Thoughts on Petit fours

This week in my pastry class we are working on petit fours. This is basically really small beautifully decorated cakes and tarts. They are gorgeous but very time consuming. Unfortunately its not really my strong point as I'm not so good at precision work. Everything has to be exactly the same size and shape, and well, I'm more of a rustic girl. The whole idea of all this perfection really got me thinking.

What is it as humans we love about perfection? I feel like I'm always striving to be neater, more organised, thinner, up to date, and put together. I see so many girls in the city which I have dubbed 'The untouchables' as they always looks so very perfect. Not one hair is out of place, they are wearing the latest fashion, are super organised and look like nothing could ever effect them. What are we striving for?

I had a long hard think about it and realised that its our basic need for love that drives this. Ok I'll break down my theory for you. I worked it out like this. Nothing touches me more in life than when someone buys me a gift that they have really put thought into. Like a bunch of flowers that is your favourite colour, or something they just felt was 'really you.' It shows they put time and effort into it. They have thought about you, who you are, what you like, and what will bless you most. This time spent is an expression of love, and therefore, as humans we are led to believe that time equals love. It can be expressed to others through doing something for them, or to ourself by putting effort into the way we look.

Basically these 'untouchable' girls I see in the city everyday are either saying "I care about myself enough to put effort into the way I look", or trying to justify to the world that by putting enough effort into themselves they are worth love, and therefore other people should love them too. The subject of time therefore is not just about love, it's also about worth and our needs as humans to feel cared for and wanted.

It spreads even further across the board than just appearance and gifts though and filters down into many aspect of our lived such as fine food, designer clothes, quality products and even good wine. All these things take time and effort to make, and when we buy them for ourselves we are justifying to the world (and ourselves) that we are worth both time and effort.

Obviously this isn't the only reason humans appreciate beautiful things but I feel it explains a lot of it. We are so obsessed with beauty.......but really I think we are more obsessed with love.

I have no idea how this new theory will effect my cooking, but it helps me to understand it a bit more. When I do finally overcome these tiny petit fours I think I'll give them to a few of my favourite people in Melbourne.......just so, on some subconscious level, they will know that they are really loved and cared for.