better late than never: macarons are not macaroons

I spend too many lunchtimes sitting in the window of Sushi Monger gazing out at the French bakery opposite. When I’m not imagining a flash mob breaking into song in an attempt to make the morose sushi man crack a smile (a hot topic on twitter) I’m desperately attempting to resist the urge to march across the laneway to protest at the patisserie. Surely they’d be laughed out of their homeland if they displayed a sign proudly boasting the myriad of flavours their “macaroons” come in.

I thought they only come in one?

The bakery is not alone, it’s a common mistake. Just the other day I was entombed in a waiting room with no phone for amusement and forced to read out of date Women’s Weekly’s. The 2010 edition I glanced at celebrated the “macaroon” and, you guessed it, there wasn’t a skerrick of coconut to be seen.

An artist after my own heart has taken the macaron/macaroon debacle a step further and turned it into an art form. Though published last year, I only found it on a recent expedition to the Sticky Institute, despite multiple visits to the illustrious zine cave in the meantime.



It’s a joyous (and unusually long) collection of memoir, recipes and collage by Becksley Felix celebrating the misrepresented crunchy sweet treat. Proving her stripes as a macaron aficionado, she comes to the conclusion that Duncan is the seminal authority on the subject. Though strangely, he’s not even seen the zine. (Hint @Becksley you might like to send one to him).



At a ridiculously low price of $4 Macarons Are Not Macaroons is a humourous and informative read. There were rumours of a sequel. Anyone seen it?

Not in Melbourne? The zine is still available via the Sticky Institute’s mail department.




While new to me, this zine has received a heap of mentions elsewhere, including:
Eat, Drink, Stagger complete with the ganache debate and comments from the zine’s author.

Happiness is a warm Simon Gray.