NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA– Creole Creamery has been an institution in our city since 2004 but it feels like it’s been a mainstay for much longer. David Bergeron is the owner of Creole Creamery and Bryan Gilmore is the chef. They opened up the shop over a decade and a half ago inside an old McKenzie’s Bakery off of Pyrtania street and never looked back.
Both of them had worked in numerous jobs before that and worked together in an ice cream parlor. For them it was simply a sweet realization to come upon the idea of a 50’s inspired soda pop shop ice cream parlor of their own.
David says “around the time that I opened it, there really were no ice cream shops like this that specialized in American style ice cream.”
There are few ice cream shops in the world which require a chef, but it’s essential in a city like New Orleans and Bryan comes up with fantastic flavors regularly. “I was making ice cream at home as a hobby and making weird flavors like avocado ice cream and pear and champagne sorbet and I would give it to my friends. So when David decided to do this, he called me and said do you want to run the kitchen? I was ready to get to work!”
Bryan often uses the uniqueness of New Orleans to inspire his flavors, and for six years one cold creation has been a hot seller. “It’s insanely popular. When we started, I wanted to make it because it is Louisiana’s state flower. It’s really creamy and smooth and soft and it’s got these notes of creamy lemon and honeysuckle. It’s outstanding! It’s very very southern and very sweet. People love it.”
it’s committed work as they make 20, ten-gallon batches of each flavor every morning and on any given weekend they push out 40 tubs to awaiting customers. One of the most popular features is the photo wall that started sixteen years ago and features children from all generations. It’s a testament of the mainstay that is Creole Creamery. Recently they’ve opened a new shop in Metairie at 2565 Metairie Rd Metairie, LA 70001.