Nostalgia is a strong longing for things from the past. Food nostalgia is when that longing takes our minds back to the times of some simple but unique taste experiences. Many of these are times from our childhood where we ate things with strange names. An example of is the “MoonPie”. This brain child of the Chattanooga Baking Company has been copied by many, but there’s nothing with a taste like the original.

On my travels around town I came across the Angel Food Bakery and Stephanie Samuels. As I get older I’m starting to notice that my memory works in a delayed fashion. Once I met her and we spoke I realized that I recognized Stephanie from her appearance on the Food Network Challenge. I was already hooked by her bake shop and the retro theme using toy ovens as a key part of the decor. As I sat and ate my lunch I was entranced by the display of cupcakes.

Looking at the colorful hand-iced cupcakes reminded me of the feeling I had as a kid when I opened a new box of Crayola Crayons. All of the colors so clean, neat, and perfect made it hard for me to choose which one I wanted to use first. Looking at the cupcakes was a two-edge sword. I didn’t know which one I wanted to photograph and taste first.