29/08/2026
I was a mere trendy fashion student when I first had a real croissant, baked by Italians, at a coffee shop where they tell you to dunk it in your cappuccino, and that is breakfast. It was butter, in the form of flaky bread, but not so flaky that it fell apart. I was there for fashion week, and around me were girls eating salads to look the part. Not me. I woke up extra early every morning to stuff my face with a custard-filled, buttery croissant and a hot cappuccino.
I was so devoted to this ritual that when Italy closed its borders during COVID, and people were running to catch their flights, I was standing at a bakery stand, packing the last two croissants they had.
Why should I suffer through a sad flight home without good food?
Back in Kolkata, I never found that quality. Too tough, or too flaky, falling apart every time I tried to eat it with my cappuccino. Earlier this year, John sparked some hope when he mentioned Keith was going to be around for croissant trials. I started bombarding John and Avantika with ideas, butter croissants, custard ones, chocolate ones. But the goal was to get the classic right first.
What followed was pure agony. Some days it was perfect and John would set the launch for the next morning, only for it to go back to testing because of one tiny issue. Then Avantika would put it back in testing because it was “”not right.”” It was perfect
to me, for the record.But after enough cycles of perfection, it finally arrived without warning one day I walked into the coffee bar and there it was, a perfect, buttery stack of six croissants, right under the spotlight.
I told myself I’d finish half my task list and treat myself to one. At 2pm I came downstairs to collect my reward. Sold out.
And that has been the story almost every day since. Makes me very happy that Calcutta is enjoying a perfect little buttery croissant but John, we really do need more pieces!
- Bryna
