The offending "Pavington"

Decadent dessert, or slice of ill health?

October 1, 2020

With all the delicious and healthy alternatives now available, CARRIE STEELE wonders why chefs are still creating “decadent desserts”.

 

The offending “Pavington”

A new dessert has been created and itโ€™s called the โ€œPavingtonโ€. A Melbourne chef spent two months figuring out how to make the ultimate food fusion during lockdown: a part-lamington, part-pavlova concoction.

Admittedly, the chef calls it โ€œa bit of funโ€, and in all fairness, thatโ€™s what it is. My first reaction to the photo was that it looked like a pavlova sitting on top of a lamington. I pondered how it might have taken two months, and whether I should create a dessert myself – perhaps pop my vegan Christmas cake under a topping of unbaked carrot cake topped off with cashew crรจme and smothered in dark chocolate swirls?

That was my initial reaction. Then I sunk deeper into thought.

There are loads of healthy, tasty options

Firstly, I wonder why it is that the more โ€˜creativeโ€™ chefs get, the more decadence they aim for, always results in something that we would all be far better off not eating? Would it not be more innovative to create dishes that were, in fact, healthy and life-affirming, rather than dishes that need to be justified by sentiments such as โ€œa little bit wonโ€™t hurtโ€, or โ€œI wouldnโ€™t eat this every dayโ€?

There are so many talented chefs out there. Oh how I wish they would think it might be novel to work on developing food that we can all feel really good about eating, rather than enjoy and feel somewhat guilty afterwards.

I know that I’m looking at this from somewhat of a minority perspective. Itโ€™s nine years this month since I committed to living a whole food plant-based lifestyle (vegan), and in that time Iโ€™ve come to accept that – as with everything in life – when it comes to food, and especially what restaurants serve up, the taste buds of the majority are those that dictate.

Plant-based food isn’t boring

The food that comes out of restaurant kitchens, be it greasy spoon takeaways or high-end restaurants, is almost always aimed at those diners who still consume meat, dairy, refined sugar, refined grains and lots of oil. Although not many restaurants these days wouldnโ€™t have at least one dish on the menu to satisfy vegetarians, they most often still contain dairy and/or eggs, and therefore are not suitable for plant-based diners.

Itโ€™s encouraging to see that slowly, there are some establishments who target people like me, and produce delicious meals with a focus on eating healthily. One of my favourite local cafรฉs has a chalkboard that sums it up nicely, in the words of author Michael Pollan: โ€œEat food, mostly plants, not too muchโ€.

Pollan is the author of a book called Food Rules, in which he explains the principles around eating โ€œreal foodโ€ rather than โ€œcreations of the food-industrial complexโ€. He talks about eating food that our great grandmother would recognise rather than foods out of packets with a long list of ingredients that no one has ever heard of, or even knows what they are. Iโ€™ve never actually read his book, and I donโ€™t believe it tells everyone to go down the path of veganism entirely, but Iโ€™ve often heard him quoted and he talks some excellent sense.

Plants are delicious

Youโ€™ve probably gathered by now that in my eyes, the Pavington isnโ€™t actually innovative or creative at all. In fact, to me the Pavington is symbolic of the way of life that Iโ€™ve left behind. Itโ€™s a dessert that neatly sums up the modern human perspective โ€“ โ€œmore is always better than enoughโ€. Why have one dessert, when you can have two?

There was a day that I would have scoffed a piece of that Pavington and thoroughly enjoyed it, but not now. If I wanted to indulge in a decadent dessert, my local cafรฉ could more than oblige with a cabinet full of delicious vegan treats lovingly made with wholefood non-refined ingredients that would rival and way outpace something like the Pavington.

I say that because I think itโ€™s important to point out that my lifestyle does not mean that I have to miss out on some delicious treats now and again, just that I may have to go further and look longer to find the places that welcome me. Iโ€™m very lucky to have a couple of cafรฉs in my neighbourhood that do just that.

Carrie the 1981 style queen

Iโ€™ve been thinking a lot about my vegan journey of late, it being my โ€˜anniversary monthโ€™. It started with food and changing my diet, but has become so much more than that, and it has led me down pathways I would never have explored before.

You see, I could say I used to be a โ€˜Pavington girlโ€™. I loved style and extravagance, big hair and leopard prints. I was the eyeliner queen. But it was all on the surface. Beneath that, I was heading down a perilous path. Itโ€™s hard to keep up appearances when itโ€™s all on the outside, and youโ€™re falling apart on the inside. I spent a lot of years like that, and maybe Iโ€™m still falling apart on the inside in some ways, but Iโ€™m way healthier than I was. I think more, I see more, I feel more. I wonโ€™t lie and say itโ€™s been easy, and Iโ€™ll be honest and say that my newfound awareness of life, in general, is often uncomfortable. But itโ€™s real. And reality often bites.

Carrie celebrating nine years of veganism

Iโ€™m actually really glad that I saw the Pavington article; it acted like a ceremonious reminder of my journey, and the reasons I live how I live now. The juxtaposition of ideas was all the more striking as Iโ€™d only just the same day done some baking myself โ€“ a simple โ€˜made-up recipeโ€™ fruit loaf that I had turned out to my ever obliging and appreciative hubby, son and daughter in law for afternoon tea.

Carrie’s fruit loaf

Itโ€™s a pretty basic offering, but because I donโ€™t often bake, when the smell of cinnamon, apples and pears fills the kitchen of my apartment, itโ€™s quite an occasion. And Iโ€™m so fortunate that the people who love me so enthusiastically partake of my simple offerings and there are always appreciative murmurs as we sit and enjoy little mouthfuls off our tiny silver cake forks, even if sometimes I leave it too long in the oven and the top is so crusty that you almost need a saw to get through it. Itโ€™s still delicious, and we still enjoy it, and sometimes I get it just right, which is even more cause for celebration!

You don’t need Gucci to be stylish

To wrap it up, Iโ€™m sticking with the โ€˜plant-based thingโ€™. Itโ€™s not a decision Iโ€™ve ever regretted. As for the โ€˜style queen thingโ€™, I can still be a style queen, just a different style โ€“ because now I know that with everything in life, less can, in fact, be more.

 

 

Avatar photo

Carrie writes about whole foods, plant-based eating and the gamut of her journey to find out what it takes to live a healthy life. Changing her diet shattered a lot of myths around the norms of the Western lifestyle and her columns - which take in travel and reflections on life and the universe - mirror this new perspective.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Give a little to support Witchdoctor's quest to save high quality independent journalism. It's easy and painless! Just donate $5 or $10 to our PressPatron account by clicking on the button below.

Witchdoctor straight to your inbox every 2nd week

Authors

Panasonic Fire TV Be Mesmerised with next gen AI TV
Advance Paris - Designed with French flair. Amplifiers, Streamers, CD players and more www.pqimports.co.nz
Previous Story

NZTrio’s new star recruit interviewed

Next Story

Sony Wh-1000XM4 wireless headphones review

Latest from Food & Drink

Crafty Corner: winter hops

ASHTON BROWN proves that hops put a spring in your step even in the depths of winter by supping on crazy, hazy and even
Go toTop