A dear friend of mine, unknowingly that I was going to write about this today, told me that she finds it intriguing how she in the most recent years has memories related to some scents. From my point of view, it is not something strange or outlandish, but rather something that becomes part of us once we become aware of the fact that time is running fast and we can make it stop only through the dear memories we keep tight to our soul. I often think of smells by visualizing my grandfather, who in his last years lost most of his sight but was able to see spring through the strong smell of the hyacinth flowers we would bring him. It happened to me many times to be miles and miles away from my parents but to feel their presence just because a person who passed me by was wearing a similar perfume as they did. What I also do is hold memories related to flavours I encounter every day. There are for example different ways of cooking duck, and each way of doing that has a memory: roasted duck leg for pre-Christmas time in Germany, "magret de canard au miel" for my time spent in the South of France and for a cookig-evening at a friend, roasted duck with plums - for my mother's cooking and Chinese duck for a wonderful week with my dear friend I was mentioning at the beginning. It is sometimes funny, but bad flavour is more easily forgotten.The reason I am telling you all this is because scents and flavours are hard to find in huge hypermarkets with standardized product offering. Yes, you can find food and I don't want to sound snobbish in any way, but buying there is just satisfying a need and you seldom build connections or have the time to be an individual there with your own creativity, thoughts and wishes and the desire to open up and relate to memories. Last week I visited a place in Bucharest where I had the time to enjoy some nice tea, freshly made home chocolate, take some tartelettes home and hear some food-connected stories. I discovered wonderful people there who believe in the same things as I do: tradition and craftsmanship. Add to that some special flavour and the desire to experiment while still wanting to be eco-related. Welcome to Bacania Veche!
At Bacania Veche I found some memories related to France...
....related to my grandmother... she hangs fruits and vegetables like this...
...again memories related to the South of France...and some connected to my dad...
...fresh memories of my grandmother and my mother...
...and new memories to keep for the future...
...memories related to family friends...
...and to the times I was waking up in Germany to buy fresh bread...
...and to my childhood when my grandfather was making the best tea in the world.
Nevertheless..you can start building up new memories with spices and drinks and oils or vinegars etc from all over the world, wonderfully selected...leaving you to dream of your next dish and your next memory.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is the place where all the magic happens. I advise you to embark with them on a wonderful trip of good quality food, some of it hand-made, and freshly made. I assure you, that you'll fall in love with the place.
And as if that wasn't enough, if you are environmentally friendly and come by bike, you'll find a secure place for it outside the store.
And this is the man behind the magic, Marius Tudosiei, who can really "infect" you with his passion for good food. Just start a conversation with him and you'll see... I am for sure looking forward to meet him soon and talk some more about food.
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