Photograph by Ashley Gieseking
When chefs like Vince Bommarito of Tony’s and people that I really think hung the moon started calling me to put my ice cream on their menus, that’s when I knew I was doing good things,” says Beckie Jacobs.
Jacobs, the big scoop at Serendipity Homemade Ice Cream, has been doing good things for eight years now at her Webster Groves ice-cream parlor and factory, and more than 100 area restaurateurs have called to put her frozen delights on their menus. Collaborations with chefs have resulted in “a lot of sorbets with wine and spirits in them for wine dinners at restaurants,” she says. “We make a wonderful champagne sorbet, and one with cranberry and pinot noir.”
Meanwhile, over at Serendipity’s storefront parlor, you can try some of Jacobs’ custom ice-cream flavors yourself. “One of the most popular flavors we created is Cookie Monster, which is a bright blue ice cream flavored with cotton candy, chocolate sandwich cookies, and cookie-dough bites. Right now we also have Play Ball, which is only available during baseball season—that’s caramel popcorn–flavored ice cream with a caramel swirl and peanuts.”
Ice cream may be served after dinner, said the relentless innovator, but it should never be an afterthought.
“I think that a restaurant’s ice cream should be as good as the other fabulous things on their menus,” says Jacobs. “If they’re going to be particular about the quality of the meat, they should be just as concerned about the quality of the ice cream.” 8130 Big Bend, 314-962-2700, serendipity-icecream.com.
