The Quest

I am not a huge “pastry person”. As you can guess, chocolate is my vice. But the first year I raced in Belgium (2004) I stumbled on this tasty little pastry. It didn’t look like it had special powers, but trust me, it was a little piece of heaven. A fresh pastry boat filled with sweet pudding and covered in chocolate. mmmmm. I am salivating already! Back then I didn’t have the will power I have now (are you choking?) so Norm, Corey and I would visit the bakery a couple of times a day and I devoured my fair share. Norm doesn’t usually keep tabs on my food intake but it got so bad the week before worlds he gingerly asked “do you think the other girls in your race are eating baked goods every day?” That day he felt the wrath that only a fat kid threatened of starving to death can dish out. Hell, I wasn’t sure if I would ever taste that sweet nectar again so, lardass or not, I had to take advantage of the situation. We left for France and it was years before I would find it again.

I told Bernard about my quest to taste the golden pastry again and he warned me that it might be a regional specialty. Lucky for me, I wasn’t weak for the regional specialty of Hertsberge because I could practically spit on the local bakery from my room at the Cycling Center. Besides, my inner devil had made a deal with my inner angel (after she had him in the choke hold) that I could eat Neahaus chocolate if I avoided the bakeries. BUT…..if I should locate the golden pastry this rule was void. 

The quest continued. I told Barb, Derek, Natasha, Nathan and Lesley so I had more eyes looking, but nothing. One month living in Belgium and still no golden pastry boat. I had been pretty good too. No baked goods. Well, except for that one break down on a freezing cold ride, 45 mins from home, big guts eating little guts…..my inner devil had used the Malachy Crunch to take that round. Tasty. But no golden pastry boat. 

After the Hoogerheide world cup we had a bit of time to kill on our drive down to Charleroi before our flight to Italy. Norm suggested we visit our buddy Frank from Ciclo Morello. In 2004, when the airlines lost Corey’s bike for the entire time we were in Europe, Frank lent him a bike so he could race. 

We popped by the shop and caught up with Frank. On our way out, Norm casually asked him where the best bakery in town was. I described to him what I was looking for “it’s a pastry boat, filled with sweet pudding, covered in chocolate…does that bakery sell it?” He looked at me like I was on crack and said “uhh. yes, you can find those everywhere.” BINGO. Regional specialty of Hoogstraten! 

We went to the bakery and I ordered five (kidding! only one. Ok, seriously, just two). Norm caught the whole thing on film. And then he asked me “was it everything you remembered?”. Actually it was MORE. The chocolate had HAZELNUTS in it!