We restored a vintage ice cream cart in honour our beloved South Shields gran
A vintage ice cream cart has been restored to sell handmade Scotch eggs from in memory of a grandmother.
A North East gourmet Scotch egg company has created a unique tribute to a much-loved South Shields gran.
Andrew Harvey, the owner of Bishop Auckland-based Cassie’s Kitchen, purchased a vintage ice cream cart on Facebook Marketplace around two years ago but hadn’t gotten round to restoring it.
Following the passing of Edith, his 91-year-old gran, in January, Andrew decided that it was time to restore the cart and name it after his South Shields grandmother.
Edith the Egg Cart
Honouring Edith went a step further as the restored cart saw its debut in South Shields’ Bents Park at the Great North Feast in the Park over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend, something that Andrew has revealed was very important to his family.
The 42-year-old said: “I saw it online a couple of years ago and I just thought that I needed it, I don’t know why but I knew that I needed to buy it.
“It is quite quirky and really fits in with our branding so the idea was to do it up and sell Scotch eggs out of it but with things being a turbulent business-wise over the last few years, we never got round to it.
“Then when my gran died, there was just a switch and I decided it was time to restore it and call it ‘Edith the Egg Cart’.
“With the food festival being held in Bents Park, it was very important to us as a South Shields family to make sure that’s where it went first - it meant a lot and was really special.”
‘A very special moment’
Andrew has revealed how his family reacted to seeing the cart for the first time at the South Shields food festival.
He commented: “Most of our family is still in South Shields so on Saturday when the food festival opened, they all came along to see the cart.
“My aunties and uncles were very emotional so it was a very special moment.
“They were all very proud and said that gran would have loved it although she called things as she saw it.
“My auntie did comment that she could imagine my gran saying something like ‘what the hell are you selling Scotch eggs out of an ice cream cart for’.
“Everyone was just very proud.”
A full refurbishment
Having fully refurbished the cart in the space of a month, Andrew gave an insight into how much work needed to be put into getting it back on the road.
He added: “The cart was completed rotted and it was leaning over to one side so it had to be placed onto a caravan chassis.
“A lot of bodywork needed doing so it all had to be stripped back and inside, the roof beams had rotted as they were made from plywood.
“So it has been a full refurb and everything apart from the body and glass is new.”
Cassie’s Kitchen travels the North East and beyond selling their Scotch eggs at a variety of different events - you can keep up to date with them by visiting: https://www.facebook.com/cassiesvintagekitchen.