Delicious icy treat served up on historical Vidals House

Judy and Wayne Bradshaw with a selection of their hand made ice blocks outside their artisan shop Bradshaws. Photo / Warren Buckland

I had the most delicious ice block ever on Monday.

It was a Black Doris home made ice block from Bradshaws, an artisan shop on the outskirts of Havelock North.

Owners Judy and Wayne Bradshaw opened the doors to their new venture in October last year and say they are really happy with the response from customers.

The shop sits on part of a 4 hectare (10 acre) historical site owned since 1937 by the well know wine family — the Vidals. The Bradshaws purchased the property in 1991. After a "long and drawn out process", the couple have finally had their home, Vidals House, a landmark in the area, recognised as a heritage house.

"We have been planning for the future for a long time and part of that plan was to ensure this property was not subdivided for housing.

"We now have planning consent to build another home for ourselves on the property and will be turning the main house into visitor accommodation so other people get the chance to stay in the house and enjoy this property and the surrounding area.

"We have also planted more than 3000 citrus trees, including limes, blood oranges, cara cara oranges and lemons along with some pomegranates, to use in our ice blocks and fruit juices," Wayne said.

"I love growing vitamin C. Once upon a time everyone had a lemon tree in their backyard but not any more."

All the ice blocks are made on site with a "secret recipe" and a special machine by Judy and her friend.

They are hand packed and flavours include the Coconut Milk range of Chocolate, Strawberry, Raspberry and the Real Fruit range of Real Lemonade, Strawberry & Lemonade, Lime & Raspberry, Mixed Berries, Pear & Blueberry and Black Doris.

They are all dairy-free, gluten-free and vegan.

They also sell a range of real fruit juices, plus their own line of home and personal care products using citrus. "There's no bad stuff in our products," Judy said.

If you fancy a coffee and a bite to eat you can also get both at Bradshaws. There's plenty of outdoor seating to sit and enjoy the views.

Judy said they had used a food technologist during the development of their product.

"This is our trial really. We plan on distributing our products around the country."

Wayne, a former Hastings District councillor, says they are "proud to be preserving our heritage since 1909".

"Judy and I have a shared respect for tradition, sustainability and good health and we look forward to sharing our products and historical site with you."

Bradshaws is at 293 Te Mata Rd, Havelock North, and open seven days a week: Monday to Saturday from 8am to 4pm and Sunday from 8.30am to 4pm.