The cream of the crème

On a mission

The five women, Garrells, Andes, Maria Baseggio, of Blue Bell, Pa., Beth Ledbetter, of Fall Branch, Tenn., and Susan Sellers, of Houston, Tex., took their self-assigned, secret mission seriously. As Andes explained, they knew the results were going to be shared with other P.E.O. members, scores of whom come to Des Moines to work at the organization's headquarters at 3700 Grand Ave.

None of the women considered themselves crème brûlée snobs or connoisseurs. Only three had ever attempted to make the dessert and only three of them had been to France. Not one of the three recalled eating crème brûlée in France. But it was a dessert they all enjoyed. The problem, at least when trying to conduct a fair side-by-side evaluation, was they each liked different things about crème brûlée . "I'm more of custard farm girl," Garrells said, explaining she gave her highest points to the crème brûlée with the best flavor.

Texture was most important to Sellers. Andes had to be sold on the first taste. Baseggio had to be impressed by the crust and Ledbetter, the creaminess. To be fair, the women decided to list criteria and award up to five stars for various characteristics. Sellers worked up an Excel spreadsheet. "When we ordered we would taste for temperature, texture, the crust, consistency, creaminess and aroma when it first came to the table," Sellers said.

Chef's choice

Bistro Montage's Kelley said he had no idea the women were tasting and rating crème brûlée around the Des Moines area. He was delighted to hear that the women liked his dessert the best, but it is not a dessert he typically orders when he eats out at other restaurants. "Crème brûlée is definitely a French staple for sure," Kelley said. "But I'm not really a sweets guy. When I do order a dessert, it would probably be something exotic."