Dean Blair came to Tucson to make ice cream.
He had spent decades in Portland, Oregon, working multiple jobs but steadily climbing the ranks of kitchens, from dishwasher to prep cook and then — “It seemed like someone always needed a pastry chef,” he said.
Dean loves restaurants that don’t leave their dessert program as an afterthought. When visiting Tucson, he and his partner stopped by Bata and were impressed with Kayla Draper’s ambitious confections.
“A restaurant that can pull it through dessert is special,” he said.
Dean is now looking for a commissary space for his home-baking operation called Okashi Ice Cream and Confections. Each week, he posts two eclectic menus on his Instagram page: a traditional and a vegan option, featuring pastries you can’t find anywhere else, like canelés, and always a pint of ice cream.
Whether vegan or made with dairy, Okashi’s ice cream is always boldly flavored. As of writing, he offers two flavors each of dairy and vegan ice creams. The vegan ube I tried was richer and more creamy than most dairy ice creams I’ve had.
“I could go with more familiar, safer vegan options, but the reason people are checking [Okashi] out is for something like vegan black sesame ice cream,” he said.
Another regular flavor is his saikyo miso ice cream, which has a savory edge. The most recognizable flavors still offer something extraordinary, whether that’s three different kinds of vanilla or vegan pistachio ice cream made with olive oil and locally-sourced nuts.
Dean’s mom is Japanese, and Okashi is inspired by the flavors and methods he witnessed when traveling in Japan with family and studying abroad in college. Asian ingredients and desserts like Filipino ube, Japanese matcha or kinako, and Korean hotteok are all featured across his menus, which you can find on his Instagram and order through his website most weeks.
Pictured are three canelés, baked in special forms lined with beeswax for a light honey flavor, from Okashi.
You’ll also see classic French pastries, like Mont Blanc St. Honore, canelés and choux à la crème on the menus, which change each week.
“I wanted [my menus] to be inspired by Asian flavors without limiting creative expression,” he said. “These flavors are starting to be more common in Portland.” He wants to be part of the change in Tucson.
“The thing about Japanese confectionary is that it is so simple that the ingredients have to be perfect,” he said.
“If you have the expectation that it’s Japanese, there’s a very specific flavor and nostalgia that you’re trying to recreate,” he said. Many of the ingredients that create uniquely Japanese flavors are hyper-local: Imo Yokan is a dessert made out of a sweet potato that’s only grown in one part of Japan.
Pictured are two matcha choux à la crème from Okashi Ice Cream and Confectionary.
Dean wants to translate the local ethics of Japanese cuisine by using ingredients that are sourced with great consideration (like a triple-vanilla ice cream made with Madagascar, Tahitian, and Mexican vanillas) and ideally local to Southern Arizona.
“The idea behind [Okashi] is to use Japanese techniques and local ingredients,” Dean said. “That would be the dream.”
As Dean works to secure commissary space in the near future, his menus will focus on ice cream and won’t change as much. “There was some excitement for the novelty of changing [the menu] every week, but it’s a ton of work,” he said.
Throughout the process of settling into a new city, though, he has been supported by other home bakers.
“The first person I met was Kathy from Kathy’s Kitchening — she makes Korean-style cookies and chiffon cakes. I asked her questions about her business, and she was super inviting and told me how to get started,” he said. He’s friends with Rachael Colasanto, of Holy Focaccia, who (at the time) lived in the same neighborhood.
When I was picking up my goodies, Rachael’s partner, Zak, was on his way to pick up their weekly Okashi order. Dean and his partner spend Sundays after picking up Holy Focaccia in Rachael and Zak’s backyard.
Tucson, he said, feels like the Portland of the '90s, when he first moved there — “Collaborative rather than competitive,” he said. “It emboldens me to take that next step.”
Okashi Ice Cream and Confections
Location: Okashi is currently based out of owner Dean Blair's home in Blenman-Elm, but keep an eye out for his upcoming commissary.
For more information and to order online, check out his Instagram and his website.
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