Do you know what’s even more humbling than the failure that comes with ceramics and baking?

Hands down, it has to be trying to order food in a country where English is not the primary language. It definitely brings you down a notch. This bake is actually inspired by that exact situation; an embarrassing moment that happened all the way in back in 2019 in Italy.

We had just landed in Rome! It was 10am and even though we were beyond excited to start our new adventure, we were also already exhausted. We knew we had to somehow stay awake until the evening to help keep the jetlag at bay, but we weren’t allowed to check into our B&B until 2pm. So we decided to search for some much needed coffee. Luckily around the corner of our B&B was a cute little cafe called Gianfornaio’s. We piled in with our luggage ready to hunker down for a few hours. The smell of espresso and the glass cases filled with Italian pastries was the most welcoming sight I had ever seen. It took us all of 2 minutes to attempt to order something. After an incredibly awkward interaction, the server handed over two espressos and two Cornettos with vanilla pastry cream. I didn’t order the look of pure disappointment she gave us, but I took it anyway and washed it down with my espresso.

The best tip I can give if you haven’t gotten around to learning a different language is to just smile and point. Try your best to speak their language, and most importantly don’t take your self too seriously. You have to be able to laugh at yourself because there is nothing else you can do.

Despite our language inadequacies Italy was still one of the most incredible places I have ever visited. The art, the history, the food! Oh the food, I ate so much and yet somehow I was still constantly thinking about our next meal. Out of everything we did and saw on that vacation I think my absolute favorite part of the trip was what we happened upon during that very first morning in Rome. We just didn’t realize in the moment that it was the normal way of Italian life. See in Italy, breakfast isn’t a sit down at a table and wait for a server to come and take your order type of meal. Actually there may not be many tables to even sit down at. In the cafes we went to there was usually just a big counter with well dressed people standing around it, sophisticatedly drinking coffee. They didn’t spend too much time there, they drank, they ate, and they left. It takes them 5-8 min tops. Because Italians have places to be and things to do. It probably seems silly, but that was the one moment where I truly felt part of Italian culture.

So here is to an incredibly nostalgic bake, this Cornetto recipe does a great job of giving you a taste of what it is truly like, but it’s just a taste. You have to buy a plane ticket to get the real thing.

My recipe is from The Food in My Beard