Jenna Isaacs is churning ice cream in her “gnome cave,” the 10-by-10-foot commercial kitchen space below Viva Modern Mexican, the downtown Santa Barbara restaurant located in La Arcada Plaza. “I was inspired to try and make a product that is definitely a sweet treat,” explains Isaacs, “but that doesn’t have any of the chemicals, fillers, or stabilizers you sometimes find in non-organic ice creams.”
She’s selling her creations under the brand Ice Cream Gnomes, an inside joke between family and friends about secret dessert deliveries that grew into a lovable brand name. She relies on organic dairy and eggs from vendors such as Lily’s Eggs that she combines with ingredients sourced from farmers’ markets, like citrus from Mud Creek Ranch and herbs and spices from Earthtrine Farm. She’s also been using craft food products made by Santa Barbara artisans as well, such as honey from Dylan’s Raw Hive Honey.
Currently available at Viva but with pop-up possibilities on the horizon, Ice Cream Gnomes’ flavors are rotating frequently, but there are currently nine to try, including the vegan rose lychee raspberry and marzipan cream. There are more than a dozen new flavors expected to emerge over the next few weeks. Explained Isaacs, “I wanted to ease people in with these first flavors before I do anything too wild.” She will also do custom ice creams for catering events.