On June 1st, the ice cream shop A La Minute was opened by executive chef and owner Ryan Berk. What makes his shop so cool? Every scoop is made-to-order, and you can even watch them create your own decadent masterpiece! 

The phrase “a la minute” translates to “by the minute”, and the shop keeps its word by producing quality product in the blink of an eye. 

The science behind it is made simple by one key element: liquid nitrogen. At -321°F, liquid nitrogen packs the punch needed to thoroughly freeze all your favorite flavors. The ice creams are kept in liquid form until they are ordered, then poured into an industrial strength mixer to be frozen by the liquid nitrogen. The nitrogen is so cold that it instantly freezes the ice cream, and then evaporates into the air. More than 70% of our atmosphere is composed of nitrogen, so the system is clean and green.

And A La Minute is just about the greenest ice cream you’ll ever eat! I’m not talking about the Fresh Mint Chip flavor, I’m talking about how nearly all of the foods used in the production of the ice cream are local and organic. 

Regional Manager Spencer Reifel says, “We like what the nitrogen does for the ice cream and how it makes a great texture, but we really focus on our product… We want every customer to know where every part [of our product] is coming from so they know [where our focus is].” 

The base for many of the flavors comes from Straus Farms in Marshall, California. It contains organic cream, organic milk, sweet-cream buttermilk, organic egg yolks and organic sugar. The cows are pampered with organic feed, open stalls in open barns, and they are only milked twice a day. Even with all of that dairy, the base only contains 14% fat, which is good news for any gourmet ice cream lover! 

Gourmet doesn't just mean your everyday vanilla either. Chocolate lavender, strawberry balsamic, orange honey, and espresso chip are just a few of the fabulous flavors A La Minute has to offer. They’ve got all your classic favorites too; at A La Minute, Chocolate Chip and Vanilla Custard are even better than you remember as a kid. 

Not to mention a few flavors you had never even considered for dessert! An avocado flavored ice cream is topped with a honey reduction and a homemade waffle chip to create A La Minute’s own sweet version of California’s famous chips and guacamole dish. Another ice cream is made with local beets and goat cheese, sweetened naturally and topped with a reduction of a Spanish tempranillo wine, to secure the hearty taste. 

No doubt, the cream of the crop is A La Minute’s bestselling ice cream, Salted Caramel. Base from Straus farms is mixed with homemade caramel and then frozen, topped with more caramel, and sprinkled with a dash of salt. The salt itself has been mined from Ré, an island off of France’s Atlantic coast, since the seventh century. The caramel is made by Berk out of his chocolate shop called Parliament based in Redlands, California, along with his first and original A La Minute ice cream shop.

“My favorite part about working at A La Minute is the interaction with customers and seeing them happy with their ice cream,” shares Melissa Tincopa, a Tri-Delta at Chapman University.

That’s the goal at this gourmet ice cream shop: happy customers. So the next time you get a craving for a deliciously sweet treat, or if this California heat has got you craving something cool, just head down to Orange Circle and try a taste of A La Minute.