After these times of past enclosure and concern, we appreciate even more the value of the encounters and the beauty of travel. Fortunately, a writer friend, Nicola Lecca, recently published the novel The crystal train.

The protagonist is an ice cream apprentice who works at Morelli, a historic Italian ice cream parlor in Broadstairs, among the oldest in the United Kingdom. Really existing: Nicola is often inspired by places he visits firsthand. Today the ice cream shop also has a Harrod's corner.

How come an ice cream maker?

"I am very fond of ice cream," replied Nicola Lecca. “And then, as well as for the young bartender who is the protagonist of The pyramid of coffee, I wanted to choose the point of view of a humble person. But capable of creating delicacies, of knowing how to recognize and savor them with pleasure, as Aaron does in the novel ".

A journey through flavors

So let's start with Aaron to discover the capitals of Europe, where we can't physically go today, due to coronavirus. But a well-written book knows how to make you travel the same and Nicola uses words like a florist, chooses them first one by one and then puts them together in colorful and exciting bouquets, transporting you far and wide through the cities and emotions. Among the pages I also found those pleasures that have long been precluded: a tour of the markets, a lunch in a restaurant, a stop in a cafe. A red thread of perfumes, flavors, dishes, spices and sweets crosses the novel, confirming the centrality of the food for Nicola's pen, who always describes it with much love and meticulous detail, making it alive for all our senses.

Here, I'm ready, I have comfortable shoes and a bag: I'm leaving with Aaron, a young ice cream maker. I anticipate some of the delights that he encounters on his journey, after leaving the spinach with butter in his home in Broadstairs, England, browned "with chopped almonds and raisins".

In Hamburg Aaron tastes a "spicy green curry that will make him tear … Ginger, emerald peppers, okra and tiger prawns float harmoniously in a sea enclosed by a blue bowl."

In Prague, where the freshly fallen snow is "like a sugar crust, and breaks under the feet with the delicacy of meringues", stops in a cafe and orders "delicious sweets with pistachios, almonds and orange peel".

In Bratislavahungry, he wants the sweet "brimming with whipped cream and covered with caramel" that a pastry chef has just put on display.

In Zagreb Aaron immerses himself in the Dolac market, “a place overflowing with colors, scents and Eastern European charm. On the old counters, choreographically exposed, there are Istrian hams, green and pink lentils, walnuts, mint, dried porcini mushrooms, as well as a special bread mixed with lard and sesame seeds ". The market also continues outside and "Further on, just in front of the cathedral, Aaron sees the ancient pink of mountain potatoes, the golden of shelled walnuts and the ocher yellow of dried corn on the cob. There is the red of chilies – exposed in long braids. And there is the streaked white of freshly shelled beans. "

The next day, in a large hotel, a "ladies' breakfast" full of "a thousand delicacies that parade before him. Small croissants filled with gianduia cream, pistachio macaron, milk flan garnished with rose petals, cups filled with currants, salmon tartare, raspberries and champagne ".

After these tastings, all that remains is to find out what happens to Aaron during his gastronomic explorations. And if the Morelli ice cream shop intrigued you, plan a future trip to Broadstairs: honeycomb recommended flavor, a specialty invented at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Nicola Lecca,
The Crystal train
Mondadori, 18 euros
Available online and in e-books