Alfie Joey gives us a potted history of some of the great ice cream makers of the North East DESPITE being it being a bit nippy due to our bracing North Sea air, our region has still been a cracking place to enjoy tremendous ice cream. Never mind how cold it is. And long before Starbucks and Costa steamrollered their way all over our high streets, the North East cornered the market in cool cafes and sumptuous sweet shops.