Pastel de Nata: A bite-sized encouragement for teachers
On Friday as I stood at the bakery counter in the supermarket a young boy 
joined me. I would say he was about 7 years old. He ignored the chocolate mice, the iced monkeys and the jewelled gingerbread biscuits and pointing at glazed custard tarts told me:
‘Pastel de Nata are delicious. Have you tried them?’ I admitted that I hadn’t and asked him what language that was.
‘Oh it’s a portuguese recipe,’ he told me enthusiastically. ‘You really should try them.’
For a while as I waited for the baker to slice my loaves we discussed the various merits of other cakes on display. Then he turned to me and with a wistful look said: ‘It’s the holidays now you know.’ I nodded.
‘I cried a bit,’ he continued. ‘I’ll miss my teacher.’
The baker had sliced my loaves. As I turned away I heard my new young friend say: ‘A Pastel de Nata please.’ I think in the future the sight of those custard tarts will be a reminder of how significant a teacher is.
Have a great holiday, teachers! Prepare for a new year of significance in young lives!
Megan Patterson (CVE Scotland Vice-Chair)
[All blogs on our website are the personal view of the writer and do not necessarily represent a position taken by CVE Scotland.]
