Go ahead. Eat dessert first.
On breaking the rules, eating with our eyes, and cutting your own crust
Field Notes
Welcome explorers!
They say that life without dessert is no life at all. Or to all you Brits out there - ‘pudding’. So in this month’s issue, we’re chatting with Shikha Kaiwar, pastry chef, writer, and the author of the delightfully experiential cookbook Ice Cream Party.
When she's not feeding her friends and family, Shikha is thinking deeply about how to explore the world through pastry and how to let ourselves feel more joy through desserts of all types and sizes.
Together we explore the art and science of a dining experience, designing interactive desserts, how to source fresh inspiration for the senses, and the role of social media in food culture today.
Christina Herbach [CH]: Hi Shikha. Tell us a bit about your origin story. When did you fall in love with the experience of designing desserts? What was your ‘spark’ pastry?
Shikha Kaiwar [SK]: I started making desserts in middle school. It was very much prompted by my parents divorcing. I needed an outlet to be in control of something, end to end, and I found that in pastry, where the rules can be very exacting. Sometimes that can be intimidating, but at that time in my life, it was what I needed. If I just followed a recipe, it would all work out. I really dove into it, and started trying all kinds of random recipes - sweet and savory.
Then I made a cheesecake for the very first time. It’s a core memory for me. And I completely destroyed the kitchen in the process. I mean, literally, there was cream cheese on the ceiling. I don't know how that’s possible! It wasn't even a very good cheesecake. But it was still, you know, pretty good?
And that’s when I realized there was something so rewarding about desserts. Even when they aren’t very good, they are still great.
So that early chapter put me on the path of pursuing pastry as a passion and a career. At this point in my life, it’s just a part of my identity. I mean, I have a croissant tattoo on my body. I was thinking of getting a cheesecake tattoo too, but it's hard to get one without it looking like a regular slice of cake…or just a wedge of cheese.
[CH]: Being a professional pastry chef seems intimidating in the sense that dessert is often the final note in the choreography of a dining experience. It makes me think of the peak-end rule, a key principle of experience design. In brief, it’s the theory popularized by Daniel Kahneman, which states that we tend to judge an experience largely based on how we feel at its peak (the most intense point) and at its end.
How do you think about the role your creations play in the experience of a meal?
[SK]: In restaurants, you always think about the dining experience holistically. You have to think about the diner’s experience since they walked in the restaurant. How much food have they eaten? What were the flavor combinations? You also rely on feedback from colleagues in the front and the back of the house. Even hosting people in my own home, I have to consider, “How does it all fit together?”
It’s also about expectations. We tend to have this set schema in our mind of what constitutes a meal - there are 3 courses and the last is dessert. I have to decide, am I trying to meet expectations or redefine them? Is the goal to create something new? Is it just to eat something sweet and comforting? Each time is slightly different and that makes it fun.
In some ways, the dessert experience is a superfluous one, and at times, I struggle with it. I know, especially in America, that many foods have too much sugar in them. Portion control can be a challenge for many. At the Cheesecake factory, a single slice can be well over a thousand calories! So we need to think about indulging in a way that’s sustainable.
The original goal of desserts though, was just to inject a little joy into your life. For me, dessert is joy in its purest form and I think we all need that: a little more delight. Viewed that way, desserts aren’t superfluous at all.
[CH]: You’ve described your culinary design process as intuitive, saying, “Good pastry derives from a good recipe. Great pastry relies on a good recipe plus a cook's intuition.” How does intuition feature in your design process?
[SK]: So, recipes really are the foundation. Every chef should know why something is done a certain way. When to use baking soda versus baking powder or granulated sugar versus brown sugar. You don’t need to understand every specific chemical reaction, but know the principles.
This way, when you substitute or add something, it's a design decision. In the art of experimentation, there's always an element of science. It’s literal science in this case, as there’s a difference between a half teaspoon and a full teaspoon of a chemical agent like baking soda.
