Eat It, Virginia!

Rabia Kamara grew up outside of Washington, D.C. as a child of immigrants, in a community of immigrants. The diverse cooking styles Kamara was exposed to at an early age followed her into the kitchen. Kamara pulled from those life experiences when creating flavors for her ice cream and dessert business Ruby Scoops. "Most of my friends were also first-generation Americans. So I grew up in a neighborhood where my next-door neighbors, one family was Ethiopian, one family was Vietnamese. So l would go to someone's house and eat Injera one night, or go to someone else's house and have Pho," she recalled. "We explore flavors that I think are important to us. My business partner grew up a military brat, so they got to experience life in different countries and also here... [we're] not afraid to try new flavors and be open to the criticism that comes with that." Kamara said they also look to what's in season when setting the flavor menu. "We use local dairy and local produce whenever we can," she said. "Since it'