Elise is a Belgian industrial designer based in Barcelona. Her experimental, speculative approach to eating design is fascinating. We connected when she attended a virtual Storytelling through Choux workshop we hosted earlier this year. Elise speaks of food in general, and Belgian rice pie in particular, as a means to cure homesickness. 

Wherever you may be, food can transport you to other places that have been a home to you in the past. Eating a dish that you used to eat regularly, can leave you with a feeling of nostalgia. This nostalgia makes you value the cultural food heritage that you grew up with. Recently, I left my home in Belgium and replaced it with sunny Spain. Although living in Spain is food-heaven, I noticed that I occasionally long to eat typically ‘Belgian’ food. I am often surprised by how hard it is to find the same quality of food that I am used to back home. Often, I cannot find what I am longing for at all. Belgian rice pie is one of those foods that gets me especially melancholic.

Looking Back

This sweet treat used to be a part of my lazy Sunday breakfast for over a decade and still gets my taste buds ecstatic whenever I get to eat one that is well made. The crust is soft, but not bland; and the rice pudding that it contains must have the perfect structure: firm, but not too dry. Unfortunately, they make rice pudding differently in Spain and the Spanish never thought about putting it in a pie. As a typical modern family, in which both parents have a full-time job, eating a nutritious breakfast together wasn’t a priority during the working week for us. On the contrary, over the weekends and especially on a Sunday morning, our family would take time to connect over an abundant feast.

My father, the early bird of the household, would go to the bakery to buy ‘pistolets’ which are small, crusty bread rolls. He also would get some pastries, of which THE small rice pie would make often a part. Then, he would pay a visit to the butcher and pick some very good ‘charcuterie’: spreads, meats and cheese to put on the bread rolls. On his arrival, he would wake us up to set the table; and the house would be filled with the delicious smell of coffee. Our ultimate weekly family moment would commence; and there has never been a better reason for me to wake up in the morning.

Looking Ahead

Although I really like to try a lot of different dishes, it feels good sometimes to eat something familiar. It is only now that I really appreciate the effort that my father took to give us a warm and delicious Sunday morning. Whenever I miss home, I’m tempted to make a rice pie; and to share it with my friends. Connecting over food with others makes you feel at home; I like to take the
effort to bake something, because it reminds me of those pleasant mornings.

Written by Elise Coudré and edited by  Jashan Sippy.

‘Food, the Feeling of Home’: A series of stories exploring nostalgia, the power of food, our memories and stories of ‘home’. Want to share your story? Send it to us at info@sugarandspace.in