Ernestine Ulmer, a writer born in the early 1900s once wrote:
“Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first.”
All I can say to that is - amen!
Mr Ulmer would undoubtedly have been a man of my heart, had I met him, just like Antoine Careme, the famous French patissier and Ben, or even Jerry. But while he is no longer with us, he has left us, sugar fiends and dessert-mads alike, with a quote that says it all.
Whilst living in LA, I wrote an article which began with this quote, as well as the origins of the word ‘dessert’ itself, which is taken from the French desservir, meaning ‘to clear the table’. While I won’t deny that dessert is the perfect cap off to a beautiful entrée and scrumptious main, I think Ernestine was onto something - in my world, at least.
So as I began this day with a piece of Polenta Cake, left over from a baking frenzy that seized me late last night, I thought what better quote to kick off the results of my Food Quote Challenge than with this one. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to track down which book or published article this quote was taken from nor when, so if you dig up any answers, please send them my way!
And for all you literary buffs and foodies rolled into one out there, more food quotes, fresh from the oven, arriving soon…
* I’d like to make a quick amendment to my post on Favourites, Firsts & Worsts of 2008 and add another favourite in advance for 2009 - this quote. In fact, I’m going to go all out and make it my new motto - this Polenta Cake couldn’t taste better and the day had just begun…
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I whole heartly agree, especially when there is ice cream involved.
What a great quote! When I went to the Deeks Cafe in Canberra I was so excited about the gluten free pancakes that I ordered them first. When I realised they weren’t a proper lunch it was really embarrassing to go back and order quiche aswell. Next time I’ll just quote Ernestine Ulmer :)
I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard this quote over the years and it got me thinking: who was Ernestine Ulmer? Even though she has been credited as a writer, she was only known for this one quote, which is odd I think. The most I could find out about her was that she was born in 1925 in Texas, married a man named Luther Guy Haggard, and had four children. I’ll keep digging though… :-)
Great blog, by the way!
Julia: You’ve done a great digging job so far - I couldn’t even track down whether she was a male or female! Thank you for clarifying this :) I find it strangely bizarre too that for all the times the quote is used, there’s not more information available on dear Ernestine - was she a ‘dessert mad’ or just a woman with great insight?! If you do find out anything else, I’d love to know!
Arwen: I’ve ordered dessert as my main many a times, much to the bewilderment or possible disapproval of wait staff… now we know how to stick it back to ‘em :)
Steve: I like your style.