So start with the recipe, but I also think, whether in pastry or any other sphere, that a lot of experience design is about developing your intuition: Am I seeing what I want to see? Am I feeling what I want to feel? Hearing what I want to hear?
For me, a big element is smell. I don't use timers for baking and people ask, ‘How do you know when it’s done?’ Well... because it smells good! I don't need a 5 minute timer to tell me something that I can just experience. Often your intuition can make up for other mishaps too, such as the oven running too hot. By being beholden to a timer I may overcook something, but if I'm trusting my own senses, I’ll know.
[CH]: Your book, Ice Cream Party, is delightfully unique in that it’s a flip book. The format invites readers into the experience and asks them to tap into their sense of intuition and creativity.
How did you go about designing for all the different combinations? And more generally, where do you source inspiration for experimentation in your work?
[SK]: My favorite trick is just to buy lots of random different ingredients. Often you don’t know what options you have unless you spread them all in front of you.
This is one of the big advantages of working in a professional restaurant. They just have a lot of stuff! You just look around and let your mind wander, making unusual connections. But you can do this in home kitchens too. It can be as simple as going to the grocery store and buying two different kinds of each fruit.
This is a big part of what I was trying to do in my book, too. With the flip book format, you can have all the inspiration in front of you. Let your mind consider all the combinations… some might feel obvious and some push you a little bit. In fact, I don't think everything in that book is even “meant” to go together. The goal isn't that every single combination is going to be some perfectly balanced sundae. Rather, it’s to get your mind thinking.
It's also a very playful, brightly colored book. We used illustrations on purpose so that there’s no intimidating picture that it needs to look like, because while it's really fun to experiment with desserts, there's also a lot of ownership in designing a sundae. Do you remember going to Coldstone or Baskin-Robbins as a kid? Choosing your toppings? It can feel very personal!
And of course, growing up in California where there's a lot of diversity, with people visiting different types of grocery stores. I wanted to drawn on that and incorporate “weird” or unexpected ingredients… such as black sesame cookies or mochi.
[CH]: One of my favorite desserts that you’ve introduced me to is the croquembouche - I’m even considering having one at our wedding! You memorably described it this way:
“The croquembouche is a tall pyramid consisting of dozens of choux coated in gleaming caramel and enveloped in spindly sugar strings. It’s fancy but more importantly, it's fun—less like a museum artifact and more like a friend who's fashionably late but ready to party. Instead of cutting meticulous slices and pawning them off, guests pluck a choux of their choice, demolishing the grand pastry in minutes like a sort of dessert (not desert!) Burning Man. Everyone gathers to watch this structure fall and, lo and behold, it does. We cheer in delight and victory and a shared understanding that everything is temporary.”
Being a pastry chef is a process of creating masterpieces like a croquembouche, only for them to be consumed in short order. What is it like to work with such an ephemeral medium? And what role does interactivity play in your creations?
[SK]: Because desserts are so ephemeral, one question is how do you even get people to remember the experience? Oftentimes eating can be a very passive experience, so one thing I do is bring an element of interactivity to it. I try to create a sense of ownership so guests have a higher chance of remembering it when it's gone.
For instance, as with a croquembouche, you’ll notice that I never cut my desserts for other people. It’s a simple trick, but I want you to decide how much you’d like. I want you to feel the knife cutting through the tart’s crust, hearing that satisfying crunch. Those sensations help create memories that are more lasting.
Life is busy these days and seems to just gets busier as you get older. I’m looking for moments that force you to slow down. I’m also a runner, so I understand that food can be fuel too. It’s like I make every meal an ordeal, but if you can have five minutes of intentionality around your food, I think it just makes you feel a lot better. It helps slow you down and centers you.
[CH]: Let’s talk about the role visual culture plays in the food experience. You’re great at documenting your cooking and thought processes online and also sharing beautiful photos. Do you buy the idea that we eat with our eyes first?
