Edward (Eddie) Minghella – the founder of the world-renowned Minghella ice cream company – has sadly died, aged 104.
Edward was born in Coatbridge, Scotland on 21st June 1921. His mother was British-born and his father, Antonio, hailed from Cassino in southern Italy.
Edward – the eldest of 4 children – moved from Scotland to the care of relatives in Italy when his father died in 1926. Edward encountered hard times in Italy. He won a scholarship worth 25 lire to study at secondary school, but his family was so poor the money went on food rather than a uniform.
He was sent to work in the fields, helping a farmer tend buffalo. He only managed 3 years of schooling in his life; he frequently went hungry in his childhood.
At the outbreak of World War II, Edward was invited to work at an ice cream factory in Portsmouth. He went on to serve in World War II as a member of the Royal Army Medical Corps in Aldershot, returning to Portsmouth after the campaign.
He then courted and married Island girl, Gloria, with the ceremony held in St Mary’s Church, Ryde. He was 29 years old at the time of his marriage in 1951.
Edward began working in Gloria’s family’s café, The Mayfayre, on Ryde High Street. He invested his demob pay into building a small ice cream factory at the back of the family’s café, which expanded as the popularity of his ice cream soared, winning countless prizes in the process.
Gloria and Eddie, as he became known, bought the shop next door and, over the years, several buildings at the rear of George Street behind the Commodore Cinema.
At the start of their married life they lived above the shop, only moving to their house in Northwood Drive in 1960.
Minghella’s ice cream became legendary, not only on the Island but also countrywide. Their ice cream was to be found in such prestigious locations as Harrods and Fortnum & Mason. Eddie won countless prizes and prided himself on using only the finest natural ingredients. Their cafe, restaurant, and hotel business opposite Woolworths became iconic locations in Ryde too.
Both Edward and his wife Gloria were civic-minded and served as independent councillors. Edward became the Deputy Mayor of Ryde Borough Council in 1970. He was also a governor of many Island schools and President of the Island’s branch of Save The Children; he was an active member of the Island’s Catenians, an association for Catholic men, too.
His service to Ryde over more than 65 years was acknowledged in 2015 when he was made a Freeman of Ryde – which gave him the right (never exercised) to drive sheep up the High Street.
Gloria sadly died in 2014 at the age of 83. Eddie was also predeceased by his son Anthony and daughter Edana, both successful individuals in their own rights. Anthony – who died in 2008 aged just 54 – became known internationally for his work as an Oscar-winning writer and film director, with Eddie having an extras role in ‘Talented Mr Ripley’. Edana, a popular jazz singer, passed away in 2022 at the age of 63.
Daughters Gioia and Loretta, and son Dominic, survive Eddie.
Gioia ran the family ice cream business for many years and served as the Island’s High Sheriff in 2019. Loretta became the first woman Master of Clare College, Cambridge. Dominic is a television producer and screenwriter, best known for the creation of the popular ITV comedy drama Doc Martin.
Edward was also the grandfather of 11. Edward’s grandson Max is a famous actor, best known for his role as Nick Blaine in the television series The Handmaid’s Tale.
Eddie, who in recent times has lived at St Vincent’s Care Home in Ryde, died on Sunday evening after being admitted to hospital following a fall.
Me and a couple of mates when we were in our teens used to go into his restaurant in Ryde High Street on a Sunday morning and scoff the best cinnamon ring doughnuts and Expresso coffee you ever tasted
No one does coffee or ice cream like the Italians.
So sad, a great man, a great family and great ice cream.
R.I.P Mr Minghella
Great man my first job at 16 making ice-cream…good time’s!
Memories in our house of exercising their guard dog “sabre” and then going on to work in the ice cream factory at the age of 16, weekends and after school. And baby sitting Dominic on odd occasions with a younger sister working in the Mayfayre kitchen as a Saturday job.
R.I.P. Eddie , what a lovely man he was.
He was indeed…
One of the best such a gentleman.
I’ve found two coffee ice creams here in Moreton Bay, Australia that are ‘not bad’ (hard to find which is strange in a country obsessed with coffee!) but Minghella’s coffee ice cream when we lived in Ryde has never been surpassed – excellent. And of course, Anthony and Dominic I knew of because of their film and TV exploits and successes. What a family!