Welcome to Secret Breakfast / An exclusive newsletter, the best place to start your day with changua, Meghan Markle’s cake-maker and desserts for impatient people

Hi there!

Yesterday I was planning a special trip, and I was thinking about how packed my schedule was and how much I deserved some guidance - maybe from a local - to know better what to skim and what not to miss in a short timeframe.

It’s people that make places interesting, but is it only the right people that can make a place special? Assumably.

I mean, like that potato in Marina Abramović’s hands. Is that still an ordinary potato or something different because she picked it up?

Things, places, and potatoes are just things, places, and potatoes. But it’s us that ultimately give them their meaning.

Piero

■Marina Abramović, Portrait with Potatoes, 2008. Courtesy Galerie Krinzinger.

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THE BEST QUOTE

✦ Michael Pollan,  Cooked, a DIY Manifesto.

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THE MISSING INGREDIENT

TRUE IMPATIENCE IS WANTING DESSERT FOR DINNER

«I’m an impatient woman, the kind of woman that likes dessert for dinner». That’s the terrific line by the super-posh-diplo-villain Lesley Manville in Prime Video’s new series Citadel.

«In an ideal world, I’d eat dessert after every meal», says Washington Post’s Eat Voraciously newsletter editor G. Daniela Galarza (tip: subscribe now, you’ll love it).

All that reminded me of when, eons ago, a friend of mine most successful “move” with girls was offering an ice-cream cake for lunch, or dinner (he went with the store-bought one, but here you have some ★recipes).

In my book, a dessert can never replace a proper meal. Fast can replace a proper meal, not a croissant, not a cherry pie, not even a double chocolate banoffee butterscotch cheesecake (yes, the latter has the power to replace a full week of meals!).

The point is: what’s in the mind of dessert-attracted people? Is it impatience, a sweet tooth, or what?

Ideas are welcome, I’m sure you have some. I’ll be happy if you reply to this email.

■Citadel / Prima Video

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THE BOOK

Cakes for Falling in Love

★★★

It’s the week of King Charles' Coronation and, even if it may seem inappropriate, we’re talking about the latest book by the woman who created the wedding cake for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. London Violet Bakery’s Claire Ptak has 75 new sweet and savory creations for you, baking-addict, including Huckleberry Basil Sugar Scones, Peaches and Cream Angel Food Cake and Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies (★recipe). Bonus track: her 15 Best Baking Tips and Tricks.

Love is a Pink Cake by Claire Ptak
→ Shortplot: 🍰 🪻 🎂 🇬🇧

❍ OnlyPans
This is where Secret Breakfast picks juicy content from food creators

Embedded reels look a bit awful here, sorry for that. The idea of a 5000% hydration sourdough just made me laugh.

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RANDOM ACTS OF HUNGER

This is the space where I share some food (un)related stuff of my week

⚖You’ll Never Lose Weight if You’re Still Eating These 11 Things 🧂Add a Pinch of Salt to Your Coffee 🥖Adieu Bread Basket, Hello to the Bread Course 🥜 Tom Aikens’ Flourless Courgette and Peanut Butter Brownies (★recipe) 🐄India’s Beef with Beef 🍷Drops of God sounds like Succession, but with wine 🥢It’s Bao London Moment: founder Erchen Chang is on the cover of Courier magazine ( and before there was Semaine, video) 🍲Changua, the Columbian Bread and Egg Soup (★recipe) 🧪Food Scientist Breaks Down Every Oreo Ingredient (video) 🥐Some “easier” hardcore baking: Natasha’s Cruffins, Hybrid Method (★recipe) 🤢Please, take the food disgust test and read on

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FOOD FOR LATER

Taco Bell’s Innovation Kitchen, the Front Line in the Stunt-Food Wars
Antonia Hitchens / The New Yorker

Fast food is assembly, not cooking. Then, if you’re Taco Bell, you need a Thomas Edison of tortillas. Here’s the story of her.

Is It Actually Disgusting Food or Is It Just Your Brain?
Kat Kinsman / Food & Wine

According to a new para-scientific test, peole’s disgust concerning food can be broken into eight distinct scales. And, as Kat Kinsman writes, plenty of disgust is rooted in cultural exposure.

➤ Last week's most clicked link was this: the free 15 min daily stretch routine to help you avoid aches and pains. And that's all for today.