A special ice-cream inspired by the singer Shakira is expected to be the summer hit on Ile de Re, the French resort home to the Spanish team during Euro 2016.
Traditional ice cream parlour “La Martiniere” on Ile de Re had created a special ice cream inspired by the Colombian singer Shakira to welcome the Spanish soccer team and Shakira to the island.
It is expected that the ice cream will be a summer hit among visitors.
The Colombian singer would spend some days on the island accompanying her partner, Spain defender Gerard Pique during the Euro 2016 currently played in France.
“La Martiniere”, considered the best home-made ice-cream parlour on the island, sells “Nata lechada de Arequipe” since the beginning of the Euro 2016.
Owner Francois-Xavier Cathala, who took over “La Martiniere” in 2002 from his parents, wanted to create a Spanish-coloured or Spanish-flavoured ice-cream.
This decision was made by Francios-Xavier as soon as he learned that the team would stay on the island and even considered the famous pork sausage “chorizo” as one of the ingredients.
He finally decided to go for a sweeter flavour as he heard that Spaniards prefer milky tastes and created “Nata de Arequipe”.
According to him, he mixes milk, creme fraiche and sugar, crowning it with “Arequipe” or “dulce de leche” in a wink to Shakira.
The “arequipe” was a very sweet toffee made by slowly simmering milk and sugar, stirring almost constantly, and could be eaten alone or with fruit, biscuits or toast.
Spain was recovering from a costly 2-1 defeat to Croatia at Euro 2016 and focusing on next week’s showdown in the round of 16 with Italy.
Cathala tried to use and promote the most traditional products in the region like Poitou-Charentes butter, Mara de bois strawberries or Fleur de Sel caramel, original from the island itself.
They even had oyster-flavoured ice cream – a big success among tourists. At the harbour of St Martin, the centre of activity on the island, families queued in front of La Martiniere to get their refreshment.
On a good summer day, La Martiniere produces over a tonne of ice-cream, and Cathala is considering creating a special ice-cream to honour the winner of the tournament. (Reuters/NAN)