When a Classically Trained Chef Trades Fine Dining for Frozen Dreams
“With a name like Fieri, you got to know I’m a gelato guy,” Guy declared before pulling into what might seem like an unlikely Triple D destination—a mall in Chandler, Arizona. But Aunt Lena’s Creamery isn’t your standard scoop shop, and Ray Davio isn’t your standard gelato maker.
Ray is a Culinary Institute of America graduate (Hyde Park, no less) who spent years cooking on the East Coast before he and his wife Cheryl packed up the kids and headed to Arizona with a different kind of dream. “We just thought this is going to be fun, we’re going to make everybody happy,” Ray explained. And with nearly 150 flavors and counting—about 30 available on any given day—he’s doing exactly that.
The Base That Makes It All Work
Ray’s gelato starts with an authentic Italian approach: milk, granulated sugar, dried milk powder, plus locust bean gum and guar gum to hold everything together. He blends it all, then holds the base for a day while the flavors deepen before running it through the machine. The result? “It’s not as heavy, it’s got better flavor,” Guy noted. “So much lighter than ice cream, not as heavy as custard.” That’s because gelato has less fat and less air than American-style ice cream—leaving more room for Ray’s inventive flavor combinations.
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Flavors That Defy Expectations
Guy worked his way through a parade of unconventional creations. The gingerbread gelato features scratch-baked gingerbread cake mixed right into the base—”my new favorite,” Guy announced. The tiramisu incorporates mascarpone cheese and actual brandy, delivering “the complexities, the different layers of flavor.”
But it was the cannoli gelato that really showcased Ray’s technique. He uses impastata cheese (a ricotta-style cheese), vanilla powder concentrated to 50 times the strength of regular vanilla, and cinnamon oil so potent Ray joked he “used to make toothpicks with this” as a kid. After blending what Guy called “liquid cannoli” and running it through the machine, Ray adds crushed cannoli shells and chocolate. “That is crazy,” Guy said. “It tastes like it, and then when you get the little crunch of the cannoli right there…”
The apple pie gelato had Guy comparing the process to “making fish stew by just sticking the blender in the tank”—Ray literally slides an entire apple pie into the machine, crust and all, in exact proportion to the filling. The finished product? “When you eat apple pie and ice cream and you get that little slurry in the bottom of the bowl—it’s like you could just drink the apple pie and ice cream. That’s what this is.”
Fresh Fruit and Local Ingredients
Ray uses all-natural fruits and flavors, and when he says fresh, he means it. The lemon comes from his own trees. The figs in the roasted almond and fig gelato? From his own garden. “Like Italian ice gone wild,” Guy described the fruit flavors. The blood orange gelato earned a “wow—that’s like turbo sherbet.”
For the Merlot gelato, Ray switches to a water-based foundation since alcohol won’t freeze properly in a milk base. He adds Sonoma County wine—”only the best,” Guy approved—creating what he described as “nice and creamy and cold” with the distinct character of the wine coming through.
Unlike the hearty braised dishes you’d find at spots serving Lamb Brasato Ossobuco or the smoky satisfaction of a Bacon, Brisket & Pulled Pork Sandwich, Aunt Lena’s proves that sometimes the most creative cooking happens in a freezer.
“Best flavors ever, old school ingredients,” Guy summarized. “Reminds me of Sicilian Italy, in the hands of a dude who knows how to use it.” The best part? “You can come in every single week and get a completely different flavor.”
Find Aunt Lena’s Creamery and other Triple D spots in our restaurant directory.
