A Northern Ireland-based farm turned ice creamery is celebrating after scooping five of the UK’s most prestigious taste awards only three years after diversifying into the market.

Tickety-Moo ice cream, which is produced on Tully Meadows farm near Irvinestown, Co Fermanagh, swept the boards at the Guild of Fine Food Great Taste Awards in London.

Gareth Grey and his brother-in-law Steve Giles started the business in 2005 operating out of a converted milking parlour.

They imported a herd of diminutive Jersey cows, whose milk is renowned as being high in butterfat, and got to work trying to think up some novel flavours.

Now the risk incumbent with diversifying seems to have paid off with a number of national retailers having decided to stock their brand.

The flavours that pricked the guild judges taste buds were Valrhona Chocolate and Just Jersey vanilla — both of which received two star gold ratings — and Raspberry Ripple, Apple and Blackberry Pie and Mango and Passionfruit Sorbet — all of which were given a one star gold.

Gareth Grey (pictured above with Steve Giles) said he was delighted with the recognition and said it would help the enterprise develop further.

“Winning the award will help identify our product as an extremely high quality ice cream in a market packed with brands from the lower end of the market right to the top of the scale,” he said.

Food critic and guild judge Charles Campion said winning one gold, never mind five, was no mean feat.

“This competition has really come of age and year by year the standard of entries gets higher and higher. To win a gold at the Great Taste Awards is a terrific achievement."