BRATTESANI’S CENTENARY COMPETITION
As part of their centenary celebrations, Brattesani’s Homemade Ice Cream at Anstruther Fish Bar have just launched an exciting competition to create a brand new flavour of ice cream.
As part of their centenary celebrations, Brattesani’s Homemade Ice Cream at Anstruther Fish Bar have just launched an exciting competition to create a brand new flavour of ice cream.
Over the summer, customers are invited to submit their ideas for a brand new flavour on one of Brattesani’s very own ice cream design sheets. These can be picked up in-store or downloaded from the Anstruther Fish Bar Facebook page. On Monday 16th September the entries will be narrowed down to the 3 best flavours, as chosen by Brattesani’s ice cream experts, these will then go on a Facebook poll so that the public can help vote for the winner.
The lucky winner will be contacted on Monday 23rd September. They will get their dream ice cream made especially for them and be invited to Brattesani’s, with up to 10 friends, for a VIP ice cream sampling visit. They will also get a 5 litre tub of their own unique flavour to take home with them.
Since taking over the reins at the famous Anstruther Fish Bar and Brattesani’s Ice Cream parlour some 16 years ago, Alison & Robert Smith and family have continued to produce that unique vanilla ice cream that the popular Anstruther ice cream parlour was renowned for over the past 100 years.
Proprietor, Alison Smith said: “We are excited to be celebrating 100 years of Brattesani’s here in Anstruther. Born and brought up in Anstruther & St Monans ourselves, a visit to Brattesani’s was a special one. A vanilla cone was a childhood favourite of ours, along with the homemade penny ice lollies.
Brattesani’s was an institution in the village … the huge boxes of chocolates, the towers of Easter eggs, the rows and rows of glass sweetie jars, the fascinating array of pipes and tobacco and, of course, the amazing Italian gelato ice cream. Although slightly modified over the decades to comply with modern food safety requirements, we still follow Giovanni Brattesani’s original 1919 recipe and are proud to be the family taking this recipe into the next century.
For all the behind the scenes excitement during our centenary celebrations, people can follow us on Facebook and Instagram, keeping an eye out for the #BRATTS100 hashtag”
Ice cream production manager, Ann Banks said: “Using this ice cream recipe as our base, we make over 100 different flavours nowadays. However, we are always on the lookout for new, bright ideas and are really looking forward to seeing what new flavours and creations our customers come up with. We would encourage everyone to be as creative and adventurous as possible with their ideas for the competition. Think of mixing flavours, adding any kind of toppings (eg sauces, sweets, nuts or sprinkles) and give the finished creation a suitable name. This competition isn’t just for young kids ….. we are sure there are plenty ‘big’ kids out there who would love to give it a try. If something is edible, we can make it into ice cream!”
A life long resident of Anstruther himself, Brattesani/Anstruther Fish Bar proprietor Robert Smith recalls: “My mum had a really sweet tooth and was a regular customer at Brattesani’s when my dad was away at the sea fishing for weeks on end. I have vivid memories of these visits, especially the huge glass counters crammed with sweets and me as a wee boy peering through the glass, choosing my sweets for our movie nights! It was a pretty impressive looking, well stocked place and I remember the two local ‘celebrities’ who were always behind the counter, ready for a blether…Jimmy Brattesani and John McBride!
The Brattesani family story is really fascinating. Friends of ours, Linda and Francie McBride (descendant) revealed that Giovanni Brattesani was born in Buffalo, USA and moved to Scotland around the turn of the 20th century. He was married in Italy but returned to Scotland to settle with his family. There were 10 brothers and sisters, Jimmy Brattesani being one of the younger ones. Jimmy’s birth name was Manigeldo Dominico, meaning ‘hand of gold’ in Italian! A very apt name, for someone who also operated a very successful betting shop in addition to the ice cream/tobacconist/confectionery business.
Jimmy had been sent to Italy to be educated but returned with some of his other siblings to Scotland.
A census taken around the time would appear to show that Giovanni and 7 of his children lived at 44a High Street, but at some point the property at 25-27 Shore Street was purchased by himself, Vettriano (a brother of his) and Jimmy.
When war broke out, Jimmy joined the army and worked as an interpreter.
Jimmy’s sister Terezina (Ena), who ran the shop alongside him, had 5 of a family with John McBride, one of whom sadly died at a young age. Only one of the family, Francie McBride, remains in Anstruther today, and is actually still trading on Anstruther’s Shore Street. Along with his wife Linda and daughters, they own and manage their family business Gibbles Gifts, Cards & Home, at 37 Shore Street, selling a wide variety of quality, original gifts and cards.
Giovanni himself eventually went to live in Montrose with two of his children, Carol and Jean, where they ran a very successful ice cream / chip shop / pool room.
We would love to hear from anyone else who has memories of Brattesani’s ‘back in the day’. Maybe there’s a photo of you with a ‘99’ or a slider outside Brattesani’s that is hiding in an album or lurking in a box up your attic? Perhaps you have a photo that was taken inside the shop? Well, we would love to see them all and are offering ice cream vouchers to everyone who donates photos that are put in our window display.
