Age: 45
Home base: Nashville
Known for: A trained pastry chef, Lokelani Alabanza turned a love of ice cream into purpose after moving from the West Coast to Nashville more than a decade ago and becoming culinary director for Hattie Jane’s Creamery. In 2020, she started Saturated, her local line of CBD-infused, plant-based ice cream featuring such varieties as sunflower butter stracciatella; Juneteenth hibiscus, raspberry, and lime; and peach chili crisp. Now, in Ice Cream Queen: Flavors from Black America’s Past, Present & Future, she serves up the legacy of African American makers and a hundred enticing recipes.
Sweet Start: “I have two core memories. The first is the ice cream truck. I would grab that money and go barreling down the steps across the lawn. Also, my grandmother always had Neapolitan in the freezer. I did not care for [the flavors] being mixed together, but I remember that stripe.”
Finding her voice: “When I was at Hattie Jane’s, I had to make mint chip, which is a very hard flavor. Is it green? Is it chopped-up chocolate or melted chocolate? Is it super pepperminty? I read something by Anthony Bourdain—that you have to make it for yourself. That switched something internally, and within four years, I hit three hundred flavors that I’d made.”
Cash cow: “The history of Black people with ice cream is buried. Only three names come up: Augustus Jackson [evolved the ice-cream-making process], Alfred Cralle [invented the mechanical scoop], and Edmond Albius, who discovered how to pollinate the vanilla plant. I was emailed about Sarah Estell [a free woman of color who ran a mid-1800s Nashville ice cream saloon], and I had no idea she existed. What I want people to know is that ice cream made Black Americans really wealthy. There are so many names who owned ice cream saloons, parlors, and pharmacies.”
Cold comfort: “Ice cream releases dopamine, so I thought, What would happen if you’re able to put medicine into something that brings you joy? There are no recipes for CBD ice cream in the book, but my goal is to get it in stores in a pint.”
Holiday hooks: “Fourth of July is blueberry—it’s quintessential summer. New Year’s Eve is pear pomegranate prosecco. You can scoop that into your flute, pour bubbles on top, and everyone wins. My go-to for Christmas is ginger snap, and it’s good as dairy or nondairy.”
Going wild: “In the past, ice cream flavors were a plant or fruit that was in season. I don’t have an answer to why I did hot chicken, but I thought, This could be an ice cream recipe. Ice cream doesn’t have to be sugary sweet; it can be savory. The hardest was barbecue sauce.”
Embrace the churn: “It doesn’t have to be perfect; it just needs to taste good. You don’t have to buy fancy equipment. Sharing something like ice cream with people you love is a great thing, and you don’t know what kind of memories it may open up for you.”
Kelundra Smith is a freelance arts journalist, playwright, and critic from Atlanta. She is also the director of publications at Theatre Communications Group. As a member of the American Theatre Critics Association, she cocreated the Edward Medina Prize for Excellence in Cultural Criticism, which recognizes writers from historically underrepresented groups. Follow @pieceofkay on X and @anotherpieceofkay on Instagram.
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