What is it about pastry displays?
Even if we (meaning me) don’t have a sweet tooth that dictates our eating, that stunning show of pastries from here to France and is enough to give pause. And cause drooling.
My husband has a mad desire for sweets, but most often restricts it to cookies or his nemesis: cannoli. Alex has sampled cannoli from Pittsburgh’s Little Italy Days in Bloomfield to every Italian restaurant he enters. (Learning along the way that not all Italians are fond of serving this Sicilian specialty.)
Alex thought he’d met heaven when he nibbled a Belgian waffle in Brussels—from a food truck and enveloped in paper, he swooned as he devoured it. In Hawaii, he can’t wait to get his first (and second, and third, etc.) Shave Ice. As soon as he discovered a penchant for iced Lychee, he repeated it daily.
My brother-in-law craves sweets like most of us crave air when we’re underwater. My nephew quipped that his dad had eaten so many Hostess Ho Hos that if they dig him up 50 years after he dies, he’ll be perfectly preserved. Having seen boxes of Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies and Nutty Buddy Wafer Bars disappear in record time, I can attest to the full preservation of John’s innards.
John’s sweet tooth causes my nephew to hide his Easter and Christmas candy from his dad. My sister still does. A secret stash of M&Ms is the only safe stash of M&Ms.
The sole thing that saves my husband and bro-in-law from paying the price for their decadence is their metabolism burning off every danish in record time.
My sister and I hate the two of them. We eat twenty potato chips and gain a pound. What’s up with that?
Back to the Enticement of Pastries
In our travels, I photograph people, architecture, and gloriously unusual skies and mists while Alex photographs food. Handmade and gayly wrapped chocolate in Lucerne, tender Italian pasta in a saffron sauce, and by all means, pastries. Put the camera in his hands and I download pictures of tarts, crullers, baklava, and so much sugar my teeth hurt.
I admit to being stopped in my tracks a time or two by the colors and creative tiers of cakes and cookies. Sue’s Pantry in Saundersfoot, Wales has a window that could draw the most ardent non-sweet eater in. I don’t care for cupcakes (in my regular life), but get me to this little town in Pembrokeshire, and I’m off to devour Sue’s.
Why does the baked good display have such an effect on people? Or is it only the folks I know? What is it? The colors? The artistry? The pending jolt to your taste buds?
Why does the desire for a sweet strike from nowhere?
A few weeks ago, I finished mowing, tired, hot, and sweaty (very pretty image, right?).
Alex asked, “What can I get you?”
Without hesitation, I said, “An eclair.”
Alex nearly fell over in shock. “An eclair? Did you say eclair?”
I did. Off he went to his favorite place: the bakery department at our local grocery store.
I was not sure what an eclair was when I sent him on this errand. Choosing it was right up there with my answer for when Alex asks, “What are you hungry for? I’ll make you anything.” (Gosh, he is nice to me, isn’t he? I had better respond in kind.) I generally reply, “Chicken Corden Bleu.” I have no idea what is in that dish and only began eating poultry this year after two decades avoiding it. That’s what I say, and he laughs and hey, wait—he has not yet made me Chicken Corden Bleu. So much for me stopping work this afternoon to whip him up a bunch of cookies.
My Travel Memories Connect to Food
Especially to pastries and sweets. I remember trips by the people, the unique churches or castles, by the experiences of being there. Alex remembers places by food. If I ask, “Where did we have that ice cream thing that we ordered by mistake and it took two of us to eat?” He doesn’t miss a beat, “Hawaii, Duke’s, hmm, Kauai, 2015.” I’ll go to my photos for that trip and darned if he isn’t right.
I dared try black squid ink pasta because the utterly charming waiter at Solferino’s in Milan recommended it. Beyond the dish, I remember the moment. We were the first people there—early because we habitually dine earlier than Italians. I hesitated walking in at seven o’clock and asked, “Are we the first?” The waiter beamed, “You are the best,” and showed us to a lovely table. How could I refuse his recommendation?
