The Tynemouth Turtle: The story behind Di Meo’s new ‘US-inspired’ ice cream - and what it tastes like

Even on the windiest of Friday afternoons in Whitley Bay there is a constant stream of customers feasting on ice cream at Di Meo’s.

The parlour has taken pride of place by the bay for over 20 years and won countless awards for its high-quality ice cream.

Di Meo’s offers all the classic flavours and, for this weekend only, there’s a new addition to the menu.

The new flavour is called the Tynemouth Turtle and is being showcased at the Tynemouth Food Festival this weekend.

Di Meo’s owner Luciano, who is the fourth generation of ice cream makers in the family, said: “I was asked by the organisers to come up with a flavour.

“There’s a few times we’ve had to invent a flavour for different things. “Caramel turtle is a massive flavour in America. If you go to an ice cream parlour in America and ask for a caramel turtle sundae, they’ll know what you mean.”

The Tynemouth Turtle is caramel and pecan flavoured, following in the footsteps of the parlour’s award-winning nutty scoops pistachio, Ferrero Rocher and Resse’s peanut butter.

Luciano nips out back to bring Newcastle World a sneaky sample of the exclusive flavour, and it’s certainly not one to be missed.

When pressed on whether it might be on offer permanently, Luciano said: “We have trialled it and it was really popular. It has proven a success.

“We are going to be opening a parlour in Tynemouth towards the end of the year so it will probably be on the menu there.”

Di Meo’s is back in full swing now having survived the Covid-19 lockdowns.

With people making the most of daily exercise and seaside fresh air, the parlour coped better than many.

Luciano said: “We were fortunate. I feel sorry for the people who couldn’t just switch to takeaway.

“50% of our business was takeaway so we concentrated on that.

“It was nice to see people rediscover the coast and what they have on their doorstep.

“The amount of people doing watersports on the coast has quadrupled since last year.”

You can sample the Tynemouth Turtle flavour from Di Meo’s at the Tynemouth Food Festival this weekend.