One bite of a pain au chocolat changed my life the other day. I picked out this particular pastry from the eye-catching selection at Tapisserie in the 11th. I could wax eloquent for an eternity about how good this pain au chocolat was. It was perfection: a crisp, flaky pastry exterior + dark chocolate interior encircled by countless layers of doughy pastry. I would say without hestitation that Tapisserie is one of the best pâtisseries (pastry shops) in all of Paris.
Flavors and scents both have this transportive magic for me that allows me to traverse distance and time instantaneously. The moment I bit into this pain au chocolat it transported me both spiritually and emotionally. I was eating the pain au chocolat from Tapisserie, yes. But at the same time I was tasting all the variations of this pastry I had ever eaten. (The pain au chocolat just happens to be my favorite comfort-food pastry, so I often use it as a benchmark.) In essence this pain au chocolat was my own Proustian reflection on the connection between taste, memory, time, and childhood: one pastry that represents the countless of its kind that I’ve had over time and the immense joy they collectively bring me still.
On a related note, one aspect that I adore about French cuisine that I find to be especially true about French pastry is the singular, obsessive focus on perfecting a craft. A pâtissiere can spend a lifetime turning the seemingly simple pain au chocolat into something sublime. And I’m of the belief that a life spent in pursuit of crafting the perfect pain au chocolat is a life perfectly well spent.
What do you want to spend your life perfecting? What will you leave behind on this world?
The Paris Project
I’m Sarah, a travel and wellness writer based in the US. Join me on my 30-day journey in Paris as I post something new each day. You can follow along here on my blog or subscribe to my newsletter. I’ll send a weekly missive to all my newsletter subscribers while I’m here of all of my favorite Paris discoveries and adventures.