Lucy Duff, 21, spent the majority of her years residing in New Zealand.
“I am originally from Stirling,” she said. “But when I was four my family moved to New Zealand, which is where we lived for 17 years.”
Residing on the family’s beef and sheep farm in Christchurch, Lucy fancied a change of scenery after completing school and took a gap year.
And this was a year that would transform her life completely.
‘I absolutely loved Harris’
Lucy said: “After finishing school in November 2018, I still didn’t know what I wanted to do.
“So, I decided to have a gap year and came to the Isle of Harris to work at The Anchorage Restaurant, at The Pier.”
Lucy fell head over heels not only for Harris itself but for her partner, Kieran.
“I absolutely loved Harris,” she added. “I met my partner Kieran when I was working in the bar.
“We live in Leverburgh with our two children, two-year-old Murdo and Florence, who is two months old.
“Kieran is a fisherman who was born and bred on the island.”
Berry Bliss – Real Fruit Ice Cream
Through working at The Anchorage Restaurant, as well as a restaurant in Christchurch during her last few years at school, Lucy gained a lot of knowledge and experience about the food and drink industry.
She admired many traditional foods whilst living in New Zealand, but one that has always stuck with her is real fruit ice cream.
“I have a passion for food and used to always love cooking dinner for my family when I was growing up,” Lucy said.
“I love baking and have been experimenting in the kitchen since I was very young – and dropping bags of flour on the kitchen floor…
“Because I grew up in New Zealand, which is where real fruit ice cream originates from, it’s always been a part of my life.
“My parents were back in New Zealand at the end of 2021 and my mum suggested ‘Why not do real fruit ice cream in Harris?’ and I thought it was a great idea.”
From that, Lucy decided to launch her own business, Berry Bliss – Real Fruit Ice Cream, last month.
Real fruit ice cream is a blend of either vanilla ice cream or frozen yoghurt with a frozen fruit of your choice.
The fruit Berry Bliss has available includes mango, mixed berry, strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, raspberry and blackberry.
What else do I need to know?
Berry Bliss is based in the car park of the Seallam! Visitor Centre in Northton, Isle of Harris during the week.
Then, the trailer spends most Saturdays in Tarbert, at the Isle of Harris Distillery car park.
Other than real fruit ice cream, customers can also choose from a range of hot and cold drinks, as well as Morag’s Homemade Tablet.
Lucy said: “One thing that encouraged me to start was that there were very limited options for ice cream in Harris, and especially something as unique as this.
“We had real fruit ice cream when I was growing up in New Zealand as a special summer treat.
“I always remember when we were on holiday in Akaroa, there was a cafe that had real fruit ice cream so we would walk over the hill from where we were staying for an ice cream.”
Lucy went on to say she has “big plans for the future”.
“I am focusing on the trailer at the moment.
“Looking ahead, I hope to create jobs for local people and create the best ice cream in the Western Isles.”
Conversation