UK Ice Cream Shop Drops Dairy, Goes Vegan

Manchester-based ice cream shop Ice Shack re-opens on April 4 with a new menu free of animal products. Owner Az Ahmed—a longtime vegetarian who recently went vegan—gradually began reducing the amount of animal products on Ice Shack’s menu starting last December. “It still broke my heart knowing what happens in the dairy industry, and having to come to my own place of work and serve the dairy ice cream,” Ahmed told VegNews. “My wife and I adopted our daughter two years ago today, and I want to know in my heart that I’ve done everything I can to make a better world.” The shop served its last dairy items on Friday, and Ahmed spent weeks developing 22 vegan ice cream flavors, a variety of cakes and pastries, and more than 20 truffles in white, milk, and dark chocolate varieties (none of which contain animal products or byproducts). Additionally, the shop will serve an almond-, soy-, and oat-based milkshakes, sell five flavors of raw chocolate bars, and even offer vegan dog treats. UK-based blogger Sean O’Callaghan, of Fat Gay Vegan—who first reported the shop’s intent to go vegan—will be honored with an ice cream flavor in his name, Fat Gay Vegan Mojito. “I’m so excited to have a flavor named after me and super proud to be a tiny, tiny part of this incredible vegan business transformation,” O’Callaghan said. Ice Shack joins newly veganized cafe The Fields Beneath in completely removing animal products from its menu in an effort to both address growing customer demands and take a stand against the cruel dairy industry. “We are not here to make a million or franchise out,” Ahmed said, “we just want to make a difference in the very little way we can and have a positive impact with every being we share this earth with.”