Ilkley ale bursts into Big Apple… in a small cake!
By: JimOldfield
October 16th, 2012
Ilkley Brewery’s ale has made it to the Big Apple, inside a… CAKE!
The West Yorkshire team’s award-winning Stout Mary has found its way into a handmade Exquisitely Rich Fruit Cake – after the brewers collaborated with Leeds-based Exquisite Handmade Cakes.
And the beer cake has been so well received that it’s now on its way to the tables of no less a venue than New York’s Plaza Hotel!
The cake is described as “bursting with plump vine fruits and finished with dark Belgian chocolate shavings – with strong fruit flavours and a subtle stout overtone giving it a luxurious dark chocolate toffee background”.
Ilkley’s Chris Ives and Exquisite’s Viv Parry (pictured right with the cake) met at the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses programme, run in partnership with Leeds University Business School, back in 2011.
Last year, they joined forces to create the cake and 10 months later, the two businesses have received their first overseas order which will be arriving at the six-star Manhattan hotel in time for Christmas.
Said Chris: “Viv and I saw a fantastic opportunity to collaborate last year, and it’s hugely exciting to see the partnership pay off in such a grand way.
“Ilkley beers are gradually gaining international exposure in countries like Sweden and Canada but to have our brand showcased in one of the world’s most prestigious hotels in this famous city, is an incredible coup; one which we’re absolutely thrilled with.”
Ilkley Brewery was recently crowned the winner of the Newspaper Society’s national Local Business Accelerators campaign and is currently being mentored by Dragon’s Den star, Deborah Meaden, to help the business flourish further.
HAND-PUMPED links:
Ilkley Brewery
Exquisite Handmade Cakes
