La Maison des Sorbets shuts down after 40 years

Frozen dessert specialist La Maison des Sorbets Foods has closed its doors.

The London-based supplier offered handmade sorbets, ice creams, patisserie and puddings to the hospitality sector.

All 20 staff have been made redundant and existing orders will not be fulfilled.

In a message to customers, Tina Hilder, who founded the company 40 years ago, said: "We have explored all possible avenues to keep our business running, but unfortunately, circumstances beyond our control have led us to this difficult choice."

Harpreet Balkhu, field sales and marketing coordinator, told The Caterer the closure had been sudden and a shock after the lease of the business had doubled in price.

"Tina has been looking for investors in the past year but even they were afraid to take on the lease," Balkhu added.

As of yet, there are no prospective buyers for any elements of the business, and Hilder is reaching retirement age so is not planning to launch any new ventures.

Balkhu said: "As a company we were doing really well but we were battling against the lease; it's not feasible anymore.

"We were one of the bigger players, so it can happen to anyone."

Image: https://lmdsfoods.com/