijs distinguished itself not only through the high quality of its pear ice cream, but also through the passion and hospitality radiated by the entire team.
“Pear ice cream is difficult to prepare because it has a flat flavour. Mark’s ice cream, however, was sublime. He is a true ice cream maker. An ice cream parlour you will definitely want to return to soon, so a well-deserved winner,” said the jury.
Award-winning pear ice cream
Naturally, it will be on the menu all summer: the award-winning pear ice cream that won the coveted title of Ice Cream Parlour of the Year 2024. But you can also buy many other flavours, such as the crazy sour candy-mat ice cream. We’re incredibly curious about that. Are you too? You can find IJs en Spijs at Burg. v. Hultenstraat 1a in Haps. The ice cream parlour is open every day, except Tuesdays, until 10:00 p.m.
Also read:
- Why you’d better not buy Italian silver ice cream cups in the Netherlands
- You’re storing your ice cream incorrectly: Ben & Jerry’s explains how to do it right
- We need to talk about people who chew their ice cream
Source: Vereniging Ambachtelijke IJsbereiders, image: IJs & Spijs