When Jackie and I took our famous trip to Italy’s Cinque Terre National Park, we ate gelato every day at Manarola’s 5 Terre Gelateria. The first day the proprietress told us, “I make everything with all my love.” How can you resist such passionate sincerity?
At Melin Tregwynt Woolen Mill in Wales for my 59th birthday, Jackie, her daughter, and I luxuriated in a five-star lunch. The scrumptious dessert was an unusual order for me—chocolate cake smothered in cream.
Out of our element in London, Jackie and I stuck close to the hotel for dinner. Our lavish apple pie with custard sauce demanded that we walk up and down Piccadilly’s sidewalk for an hour to recover.
Do humans have an innate connection to sharing ourselves via food?
Maybe something bonds us over dessert more than the main course. How else do you explain that Americans can be stuffed to bursting after eating our Thanksgiving meal and yet, without fail, we manage to eat pumpkin pie? There’s no logic to cramming one more thing in our stomachs. But we do as we continue to visit and chat and share family and friendship time.
Is it the same way when we stand together in front of the pastry display case? Is there an unspoken camaraderie as we think we’re about to get away with something—even us adults—that we shouldn’t imbibe? That treat, that sweet, that utterly gorgeous work of art that someone created out of flour and sugar and mystery ingredients will be ours!
All we have to do is ask or point—just wipe away the drool first.
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I love this blog and all the memories it provokes! I should’ve been a baker!
You are a baker–you just haven’t sold things! Yes, to our St Bride’s Spa tea in Saundersfoot–what fun!
Great now I want chocolate chip cookie dough!
People don’t believe me when I say I have a horrible sweet tooth – but I totally do. I could eat sugar all day. And even though I can’t eat gluten, I’ll stop at every pastry display and just stare. They are so fun to look at. And I wish for a moment that I could actually eat anything on the display since everything that looks good is made with gluten. The funny thing is that there is a pastry shop right next to our Whole Foods. I always wonder how many people shop for kale and sustainable seafood and then run right next store and buy a bunch of pastries!
You have lots of willpower–that’s why we don’t believe the sweet tooth! I monitor my gluten, but since it is only connected to how I feel and my thyroid, I still indulge sometimes. I’m sorry you can’t have it at all. Your Whole Foods and the pastry place remind me of the McDonald’s in Munich that had a gym above it. HA HA!
We just returned from a Rehoboth Beach vacation and food was at the top of the agenda. We avoid the chains and patronize the local restaurants. One restaurant, in particular, was passionate about their food. And, yes, on the pastry displays that look delectable! We surrendered to such a display at a Cafe we stopped at on the drive home in Hockessin and I’m eating a piece of the coffee cake right now.
Isn’t it wonderful to tie a food memory to a trip? I make fun of Alex for doing that, but I do it too. It’s a good way to remember more about the place and the people. Bravo for avoiding the chains!
I remember ordering tiramisu in Cancun many years ago, and the waiter returning – with a frown on his face – to our table. “Oh, Senora,” he said. “I am not well for you.” It was such a poetic way to say they were out of tiramisu, and he was very sorry about it. I, too, connect food to places.
I love this by Michael Pollan: “Cooking is how we transform nature into culture. It’s a really profound thing – a spiritual thing. For me, transcending this idea that it’s drudgery is important.” I think sharing food – breaking bread together – is so important, cements bonds of love and friendship, and overcomes barriers. Reminds me of this wonderful Canadian commercial from a few years ago, called “Eat Together.” (And when I looked this up, I saw there is a TED talk on the importance of eating together. I’ll bookmark that.)
“A profound thing. A spiritual thing.” I just love that.
That is a wonderful way to say we’re out of food! So much better than what we usually hear. I miss our Red Lodge impromptu meals together. Such friendship and community in those meals.
Yes – community! (My commercial didn’t seem to connect. I’ll try again. Or maybe I can’t link a video here.).