The Strawberry Cake

I talk about a strawberry cake from my childhood in the book. My artist grandfather used to take me to museums in Japan, and it was our routine to have a cup of tea and a slice of strawberry cake. Years later, I was reintroduced to the same strawberry cake in the U.S. through my friends Brenda and Ted Jones. It was made by Chef Luc Beaudet of Douceur de France in Georgia, USA, and it brought the memories of my childhood. I have been in the U.S. since Feb. 4, and I had an opportunity to meet Chef Luc and tasted his cake again on Feb. 11. You will read about the huge surprise that day in the book.

Prior to my departure for the U.S. on Feb. 3, Jen, Murat, Shell, and Marc joined me for dinner at Il Teatro to celebrate my finishing the manuscript. They have heard about the strawberry cake from my childhood. I was going to surprise them by serving a strawberry cake, made by Pastry Chef Laurent at Four Seasons Doha. It turned out that Chef and Maxime, the manager of Il Teato, gave me a bigger surprise instead. Not only the chef made a beautiful strawberry cake, he also created a beautiful edible book, called “Mickie’s Memoir”. Inside the book were rows of fresh raspberries. Wow…… it was incredible!

I am still in the U.S.  On Feb. 17, I ended up in the emergency room at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta and am still there. If you have a special food you remember from your childhood, please post in the blog. I look forward to learning about your childhood memory. Mickie