I read a social media post that left me upset and disappointed. It was about yet another great idea that had to end. I had been following social media of a dessert place in the capital city of my home country for some time and always wanted to visit it. But since I do not live in my home country for more than 10 years now, I never got a chance to do so. But I was hopeful. I never really looked into the philosophy of the place, I always thought it was yet another café with brilliant concept. The place was called Dr. Dessert (Daktaras Desertas). Isn't it genius? I always thought that the name of the place had something to do with the fact that chocolate and sugar helps fight stress and brightens up the mood. But it turns out that the place was making and selling keto desserts! Let's have a look at Dr. Dessert aesthetics as marketing tool. First of all, the interior. Once you stepped into Dr. Dessert restaurant, you had to go to reception, a.k.a. counter. The reception was the place where you would have gotten your "prescribed" medication and potion, a.k.a. dessert and drink of your choice. Then you would have enjoyed it in optician's office, x-ray room, or in examination room. The place was jam packed in minimalist way of medicine related accessories and interior décor. Secondly, the staff. The staff was wearing long white jackets that made them look like legit doctors. Sometimes they would wear stethoscopes around their necks, face masks, surgical gloves, etc. And last, but not least, the packaging. Most of their desserts, like tiramisus, panna cottas come in glass jars that can be (or could have been) returned or reused at home. And their gift voucher came in the most exciting "packaging" - their gift vouchers were called "Prescriptions" and they had Dr. Dessert's stamp and signature on them! How cool was that? Now, as you may have guessed, Dr. Dessert had to stop their restaurant side of business, but doctor has not stopped it's practice! You can still order desserts online or pop into "More" dessert shop in Vilnius and get them there.
Keto diet is relatively affordable. If you eat only main meals, like meat, vegetable, salad dishes, you will not notice any difference in your spending. But the second you start thinking snacks, pancakes, desserts, etc. that's were it gets expensive. In keto you have to use substitutes for flour, sugar, some of the products like pasta, rice. Most popular substitutes for flour are almond flour (£10/1kg) and coconut flour (£10/1kg), substitutes for sugar are a little bit less than £10 per 1kg. That was one of the "pricks" that was too painful for Dr. Dessert to take and they had to rethink their business plan. Ouch! Going back to substitutes, pasta and rice substitutes that I would occasionally use are palmini and they cost around £4 per 400g can. Another ingredient that you will need a lot in bread and dessert baking is eggs. I need 5 large eggs to make one small loaf of bread. You may also need flaxseeds as well. And yes, you will not find keto bread, snacks, desserts in bread department in your favourite supermarket, you will have to bake and make it yourself, and it will cost you dear. You also have to go through trial and error to find recipes that work for you, recipes that are worth to be repeated, recipes that you like. In this blog I will share keto recipes I tested, approved and make on repeat, so you do not have to waste expensive ingredients, like I did. After all, sharing is caring, right?