In 1980, I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, where I cannot eat food that contain flours that have gluten in them such as wheat, rye, barley and some types of oats. While it has been an interesting journey for me and my family being diagnosed in my teens, and mostly a positive experience, the one thing that most people with Celiac Disease crave, especially diagnosed later in life is food that tasted like they used to eat. There are things that I do not remember what they tasted like 45 years ago, however one that has eluded me and I do remember are pastries – specifically croissants and pain du chocolat.
I have had the luxury to travel a lot in my lifetime and visit some pretty high end gluten free bakeries, especially in the last few years which have excellent products. Some were in Rome, Italy; various locations in Spain; Paris, France; various cities in Canada such as Montreal,t Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver, where I live; Auckland, New Zealand; and more recently a brand new bakery in Manley, near Sydney, Australia. They all have wonderful products however each time I tried them something was missing – it was either an aftertaste or a gummy feeling that the flour used which lacks gluten, leaves in your mouth.
Until the morning of December 8th, 2025 when I had the extreme excitement of biting into a Gluten Free Pain du Chocolat at the Westin Hotel in Singapore for breakfast. It was exquisite, flaky and I thought I was eating a gluten item by mistake as there was no aftertaste. However the staff assured me that there was no mistake – they were gluten free! I was in heaven – well quite literally too as we were on the 35th floor of the building!
Here is my Ode to the Gluten Free Pain du Chocolat! I did have some help writing this…
O warm-hearted rectangle,
buttery vault of morning light,
you carry within your golden walls
a secret line of midnight—
two dark bars of chocolate,
quiet and intense
as a whispered confession.
Your layers sigh beneath my touch,
delicate as pages
from a well-loved book.
Each bite is a soft collision
of crisp border and molten dusk,
a duet of sweetness and smoke.
You are the thrill
the croissant only hints at—
a rebellion wrapped in pastry,
a promise that even dawn
can taste like indulgence.
Oh my gluten free Pain au chocolat,
you are the mischief of mornings,
the elegance of afternoons,
the small, perfect triumph
of joy to me.
