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Theory of Consumption

"Theory of consumption" is the term I just coined as a fancy way to ask "how the heck am I supposed to eat this?" I have asked this question of myself before; it came up again when confronted with this dessert from Bakery & Table in Hakone, Japan. The dish combines ice cream and golden croutons. This is a clever way for a bakery to use up old bread. It also sounded pretty tasty.
As you can see, the ice cream is piled up on top of the croutons. This brings up the question of how soft the croutons should be. Should I keep them away from the ice cream as much as possible? Or should I let them bathe in the ice cream for a moment before I eat? After experimenting with the dish---that is, eating it---I came to two conclusions. First, a very crunchy crouton is a nice textural contrast to the ice cream so keeping them separate as long as possible is a good plan. Second, this presentation isn't the best way to serve this treat. Separate dishes of ice cream and croutons would have allowed me to plunk one or two croutons on top of the ice cream, then snatch a bite. Theory of consumption is an important part of the culinary experience. It is often neglected, unfortunately, particularly in these days in which chefs believe that architecture is their true calling. If diners have to work too hard to figure out how to enjoy your dish, perhaps it is time to regroup and rethink.

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