We are a family run business with pride in our pastures, provenance and product. With family and farming at our heart, our small business are proud producers of our own artisan gelato using fresh milk from our family farm in Burrow. Quality and seasonality are the foundation of our ever changing line up of fresh flavours; from cow to cone in beautiful Kirkby Lonsdale and Clitheroe.
Our Story
Owners Sarah and Ed established The Milking Parlour in Kirkby Lonsdale in 2018, built on a dream of running their own food business after many years of working in the hospitality industry. Sarah grew up on a dairy farm, and as milk prices fell dramatically their heads turned to making ice cream, and how they could transform the finest quality milk from Sarah’s family farm into a gelato to rival the finest Italian scoops.
Fast forward to 2022 and together with their long standing friends and former hospitality colleagues, The Milking Parlour Clitheroe was born. Husband and wife team Andy and Rachael established the franchise in August 2022, expanding The Milking Parlour’s fresh artisan gelato into new pastures. Just like Cumbira, this area of Lancashire is well known for its food producers and love of all things good food, so was the natural choice.
Our Expertees
After a decade in the food industry working as a chef and in front of house management - and with a passion for all things good-food - the couple dreamt of one day opening their own food business. As a professional Chef, Ed brought his technical knowledge and expertise, which combined with Sarah’s front of house customer service experience and creativity gave the couple the best foundations for establishing their cow to cone ice cream parlour.
Family at our Core
The Milking Parlour is a true family enterprise, with everyone playing their part in the ‘cow to cone’ process. The Crackles family have been farming at Mill Farm for over sixty years with two generations now farming together - and a third younger generation always keen to lend a hand! Twice a day, three hundred and sixty five days a year, David and Richard Crackles can be found in 'The Milking Parlour' at Mill Farm tending to the herd of 150 Holstein Friesian cows.
Our Team
Behind every scoop is a team of talented individuals; our proud Milking Parlour family. We live and breathe ice cream and are never short of new flavour ideas! Ed manages all aspects of production along with Angela, with both also often busy serving in the parlour in Kirkby Lonsdale. You’ll also find Ed scooping at events with our Mobile Milking Parlour and on the road delivering gelato to our wholesale customers. Sarah sits mostly behind the scenes looking after the paperwork, from events bookings to invoices, recruitment to rotas - and many other things in between!
From Cow To Cone
As soon as each morning's milk is cooled it’s collected by Ed ready to be pasteurised and churned into gelato. We are proud artisan producers, making all of our gelato in small batches using the best seasonal ingredients available. Our small production kitchen is just a stones-throw from the farm in Burrow, just outside Kirkby Lonsdale, meaning close to zero food miles.
Sustainability
At The Milking Parlour we believe that caring for the planet is just as sweet as our ice cream! We want families to enjoy every scoop knowing we’re doing our part to look after the environment.
Fresh & Local
We use fresh milk from our family farm. Far tastier ice cream guaranteed and close to zero food miles, from cow to cone!
Earth-Friendly Packaging
Our cups, spoons, and napkins are made from biodegradable or compostable materials. We encourage and incentivise our customers to use our re-fillable takehome containers for their take-home ice cream.
Less Waste, More Taste
We plan our batches carefully to reduce food waste and make sure every scoop counts. We minimise the range of packaging we require by being creative with new products and how we serve them.
Saving Energy
From our freezers to our lights, we use energy-efficient equipment to help reduce our environmental footprint.
Our mission is simple -
to serve joy responsibly. Every scoop we make is crafted with care for both people and the planet.
