Bella la Crema Slathers It On, 1st US Butter Bar
Bella la Crema, the world’s first butter bar, is nestled in Lyons’ historic downtown district. Many of us in town have indulged in their luscious Mayan Chocolate Muse spread, or have tried a slice of fresh bread with the spicy Ode to Neruda. Bella la Crema opened in September of 2018 after owner Shauna Lee Strecker fell in love with Lyons. It has only taken a short time for Bella la Crema to gain recognition on an international level. After a feature in Food and Wine magazine, it has been discovered around the world, with further articles appearing in Australia, Finland, and Bulgaria, among other places.
Bella la Crema’s butter is made from organic, grass-fed, low-heat pasteurized, non-homogenized fresh cream. Shauna turns and cultures the butter herself and adds fresh-ground spices throughout the process. Cultured butter is different from sweet cream butter because the sugars in the cream are allowed to ferment before churning. This process takes up to two days and results in a complex-flavored butter.
I had the pleasure of enjoying a flight of butter while Shauna was preparing for Bella la Crema’s Monday Supper Club. I sampled the Rosemary and Sage (rosemary, sage, garlic, and sea salt), Ode to Neruda (paprika, garlic, onions, and lime), What Lola Wants (ghost pepper, honey, and oregano), Original Cultured Butter, Mayan Chocolate Muse (chocolate, coffee, cinnamon, and cayenne), and Monet’s Garden (lavender, vanilla, rose, and nutmeg). Each piece of fresh bread slathered in butter was better than the last. Beyond flights of butter, you can enjoy a hot mug of buttered coffee or treat yourself to a tasty breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Bella la Crema will be one of the stops on Wonder Tours’ Lyons Food Tour.
Bella la Crema hosts several events throughout the year. Keep an eye on their website for limited release butter, special dinners, and events.