[SK]: I think today we experience food through the internet more than ever before. Nowadays, a lot of people watch food videos, reality cooking shows, etc. There's a sense of voyeurism around food, and to be honest, I don't like it.
I believe that you can watch something or you can experience it. The internet is good for inspiration, but not for experience.
It’s not that the visual part of cooking is a bad thing. One of the biggest things I miss about restaurants is not really having a reason to plate something. Plating is a totally different thought process that I really loved doing, and I do follow online accounts for visual inspiration. I’m thankful to Instagram for giving us an opportunity to connect with people who have very creative ideas. I think a lot about how to engage and also how to just turn the internet off….
For example, when I'm walking around, I avoid having headphones in and I try to just take in the world around me and make mental notes. Today, I went out to grab a coffee, and then I walked by this cinnamon bun place and impulsively bought three, wondering “what does this smell remind me of?”
This idea of nostalgia as inspiration is a big part of my newsletter Shikha la mode as well. I think almost every flavor reminds you of something else, but you just have to let your mind go there and be aware of it. Say it's chocolate, or vanilla, or these cinnamon buns… I’m asking myself, “where's my mind going? What is it reminding me of?” Letting that web weave itself out and then thinking about what I could do with that inspiration later.
[CH]: One final question for all our Experience Explorer correspondents - what are three experiences, of any genre, that you recommend?
Experimenting with restaurants. Whether you’re traveling or at home, I recommend trying very different types of places. Many people find fine dining polarizing. You’re paying a lot, so you're supposed to like it, but it just might not be good. Fast, casual places might be inexpensive, but sometimes the food just hit the spot. Variety lets you become more aware of the process of eating and is a wonderful way to explore the world.
Watching stand-up comedy. Recently, I’ve been watching a lot of stand-up comedy on Netflix. Comedians are some of the best storytellers out there. They’re very good at connecting the dots between things that seemingly have no connection. I think everything is a story if you want it to be. Food is too. So seeing the way they see the world is interesting, and hilarious too!
Journaling and writing. I’m a fan of activities that are not directly tied to your passion and seeing where it goes. Writing is the number one way I process things in the world, so journaling has been a very good way of getting my thoughts on paper, especially my most unhinged thoughts! Even if you're doing it once a week, that's still something. Fifteen minutes once a week will still change you. It’s a great practice, and I think it can unleash a lot of creativity in a way that you didn't think possible.
PS: If like to follow along with Shikha’s work, you can find her newsletter here: Shikha la mode.
Further Afield
Recommended reading, listening and more for the adventurous
Rude Food and Just Desserts. Tim Hayward’s article tackling “experience dining” and the history and conception of hospitality around the world. “Fables and religion don’t just explain the virtues of hospitality, they reinforce the dire consequences of failing to do your part fully… According to Homer, it’s fine to treat Odysseus’s place like an Airbnb, but drink from his cup and ekdíkisi (revenge) will be swift and brutal.”
Our brains weren’t designed for this kind of food. I really enjoyed Ezra Klien’s recent conversation with Stephan Guyenet, a neurobiologist, argues that weight gain is less about willpower than it is the product of an evolutionary mismatch between our brains, our genetics and our environments. Pairs well with NYMag’s feature that explores “Life after Food” and the increasing ubiquity of the drug Ozempic.
I finally made the trip to the William Morris Gallery in East London and was not disappointed by the exhibition design! Yes, there were the requisite wall hangings and period furniture, but also interactive video games, puppet show spaces, and even a neon red room featuring his socialist leanings and writings. Plus the gardens are a stunning spot for a stroll.
Speaking of gardens, I’m attempting a (potentially over-ambitious and risky) aspect of experience design for our upcoming summer wedding - growing and arranging our own florals. Hence I loved the FT’s story “The £1,850 snowdrop — inside the wild world of precious plants.” From illegal plant raiders to the race to save endangered species and “the horticultural equivalent of the witness protection program.” Yes please!
Loved this issue! Can't believe you got to eat that croquembouche ;p