Edinburgh ice cream business Oscar’s Gelato scoops up Ice Cream Championship Trophy at the Royal Highland Show

Portobello business scoops the top prize

Family-run Edinburgh Italian ice cream business Oscar’s Gelato in Portobello has scooped the Ice Cream Championship Trophy at the Royal Highland Show.

The promenade business specialises in authentic gelato perfecto. With more than 30 flavours – from Biscoff to Bubblegum – the local company makes all of its gelatos from scratch, using real ingredients. At the weekend, Oscar’s Gelato was awarded the Ice Cream Championship Trophy by The Scottish Ice Cream Alliance at the Royal Highland Show, for its Sicilian Pistachio gelato.

Oscar’s Gelato’s customer relations manager Bob Jefferson is delighted with seaside shop’s success at the weekend. He said: “It’s fantastic. We have won awards in the past but to be given the championship title, that’s what you dream about, so it’s a great honour. We were up against stiff competition in the ice cream world.

Staff at Oscar’s Gelato in Portobello with the Ice Cream Championship Trophy presented by The Scottish Ice Cream Alliance at the Royal Highland Show.

“It has been a lot of hard work establishing the business in the past few years. So it’s a huge honour and reward for the hard work by all of our staff. It’s great to be acknowledged by your peers. We all know each other in the ice cream world, we are friends as well as competitors, so everyone has been so lovely since we won. All the big names you can think of in Scotland entered this contest and everyone wants to win.

"So to be named the overall champion is a huge accolade for us, and something we are delighted about. We attended the award ceremony for dairy products at the Royal Highland Show on Friday. Our Madagascar Vanilla and Lemon and Basil Sorbet were also gold medal winners, with prizes as well for our Laphroaig Whisky and Ricotta and Pear flavours.”

The trophy itself was donated around 50 years ago by Larry Guerri, a legend in the world of ice-cream. It is now proudly displayed in Oscar Gelato's trophy cabinet in its gelateria in Brighton Place, Portobello.

Oscar’s Gelato’s owner Harem Murdochy said: “This is the the competition that every ice-cream business in Scotland is desperate to win. We are a small family business and we were up against all the big guys, so it’s a great honour to be recognised in this way. Our pistachio gelato is made with 100 per cent Sicilian pistachios. That makes it very expensive to produce but you can taste the difference, and the judges clearly did.”

Oscar’s Gelato, a family-run business in Portobello, was awarded the Ice Cream Championship Trophy, presented by The Scottish Ice Cream Alliance at the Royal Highland Show for its Sicilian Pistachio gelato.

Bob revealed that the business’s award-winning tasty pistachio flavour does not actually make Oscar’s Gelato any profit. He said: "Our gelato is obviously made here in Portobello, which is important to us. There is a difference between ice cream and gelato. Gelato is healthier and costs more to make. The pistachio flavour that we won with is so expensive to make as its 100 per cent Scicilian pistachios, it doesn’t really make us any profit. So our other flavours basically subsidise the picstachio flavour.

"There’s a real skill to making gelato, anyone cam make ice cream at home but to make this gelato you need a lot of experience and ability. Unlike the commercial ice-cream you might find in a supermarket, gelato is an artisan product and is made in small batches. The two may look similar but gelato is a far superior product. It’s healthier, containing less fat and more fresh ingredients."