Location: Crème de la Crème, Albuquerque, NM
People: Armani and Bella
Desserts: Lavender crème brûlée
Imagine an expansive, rolling lavender field in Provence, France. Imagine the purple flowers engulfing your field of vision and the incredible scent filling your nose. Now imagine that flavor infused into crème brûlée. Amazing, right? Well, this is exactly what Armani Brigante does in his business, Crème de la Crème.
Armani was born in Albuquerque and after graduating from high school a year early, he went to college to study French philosophy, French, and history. He then went to San Diego to train with a chef to further his love for cooking and the culinary industry. After his training, Armani came back to Albuquerque, wanting to do something unique in the city. He went to his mom, Bella, for advice, and she had the perfect suggestion: a crème brûlée stand.
From there, Armani began to develop recipes and create a preliminary list of flavors. His crème brûlée stand got its start at a coffee shop in downtown Albuquerque but really took off when he later partnered with Marble Brewery. Armani and Bella now put on weekly Brûlées and Brews events at each of Marble’s locations. On a table decked out with flowers and metallic signs, the pair want to make Crème de la Crème all about the experience. This starts with the floral booth that is reminiscent of London and Paris. The heart and passion put into the experience are made even more clear by the fact that Armani torches the brûlées right in front of the customers.
Looking at Armani’s crème brûlées, I can see his attention to detail. He created his own method of baking crème brûlées and has honed down the silky smoothness that I admire every time I take a bite of his creations. Armani says that this smoothness comes from a combination of a tried-and-tested technique and high-quality ingredients.
I have been a long-time customer of this stand, but today I was trying a flavor I’d never tried before: lavender. Bella watches me carefully as I taste the lavender crème brûlée and I can tell that for her, customers are the first priority. Bella was born in Texas but grew up in Albuquerque. Her love for the community, culture, and food of Albuquerque persisted throughout her childhood and adulthood. As much of an impact that she’s had on the food culture of New Mexico with Crème de la Crème, she’s had an equivalent one on the food culture of Arizona. She tells me how she pioneered the hotdog cart business in Arizona for fun after she had her second son. The business quickly took off and what started off as a pastime to make some extra spending money turned into a six-figure job that she stayed at for five years. People from hundreds of miles away came to her hotdog stand to try her food. Now, Bella likes to travel to taste the food of various countries, which she then uses for creative inspiration at Crème de la Crème.
From the very first bite, the fragrant Provence French lavender shone through. The flavor is infused throughout the whole experience, creating a beautiful, sophisticated, and aromatic taste. Armani says that a small amount of this flower goes a long way, and he did an incredible job making sure that the lavender doesn’t overpower the traditional, rich custard base. The classic caramelized sugar tops off each brûlée and provides a textural and flavor contrast to the custard underneath.
Armani explodes the box of classic crème brûlée flavors with unexpected twists like Watermelon, Maple Bourbon, and my personal favorite Bananas Foster. Armani combines his Italian background with his world travels and creates artisan, handmade French-style crème brûlée with modern flavors.
As for the future, Armani and Bella will be taking on the 10th Annual Lavender in the Village festival in Albuquerque in late July. They also have new partnerships with wineries and countless new flavors lined up. The phrase “crème de la crème” interpreted in French means “the best of the best” and Armani and Bella embody this. My brother, a francophile, self-proclaimed crème brûlée connoisseur said—and I quote—“This is singularly the best crème brûlée I’ve ever had.” Now folks if that’s not enough for you to visit Crème de la Crème then I don’t know what is.
Here’s to floral flavors and pioneering innovation,
Anokhi
Thanks for the shoutout!