The Daily Sauce :: A Daily Sip of Hip

December 27th, 2006 edition of The Daily Sauce: Food and Wine. Visit Our Food and Wine Archive.

Ces, Judy and Benito

The catering team of Ces and Judy (Cecily Hoffius and Judy Bellos) has been going strong for the past 25 years, providing professional catering and operating the Le Chateau Banquet and Conference Center. But rather than taking a break or maybe even retiring, why did the duo recently open a trio of gelato shops called Benito's? "We're both very entrepreneurial," Bellos explained. "We felt the people of St. Louis were ready for this."

Gelato, as you know, is the generic Italian word for "ice cream." You should also know that while gelato is rich and dense, it has half the butterfat of premium ice cream because it's made with milk rather than cream, which is why we like it so much. The special flavorings used in Benito's gelato – like gianduia (chocolate hazelnut), pistachio and roasted almond – are imported from Italy. So are the small-batch freezers and the equipment used to make the creamy confections in their small manufacturing plant.

At Benito's, 45 flavors are made, but only 24 are available on a seasonal basis. This being the holidays and all, we tucked into the Cinnamon Sticky Bun, Peppermint Patty, Gianduia and, of course, Egg Nog. We don't know about the rest of St. Louis, but we sure were ready for Benito's.

Sauce pick: Benito's Gelato
Where to get it: Dierberg's Clarkson Center, 1760 Clarkson Road, Chesterfield; 10423 Clayton Road, Frontenac Grove; 14 N. Central, Clayton
Info: Chesterfield, 636.536.1050; Frontenac Grove, 314.995.8595; Clayton, 314.863.3366

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