Milford Haven born and bred Carl Wonnacott worked in law enforcement for 25 years but is now enjoying a sweeter career in the ice cream industry. When Carl finished working for the Home Office he trained as a Barista at the London School of Coffee after becoming fascinated with coffee while working in South America. He successfully ran The Bean Mobile Espresso Bar which he took to events around Wales including at Milford Waterfront.
From his experience of working with the Port at events, Carl was asked to see if he could transform the old Docks Police Office to attract visitors to the area by the lock into Milford Marina. In 2016, The Scoop Ice Cream Parlour and Coffee Shop opened.
In 2021 as he approached his sixth season, and with the challenges that Covid-19 presented, he wanted to grow his family business which his mum and daughters are an integral part of. That is when the Ice Creamery was launched and now the Wonnacott family make their own homemade ice cream to sell in The Scoop and other local outlets. They like to use locally sourced ingredients where possible, and the fresh whole milk used to make the ice cream comes from the happy herd at Steynton Farm. Over the years the team have grown their range from starting out with a freezer which could hold 7 flavours to displaying 24 of their range of homemade ice cream flavours in The Scoop at any time. Overall, they make over 50 flavours, so the choice is always changing!
Carl is certainly proud of his Milford roots, commenting “I have seen how much Milford Waterfront has developed over the years, and it’s the perfect place to come to eat, to enjoy spectacular events and views of the Waterway. I’m also a berth holder at Milford Marina and live by Milford Fish Docks, so I couldn’t really think of a better place to set up an Ice Creamery, to make ice cream to sell right here in Milford Haven.”