The ultimate treat

My favourite food is a croissant. I am particularly partial to an almond one.

I think my interest, perhaps obsession, with croissants stems from the time I was lucky enough to win a government scholarship to travel to France as part of a commemoration of Australian’s involvement in the First World War.

I remember coming down to breakfast in our hotel and seeing all the croissants laid out before me. Like a kid in a proverbial croissant store, I was overwhelmed with choice and the sheer delight of what was before me. I remember this overwhelming feeling of dread in knowing that I wouldn’t be able to try all of them, and that soon (once the trip ended), I would never have access to such heavenly products again. Little did my 15 year old brain know that you can actually procure croissants in Australia and, as an adult, it isn’t that hard to source things you want.

I remember being so distraught that the good times were coming to an end that I wrapped up a particularly delicious chocolate croissant in a serviette and stuffed it in my backpack to have at some point on that road that day. It wasn’t until a month later and I was unpacking said backpack back in South Australia that I found what was then a fairly decomposed little ball of pastry in the bottom of my bag.

Croissants are of course a ‘sometimes food’. They are not good for you. The combination of butter, other complex carbohydrates and the sugary filling or topping that makes for a particularly memorable croissant is not designed to be consumed regularly. But when you do, what a treat.

There is no great lesson, moral or message to this post. It is just written in appreciation of the ultimate sweet treat: the croissant.