On Enchantment

When I was little, my sister used to read to me. I may have been between the ages of 5 and 8, and my sister between 12 and 15, when she read the Chronicles of Narnia by chapter every evening. I remember that the stories she read had a great impact on my fantasy play at the time, full of secret doors and professors, and hidden lands. Since of course there is a very special character in the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe named Lucy, I remember it best. I was very young at the time, and completely enthralled. A few months ago, while browsing the stacks at Lyon's English language bookstore, I saw the Chronicles of Narnia offered in one thick volume and decided to read all of the stories in full. What a lovely fantasy series.

"It is dull, Son of Adam, to drink without eating," said the Queen presently. "What would you like best to eat?"

Turkish Delight, please, your Majesty."

The Queen let another drop fall from her bottle onto the snow, and instantly there appeared a round box, tied with a green silk ribbon, which, when opened, turned out to contain several pounds of Turkish Delight. Each piece was sweet and light to the very centre and Edmund had never tasted anything more delicious. He was quite warm now, and very comfortable.

I remember the image that was produced in my child's mind of this Turkish Delight, something I had never tasted or seen before. In my mind, Turkish Delight was my grandmother Cille's Divinity. I found it quite believable that Edmund was completely lured and seduced by this enchanted candy from the Witch in the story. It wasn't until I was fully an adult that I happened upon a real box of Turkish delight, purchased while in Istanbul. A different animal altogether. For the story's purpose, Divinity worked quite nicely. My imagination filled the blanks. This time around, as an adult re-reading the story, Cille's Divinity once again found its place in my mind's eye and gave me a whopping dose of comfort and pleasure.

As children, our concept of gourmandise and those things we consider good to eat are always firmly planted in our experience. Remember this when you introduce your children to cooking. May every child on this earth have their experience of Cille's Divinity, or Turkish Delight, Fraise Tagada, fudge, Toll House cookies, guimauve, or whatever pleases and amazes them to the level of enchantment.