the latest scoop

No need for screaming. There are plenty of places on the keys to satisfy your ice cream cravings.

BY SU BYRON AND MARTY FUGATE | CONTRIBUTORS

he weather’s heating up. As Eddie Cochran famously observed, “There ain’t no cure for the summertime blues.” We beg to disagree. The cure exists, and ice cream is the prescription. The following proprietors of sweet frozen treats will help you keep your cool in the sweltering weeks ahead. Their chilly choices add up to more than a month of sundaes.

JAKE’S ICE CREAM ON SIESTA KEY

n 2018, Jake Best stepped away from the corporate grind. He loaded up his minivan and eventually moved the family to Sarasota, the hometown of his childhood. What was he looking for? “I needed creativity. I always felt like an artist without a medium — and I prayed to find a mentor to pass along his wisdom.” In 2019, Best’s prayers were answered. It seems Dennis Yoder (Big Olaf’s founder) was looking for a mentee. He’d just opened Siesta Creamery but had nobody to share his ice cream artistry with. Once Yoder and Best teamed up, that changed. Best is still grateful for the lessons Yoder passed on to him. “He was 86,” he recalls. “He was a local ice cream legend and the world’s kindest man.” Because of the pandemic, Siesta Creamery closed for two months in 2020. After that, Yoder stepped away and Best stepped up. He reopened the shop — and rechristened it “Jake’s Ice Cream on Siesta Key” in 2022. Needless to say, everything worked out for the best. “I operate in gratitude for that gift every day and put that love into every scoop — the ice cream itself, and also the way we serve it to our guests,” says Best.

IF YOU GO 6575 Midnight Pass Road, Sarasota; 941-554-4632; JakesIceCreamOnSiestaKey.com

JAKE BEST MUSES ON JOY, MEMORIES AND ICE CREAM

Top lesson he learned from his mentor, Dennis Yoder

We’re not in the ice cream business. We’re in the making-people-feel-good business. Nobody comes in to satisfy their hunger. They come in to experience joy and, hopefully, the best ice cream they’ve ever tasted.

How would you describe Jake’s?

It’s an emotional experience! We focus on creating that beautiful moment for customers. We want the shop to feel light and clean and cozy, with an energy that’s buzzing with joy. We love the process. We enjoy taking people on tasting tours and helping our guests find a flavor they not only love but connect to emotionally.

You call your ice cream “handcrafted.” Why?

Let me start by saying I craft ice cream with my whole body, not just my hands. I make every

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You’ve said memories are fundamental to your ice cream creation. Could you share some of those memories?

Each of my ice creams tells its own story. Once I know how people connect to a particular flavor, I turn up the volume on that specific detail and build the ice cream around it. The inspiration might be a specific ingredient, or something more abstract like “romance” or “warmth.” I made Beach House Cherry for Valentine’s Day and we just kept making it. It’s amarettoinfused vanilla ice cream made with cherries and toasted sliced almonds. The word “amoretto,” in Italian signifies “little loves.” The ice cream is white for purity; the cherry represents the heart and passion; the snap of the almond symbolizes love’s delicate nature. Fortunately, it all came together beautifully.

What’s your favorite flavor?

During the day it’s a cake cone with vanilla on bottom and strawberry on top. Any other time, my butter pecan (Dennis’ recipe) and I are really having a moment right now. It’s the best butter pecan on planet Earth!

What key fact should Key Life readers know about Jake’s?

Our staff makes all the difference.

Eric Mathis, my operations manager, deserves as much (or more) credit than I do. Everything that isn’t ice cream is basically his work. Eric gets great people and trains them to serve at the level that our guests deserve. He deals with the consistency, the process, employee manuals, compliance, and regulations — all of the “nerd stuff” that stresses me out. I can’t give him enough praise. We met as executive coaches before I’d opened the shop. Eric saw how much I needed him, so he took me on as a client and also assumed his current role. God just keeps putting the people in my life that I need to run the race. It’s all about people. Our only mission is to deliver an environment for great memories to be made. Everything else is just tools, material, and details.

DON’T LEAVE WITHOUT TASTING

Best’s Rum Raisin ice cream. He infuses giant raisins in spiced rum for a month and turns them into “rum grapes.” He then gently folds them into an ultra-smooth butter rum ice cream and pairs it with toasted coconut. According to Best, “You won’t find this flavor anywhere else in the world.”

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