Dessert first please!

 I stand shivering in a queue which stretched its way like a half-buried worm into a Rhodes University dining hall. Wednesday dinner has arrived promptly at five o’clock like it has every other day. You would think it is like any other dinner the dining hall serves but it is one of my personal favourites. Last year I worked at a restaurant on Wednesdays. I had the option of eating a meal that others would pay for- at a convenient discount. I still, however, left the Rat and Parrot’s pizza (a local favourite) for a res meal- something most students would not dare to think of.

 

There are many reasons why I did this. The sauce I drenched my chicken kebabs, noodles and even my peas was nothing short of delicious. What made me desire this meal so much, however, was the smooth, sweet chocolate mousse that made my tongue cling to every last mouthful like a long-lost lover. I would sit my plate down at the table and consume the chocolate mousse first before anything else.
 

 

“I could never eat my dessert first,” said one of my friends, pointedly staring at me stuffing my face. “It just feels so wrong.”

I spent the remainder of my meal explaining to her how eating dessert first is so much better than eating it last. “So what if you were busy eating and someone sneaked up behind you and shot you, and you died having eaten one less dessert because you chose to eat it last.” That was one of my arguments and I did not think it was in the least far-fetched.

                                                          

I do not know why I always eat dessert first. It could be like going on facebook or watching series before starting an essay; a bad habit which I am unfortunately very good at. It could be because I just like something sweet but then wouldn’t it be sweeter if I saved it for last?

I know the answer to that is no. Chocolate mouse is simple. It is delicious whether you have it before a meal or after. Watching series, on the other hand, is much better when your work is out of the way and I can enjoy it without stressing. Facebook, well, I just use because it is the best procrastination technique in the book.

Nevertheless, I am not even supposed to eat dessert. Word is that it makes you fat and therefore eating it would make you unhealthy or worse, undesirable. I try to make my dessert days only Wednesdays and the occasional Saturday after a very long week. There is always room for dessert in my diet, no matter how much weight I wish to lose.

 

 

This makes me think of the Titanic. I do not quite know why chocolate mousse reminds me of a famous shipwreck, but I wonder of the mouth-watering desserts served to the upper-class ladies and gentlemen aboard the Titanic. I think of the ladies. It was the last night they would ever have the chance to eat the dessert, yet many wouldn’t for fear of their corsets becoming a notch tighter (if they weren’t already tight enough). I wonder what if the Titanic had not sunk, if all those people hadn’t died. They would have lived long lives and told of their journey aboard the Titanic to their children and maybe their grandchildren. They would have said the desserts looked simply delicious. “So did they taste as good?” one of the grandchildren might have asked.  “I am sure they did, but granny didn’t have any.”

These are all guesses. The Titanic did indeed crash and many died, and maybe the desserts on board weren’t even that great. I just think it is pointless to go to new places and not try delicious food. I am not saying that everyone should pig out every time they sit down for breakfast, but surely there is no harm eating a small bowl of chocolate mousse once a week before filling your stomach with healthier food? If it really will do so much damage is it not nothing a run, a swim or a Sunday afternoon hike could fix?

Also, why do we have to eat the main meal first? Maybe people like my friend enjoy the steady routine of it. But I really think that life is so much more exciting when we shake it up a bit. So when I finally am rich enough to board a fancy cruise ship it will come as no great surprise that I will be asking for my dessert first. It is always good to start with something sweet. Let me hope nobody shoots me while I eat it.

Ps. Sorry if all the delicious photos made your mouth water. Wednesday is tomorrow so chocolate mousse will come soon:)