Pre-Pandemic Sweets, Post Pandemic Thinking

By Jen Abell

We’ve had a lot of time to think over the past year, haven’t we? Perhaps too much time. Although the stop/ start nature of existing as a business during a pandemic was distressing at best and ruinous at worst for some; it has given much needed pause. I eagerly watch as business owners reveal plans for the future. What has this enforced period taking literal and metaphorical stock meant for entrepreneurs that influence our everyday?

For several, it means a move to sustainable commerce. Michelin star restaurant, Eleven Madison Park in New York will re-open as a 100% plant-based eatery. This heartening open-ness to change in the face of climate change data takes bravery and flexibility. Hong Kong grocery store Slowood last month announced it will ‘take a step forward’ and cease all fish sales after learning of the environmental damage the fishing industry causes in Netflix documentary Seaspiracy. Their statement read “We believe every tiny step counts and hope to join our community to make the world a better place.”

Being environmentally friendly needn’t always mean ‘ceasing’, though. What if you could have your cake and eat it too? Cardiff is lucky to have its own crew hoping to help you do just that! Many of you have met Alan Golding without knowing it. He’s the friendly face with the irresistible laugh serving your Riverside Sourdough at Cardiff’s weekend markets. You’ll know Thibault, too. He’s 2020 Bake Off: The Professionals winner and chef extraordinaire behind Patisserie Verte. When these gregarious gourmets got chatting at Roath’s Farmer’s Market, a lifelong dream came one step closer to reality.

Alan is a fully paid-up member of the church of custard. By the time I met him six years ago, he’d been dreaming of penning a celebration of custard dishes of the world for half a decade. He’d named the book and chosen his global favourites. Like many of us of late; watching climate change become climate crisis is making him reflect on his desires and decisions. His hunger for finding the best custard dishes of the world has evolved into an investigation. Has custard, the timeless classic, in fact, had its time? Traditionally, custard is a dairy cocktail. Most recipes use milk, cream or eggs; sometimes all three. We now know that it takes 628 litres of water to produce just one litre of cow’s milk. Six hundred and twenty-eight to one. It’s tough to justify that choice in the face of global water shortages. Especially difficult when you learn oat milk requires 48 litres of water for a litre of produce. Can Alan’s lifelong favourites and personal dream survive our necessary, and increasingly popular move to dairy free diets? Enter Thibault and his culinary cleverness.

Each month from May 2021 until December 2021, Thibault and Alan have scheduled the release of a famous custard dish from around the world…with a plant-based twist. Thibault’s small but perfectly formed Splott kitchen, usually dedicated to his technicolour vegan macarons (strawberry and basil flavour anyone?!) has become an experimental studio pioneering in….custard.

The day I’m writing this sees the launch of Cardiff’s first ever plant-based Manchester Tart and with it, the premiere of this project. This Northern wonder features vanilla custard in its jelly form poured over cherry jam. This magic combination is layered over golden biscuit pastry crust and crowned with desiccated coconut. The clown’s nose glacé cherry on the coconut snowscape is oh so satisfying. Today, this experimental twist on a UK classic sold out swiftly in Roath’s Farmer’s Market. Alan’s clearly not the only person interested in Thibault’s dairy free custard.

Thibault’s company, Patisserie Verte, is a small start-up (not for long!) interested in high quality plant-based produce, sustainability and buying local. Amongst Thibault’s catering

supplies, I see vanilla pods from Spice of Life, various wares from Ripple and a delivery from a Cardiff microbrewery. His interest in this project comes from several angles. He wants to offer an easy and delicious way to help us apply the reflections we’ve all made during the pandemic. We had to shop local when we had to stay local. People don’t have to now. But unusual, high quality food just might motivate people to hit their district’s weekend market instead of their supermarket. And as always with his creations, they’re for everyone. He wants his plant-based creations to exceed the taste and quality of their dairy counterparts without the vegan label. Personally, nothing makes me hand money over faster than seeing that leaf ended V, but I do find the idea of hiding in plain sight interesting. And wow, the man likes a challenge. Each month, he’s learning to make a new dish with no guarantee of success.

Custard hunters can track this project at ‘world of custard’ on Facebook. I’ll be photographing and sharing Thibault’s creations on my @ffotojenic instagram page too. One Friday a month until December, Thibault will whisk and bake a new custard recipe. That very weekend, Cardiff custard fans can buy those tasty batches from Roath’s and Kings Yard’s Saturday markets. You’ll need to be fast though, the Manchester Tarts sold out in eleven minutes in Roath. Popular dainties may even make it to his permanent Patiserrie Verte offering. Do let him know what you think if you’ve tried one. As for this month’s dessert, we’ll be visiting Thibault’s homeland via the Creme Brûlée! With This April, the World Meteorological Organisation released; ‘The State of the Global Climate 2020’ using the latest data available. Antonio Guterres, United Nations Secretary General comments; ‘This report shows we have no time to waste. The climate is changing, and the impacts are already too costly for people and the planet.’

At a time when so many trends like sea level, greenhouse gas and temperature rise move in the wrong direction; it’s heartening to see this locally focused, climate aware passion project take shape. There’s something so charming about a chat in a local market leading to a commitment to sustainable custard innovation for the future. Conversely, last year, margarine producer Flora reverted to dairy in its Buttery after removing it for ethical reasons. Customer complaints instigated this regression despite their ‘overarching goal to encourage everyone to adopt a plant-based diet’. It’s disappointing and ultimately harmful, to see the bravery and leadership of big business buckle. Thank goodness, always, for the little guys and their openness to respond to the reality of the world they live in. It’s their innovation, and our everyday decisions that will protect our planet for the next generation of custard fans. As for this generation of custard fans, I’ll race you to the market.

writing, culinary tours may be the closest we get to our favourite countries for a spell. Excuse me whilst I grab my fork!