The day that a mouth-watering croissant got me drenched.

Located in a quiet square in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, Blé Sucré undoubtedly bakes one of the best croissants in the world – and certainly the best I’ve ever tasted. While the golden crust is flaky, the inside is moist and fluffy. This mix of texture is the result of a labor-intensive process known as laminating, which, here is mastered with an extra layer of perfection. But tasting Blé Sucré croissants can be as challenging as baking them, due to the long lines that start forming early in the morning. Which is why I set the alarm for 7am, woke up my wife and my sister – they weren’t happy at all – and headed to the bakery. Did I mention the heavy rain? The freezing temperatures in December? Or the violent protests that were going on in Paris back then? Yep, a perfect croissant comes with layers and more layers of complexity. To my surprise, by the time we got there, there was no line and the tables were all empty, due to the reasons I just mentioned. It was hard to believe that, after years of obsession with this layered bread, I caught myself with a whole batch of what is considered one of the best croissants in Paris. We placed our order and sat at a table outside under a small umbrella, which wasn’t enough to protect the three of us from the rain. And that’s how a mouth-watering croissant got me drenched.