By Nancy D. Lackey Shaffer | Photos by Viktor Budnik
Rori Trovato still remembers the first time she feel in love with ice cream. It was as a child living in Long Beach, sitting on her grandparents’ back porch and helping crank the hand-churned ice cream maker.
“Most people don’t know what real ice cream tastes like anymore,” she sighed.
Trovato would eventually build a long and diverse career in the culinary world, first as a professional chef on the East Coast, later as a recipe developer and food stylist for such publications as “Martha Stewart Living,” “Bon Appétit,” “Food and Wine” and “O, The Oprah Magazine.”
“I also styled more than 80 cookbooks,” Trovato said, noting that one of those was her own: “Dishing With Style: Secrets to Great Tastes and Beautiful Presentations,” published in 2004 (and still available to purchase through Amazon).
After meeting her husband, a travel and food photographer, in Italy, the two of them became a dynamic duo, hired by numerous publications for their mastery of both the lens and the plate. Together they traipsed the globe creating beautiful, inspiring food magazine layouts, eventually settling in Santa Barbara in 2002.
Trovato took a step back from traveling after having her child, but her passion for cooking continued unabated…as did her deep and abiding love for ice cream.
“Ice cream was always my stick,” she said. She loved making it for family and friends, and frequently incorporated it into her magazine spreads. Her homemade frozen treats generated so many accolades that she started going pro, working out of a “wet room” in the back of Gelson’s in Santa Barbara. Rori’s Artisanal Creamery was officially born in 2011 as a wholesale business, supplying local restaurants and grocery stores, including Whole Foods. In 2012, the owner of Montecito Country Mart invited Trovato to open up a retail location, and even custom built a space for her.
“That one is still a huge hit,” Trovato said of her first shop. “It’s just 200 square feet, and there’s always a line out the door.”
Since then, Rori’s Artisanal Creamery has grown to eight locations, from as far north as Arroyo Grande and as far south as Bel Air. Rori’s can also be found in a variety of restaurants (she makes bespoke ice cream for The Lark in Santa Barbara) and specialty food markets, includes AJ’s Fine Foods in Arizona. The secrets to her success? Exceptional ingredients, small-batch production and as much made by hand as possible — which includes not just the ice cream itself, but the sauces, cookies, brittle, candied pecans and other toppings.
“It’s very important that your molecular structure…and all your ingredients are just right,” Trovato explained. “It’s very flavor forward.”
While the chef in her does like to experiment with flavor profiles, she’s not interested in experimenting for the sake of novelty. “I was never that person that was going to make lobster vanilla ice cream…if you don’t crave it at 3 a.m., I’m not going to make it. But I like to stretch it a little.”
Trovato remembers when honey lavender was considered exotic. So she doesn’t go too far afield. But she does try to educate her customers. Take black pepper pistachio, for example, which isn’t savory by any means, but “the pepper heightens the flavor of the pistachio.” She also considers her location and clientele when developing flavors; every shop has something a little different. She recalled making ice cream varieties with honey roasted black sesame, red beans and matcha for a customer in San Gabriel, which has a large Asian population.
“What I like doing is hitting [customers] enough where they get the idea but aren’t overwhelmed by it,” she explained. “You’re not sure what it is, but you want more of that.”
Among Rori’s big sellers are the chocolate orange (made with Ojai Pixies), the espresso Irish cream (a St. Patrick’s Day special) and the white chocolate candy cane bark (popular during the holidays). Trovato’s personal favorite is the lemon curd, which she highly recommends embellished with the house berry sauce (yes, made with local produce) and cobbler topping.
Customers can’t get enough of Rori’s super-creamy, super-flavorful frozen desserts…and Trovato can’t stop raving about her superstar staff.
“I have an amazing team,” she said. “I want our image to be known 50% for great quality and 50% for great service. I tell everyone who works for me: ‘You’re selling ice cream. People are here to treat themselves and have a good time — and part of that is you.’”
Being greeted with a smile, by a knowledgeable server who will answer any and all questions, make suggestions and provide plenty of samples so customers get exactly what they like, is as important to Trovato as top-quality chocolate and strawberries in season. And the Rori’s founder strives to give back to her staff by taking an interest in and supporting them. One example: When a beloved scooper at the Montecito shop died in a tragic accident, the company offered grief counseling, and helped fund a scholarship in the employee’s name.
“That’s one thing I love about our culture: We really care,” Trovato said. “And it pays off, because our employees care about their jobs.”
You can taste that love and care in every scoop of Rori’s.
Rori’s Artisanal Creamery
The Mark, 2024 Ventura Boulevard, Camarillo
805.419.6907
286 East Main Street, Ventura
805.628.3236
www.rorisartisanalcreamery.com
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