Instructions
In a couple of weeks, on my birthday, I’ll celebrate my 10th wedding anniversary. So for me Valentine’s Day is just a training run.
Ten years, ten (mostly) wonderful years. A lifetime passed in the blink of an eye. It’s a moment that conjures important questions.
An ancient Greek philosopher once pondered the nature of identity. If a ship, he asked, is repaired so often over the years, that in the end every plank and nail has changed, is it still the same ship? Is it indeed? If we change so much in the course of a relationship, are we still the same couple a decade on?
Yes we are.
Core identity is what lets us know ourselves. Our appearance merely allows others to know us. But relationships, like all great structures, do require maintenance and improvement. Built on good foundations they should have longevity, but redecorating now and then is important. Even a complete overhaul can be useful if executed well.
Old favourites are loved because of the memories they elicit. Re-invention allows them a renaissance, to be born again. It’s old, and new at the same time. After all, if today’s teenagers are listening to remixes of awful 80’s pop, then anything can be re-invented.
The same is true of food. The dishes you grew up loving will always have a place in your heart. But to make them relevant once more, find a modern twist that repositions your dish for a new audience.
Take sticky date pudding for example. Cutting-edge in the 1980’s, ubiquitous in the 1990’s, then so very passé in the 2000’s. What changed? Not the recipe. We did. Our desire for novelty outweighs our appreciation of that which is fundamentally good.
The great chef Paul Bocuse was asked why he had not changed the menu at his eponymous restaurant in three decades. He replied “My Lobster Thermidor was perfect in 1970, and it’s still perfect today!”.
He’s right, and yet so wrong. A small tweak is all it takes to transform a classic into a reignited new love.
So this Valentine’s Day, reignite your passion with pudding. A chocolate gingerbread version to delight the senses. Indulge the one you love with something they’ll adore.
Chocolate-gingerbread date pudding