Ice Cream Parlour

That was the Regent ice cream shop it was out of this world there used to be ques half way down the high street

Thank you for putting me out of my misery. Wish you could still buy the ice cream, it was so creamy, ice cream of nowadays is watery. Gill Pickett

Hi Gill I lived in Sutton in the 60s and I remember this ice cream shop very well. The man's name was Tony and he was a Scottish, Italian. I had the opportunity to see where he made the ice cream out the back of his shop. It was made in an old bath tub with Gold Top, Channel Island milk and butter from Sainsbury and he mixed it in the bath with a paddle, you probably would not get away with that sort of setup today but what an amazing memory of my favourite ice cream. The reason I got to see this was I was a milk boy for Unigate from Vale Road Dairy. Glyn.

I lived in Sutton from 1940 until 1951 and until then the best I.C. was Italian Ice-cream from side serving-hatch of The Regent cafe. It was almost opposite the Grapes and a few doors from Dorothy Perkins. I can still taste that Ice-Cream. Les Green (Ex-Cumnor and Sutton Court Road and West Street School.)

I you really know the recipe how about passing it on. I would love to try and replicate it at home.

It's always unfortunate, when there is an apparent dark side to what was otherwise the best ice cream some of us have ever eaten. From a child's perspective in the 60s and 70s, it was the highlight during our shopping trips to Sutton. I didn't understand anything about trade unions or exploitation of workers at that stage.

Ironically I do however remember that Tony always seemed very serious and quiet. I often wondered at that time, why he wasn't more chirpy, afterall he should have been very proud of his recipe and the exclusive rights. He had obviously lost a great deal of dolce vita roots.

By the way, there is an ice cream out there which gets within a respectable distance of Tony's creation and it's the Swiss Moevenpick vanilla ice cream. To get the consistency right, you will have to allow the ice cream to warm slightly and fluff it up, so it will form those peaks nicely. It's not the same, but it's the closest I've found in the last 50 years.

Peter from Banstead

We still talk about it today, over 45 years ago.

Regent Cafe is now subway selling bread rolls. Ice cream used to be mixed by four boys with a paddle, in a tin bath out the back with gold top milk and butter from Lipton's. Mr C could be heard often " come on boys, get weaving ! ...Lol. I think someone's having a proper laugh. There was actually quite a scientific process of measure, of mixing, boiling in vats, homogonising, cooling, storing and finally presentation after air whipped into the semi solid product at the point of sale, Not to mention, food control lab tests that guarantee its integrity before Sutton's public could even begin to lick their lips on an oyster. The mix cost hundreds of pounds, usually on a Tuesday production run for a week in advance. Very hard work for one man to keep the whole show going 7 days a week decades upon decades. I mention Lipton's because that almost opposite, where Mc Donald's is now, On the corner used to be decorators shop, where you went in and ordered paper.. I think it was Crown. ( pre The Angel, its bridge had trees on both sides its whole length, with Elm trees and old Iron bridge, it was a proper vision before it was renovated, lol, probably before Eagle Star was built and sometime after its subsequent demolition.

Whilst contemplating my navel here in hospital I suddenly remembered Regent Ice-cream parlour in Sutton High Street, sadly no longer there and i thought...

Does anyone know relatives of Toni Capaldi the owner, who may be convinced to give up the recipe for his amazing and unparalleled tasting ice-cream?
If anyone knows anything, apart from the 'hypocriphal' stories of gold top and butter mixed in a tin bath, why not start a GoFundMe page to raise a huge amount of cash to buy the recipe and setup a place in Sutton somewhere, maybe on the green at the bottom of town?

Good idea or what?
Get your thinking caps on.....

Hi Louisa
A few years ago on this group a guy called Matt? had worked at the Regent and been taught by Tony the process which he posted. Some people said they were going to try and make it but I’ve not had any feed back if it worked. This is the detail :

Regent Ice Cream :

I worked at the Regent,. making icecream and it's not so much the recipe as the process.
I can give you the recipe but it takes a lot of afterwork to produce that creamy texture.

You missed out the eggs and butter

It's the aeration and prevention of ice crystals that's so important.
As for Mr. Whippy and even Walls 'icecream', as part of my training, Mr. C. made me drink warm Walls and other makers. You could clearly taste the pork fat.
It's no coincidence that Walls made sausages first and then found a use for the surplus fat

Here you go, you don’t need to use an ice cream maker if you haven’t got one. Let me know what you think.
Matt’s Regent Ice-Cream

300ml double cream into a saucepan add
400g tin of condensed milk use a spatula to empty the tin. Turn on the hob and slowly start to heat, use a whisk to combine

Put 30g of sugar in the horlicks mixer and then add 4 egg yolks, widgey up and down to mix

Add 5 capfuls of vanilla extract to the mixture on the hob and whisk and bring to close boil, take off the heat

add a little of the custard mixture to the eggs to loosen and then pour slowly back into the custard mixture, mixing all the time. Once all in put back on a low heat.

Add 10 ml liquid glucose to the pan.

Stir whilst on low heat for 10 minutes.

Cool pan rapidly using ice cubes in the washing up bowl.
Put the saucepan in the fridge overnight to thoroughly cool.

Blend the ingredients in the ice cream machine for 25 minutes prior to freezing in a clip lock box, put the box in a freezer bag to reduce the ice crystals!

This must be one of the most talked about memories on this group as it crops up quite regularly. The flavour and texture of the ice cream is very unique and we try to find one wherever we go even as far as Italy but without success.

Does anybody remember a shop called something like F Gordons? There is a ghost sign which is quite faded half way down the high street. Would love to hear some more information. Thanks