Simon Tasker
Technical and legislative consultant to the Ice Cream Alliance, with more than twenty five years in the food industry and ten years with the alliance.
Recognition that means something
Independent judging. National recognition.
The alliance runs the competitions that the British ice cream trade measures itself by. Every one of them is judged independently, and every one is either free or discounted for members.
Our competitions
Three ways to be recognised.
Opens goldenscoop.co.uk
The flagship
The Golden Scoop Awards
The UK's premier ice cream competition. Ten classes, blind judging, one to five star accreditation and the National Champion title.
Visit the awards site Entries close 30 April 2027Hosted here
Parlour of the Year
The annual competition for UK ice cream parlours, judged out of one hundred points across facilities, compliance, a written statement and a portfolio video. Free for members.
Enter Parlour of the Year →
16 March 2027
The night itself
Industry Awards Evening 2027
Where the Golden Scoop results are announced, the National Champion is revealed and the trade celebrates together, at The Belfry Hotel.
Tickets on sale soon
The Golden Scoop Awards
Recognition you can sell with.
A star rating from an independent panel, awarded on the product alone, that you can put on packaging, menus and social media. Entries, classes and results are all handled on the awards site.
- Blind judged by an expert independent panel
- Accredited with a one to five star rating you can use commercially
- Regional and national recognition, plus press coverage
- Detailed written feedback from the judges on every entry
Members enter free. Standard members get one free entry, corporate members get three.
Enter at goldenscoop.co.uk
Leaves the ICA site. Awards enquiries go to info@goldenscoop.co.uk or 01332 203 333.
The ten classes
Best Vanilla · Best Chocolate · Best Strawberry · Best Pistachio · Best UK Flavour · Best Open Sorbet · Best Innovative · Best Open Flavour · Best Newcomer · Best Soft Serve, and the Golden Scoop National Champion above them all.
Judged on three criteria
Appearance, five to ten points. Texture and body, ten to twenty points. Flavour and palatability, fifty to seventy points. Flavour carries the most weight, as it should.
The judging panel
Judged by people the trade respects.
Fabiano Franzoso
Cremoloso Gelato and Gelato Craft Solutions. Winner of Best UK Flavour at the Gelato Festival World Masters in 2021.
Jonny Ireland
Known across the trade as Gelato Jonny. National technical manager and head of the Gelato Academy, trained in Bologna.
Josef Boni
More than forty years judging the National Competition and head judge at the Royal Highland Show.
Ruth Dolby
Bringing over 45 years of hands on industry experience, Ruth has led the development and launch of hundreds of retail and foodservice products, working on technically complex formulations where sensory performance is critical.
Antonio Catalano
Authentic Italian expertise, with extensive experience in gelato production, formulation and techniques, working with two of Italy’s leading flavour houses delivering exceptional dessert solutions.
Laurie Bradley
Lead Product Developer for Frozen at Marks & Spencer, where Laurie has been integral to transforming the ice cream range, drawing on both flavour and nostalgia for inspiration.
Ariela Cesana
With a lifetime of experience in the gelato industry, Ariela grew up surrounded by the craft through her father’s gelato ingredients business and family gelateria in Germany. After years of discovering and tasting exceptional gelato across Europe, she opened her own successful gelateria in North London in 2006, where she continues to bring her passion and expertise to the industry.
Panel members judge blind. Entrant identity is separated from the samples before scoring begins.
Golden Scoop timeline
Competition timeline.
1 December 2026
Entries close
All classes close for entry on the awards site.
Early December
Tubs issued
Entrants receive their numbered sample tubs and instructions.
22 February 2027
Samples dropped off
Samples arrive at collection points by 12:00pm. Soft serve entries are delivered fresh to Derby head office on 26 February.
24–26 February 2027
Judging concludes
The panel completes scoring across every class at head office in Derby.
16 March 2027
Winners announced
Results and the National Champion revealed at the Industry Awards Evening, The Belfry Hotel.
17 March 2027
Feedback issued
Every entrant receives their scores, star rating and written judge feedback.
Members enter free. Everyone else pays.
One Golden Scoop entry and a Parlour of the Year entry are included with Standard membership at £280 a year.