Jeni Britton-Bauer
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams
Columbus, Ohio
Britton-Bauer developed The Buckeye State flavor as a “loving tribute to Ohio.” The popular menu item is a creamy take on the state’s famous Buckeye candy, a tasty little ball of peanut butter dipped in dark chocolate made to look like its namesake nut. There are currently 16 Jeni’s locations in the United States (11 in Ohio, including the flagship in Columbus), and her first cookbook, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home, won a James Beard award in 2011.
Why we chose this ice cream:
Britton-Bauer has worked directly with local Ohio farmers to supply ingredients. The farmers use eco-friendly farming practices but not all are certified organic, so staff members visit the farms to personally vet them. She also tries to stick to using seasonal ingredients as much as possible. Any internationally sourced ingredients she uses, such as vanilla and chocolate, are Fair Trade–certified.
Surprise: Ice cream tastes better when you care about the ingredients:
“We really do care about who’s growing for us, and because of that our ice creams taste better,” says Britton-Bauer. “When we get [these ingredients] into our kitchen, we’re not going to ruin them. We’re going to treat them with respect.”
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