From bakery to farmers’ market, it takes commitment and shamelessness to grab a piece of something you have no intention of buying
There’s only one thing better than a Danish pastry and that’s a free Danish pastry. Until recently such things didn’t feature greatly in my life, but now Denmark’s fancy bakery chain Ole & Steen has begun rolling itself out across London and everything has changed. As well as reasonable coffee and a fine line in open sandwiches, they will insist on offering platters piled high with chopped-up pieces of their finest bakery product to nibble on for free while you wait: flaky pastry, a filling of lightly spiced apple, decorated with a scribble of white icing. What’s not to like?
This has given me cause to think deeply about one of the most profound issues facing those of us who eat food: the etiquette around snaffling free samples. The Danes are famously polite, trusting souls. Doubtless at home, their customers pick a single piece, take their coffee and go. But I’m not Danish, and nobody has ever referred to me as Jay “Restraint” Rayner. Frankly, if no one’s watching too closely, I can scarf the equivalent of a whole Danish in the gap between saying “A white Americano, please” and “Thank you”.
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