Deep fried heaven at the end of the earth
June 15th, 2009 by David Entwistle Posted in Fun, Miscellaneous
One of the curious symptoms of Perth’s isolation (3000 km from Sydney, same from Jakarta, pretty much the opposite position on the globe to New York) is that some things take on a significance far greater than their value.
Today Ash brought Krispy Kreme doughnuts to the church. If you don’t live in Perth, you may think this is no big deal. If you do live in Perth, you realise that this is a HUGE deal. The reason for this is that you can’t buy Krispy Kreme doughnuts in Perth. Ash had to fly to Sydney and back again, with a huge box on his lap, so we could eat Krispy Kreme this morning.
Now you may say, fair enough, Krispy Kreme are pretty good, and if you don’t get to eat them often, it may be a bit special when you do. If you are thinking this, you are obviously not from Perth, because you are underestimating the excitement that Krispy Kreme cause by a factor of at least a thousand.
A couple of weeks ago, my friend Bobby went to Melbourne. Another friend, Aloysius, told Bobby that if he did nothing else in Melbourne, he must bring back Krispy Kreme, and that money would be wired directly for the purpose. When the doughnuts arrived, Aloysius screamed and ran around in circles. Seriously.
This is not unusual. That’s how significant Krispy Kreme doughnuts are in Perth. The strange thing is that, on their own, Krispy Kreme don’t warrant this kind of reaction. They may be good, as far as doughnuts go – they may be the finest doughnuts in the world – but doughnuts can only go so far. There’s not a doughnut in the world that warrants the excitement a Krispy Kreme will generate in Perth.
So why the excitement? Is it the exoticism? The mystique of the unreachable? I’m not sure. Many have stated hypotheses involving secret additives, even narcotics. These things could all be part of it, but there must be more to it. I’ve never seen anyone in Perth go anywhere near as nuts for Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups or a copy of the Times. What is it about Krispy Kreme? And more importantly, what does it say about a city when its idea of heaven is a deep fried dessert?
Photo by kfisto via Flickr
5 Responses to “Deep fried heaven at the end of the earth”
By Jon Rumble on Jun 15, 2009
Dave, this is too true… There’s a facebook group devoted to bringing Krispy Kreme to Perth with over 15,000 members.
But you really can’t compare Krispy Kreme to Reece’s cups, that’s like comparing Gold Class at the cinema to watching a movie on your iPod on a train…
By James Bennett on Jun 16, 2009
I’m with you on this one Dave. Krispy Kreme are good, but they are definitely not that good.
To add to the “unreachable mystique” of Krispy Kreme, I’ve heard conspiracy theories that Donut King bought the franchise rights to Krispy Kreme in Perth in order to control competition.
Perhaps the obsession is just another aspect of Sandgroper resentment towards those “evil” Eastern States who always get a better deal than WA?
By David Entwistle on Jun 16, 2009
Jon, you sound like you should be a member of that fb group, with your gold class/ipod analogies!
James, always love a conspiracy theory. You’re probably right about resentment. It’s like when you’re a little kid and all you want is to drink coffee, even if you don’t like coffee, cos your big brother is allowed to but you’re not.
Also, thanks Ash for the doughnuts. They were very tasty!
And also, I should mention that names in the post have been changed to protect the guilty. Just in case you thought me strange for having a friend named Aloysius.
By Brian on Jun 16, 2009
I did think it strange that you had a friend named Aloysius, as they are our closest neighbouring “church”. I have lived in New York, the home of the Krispy Kreme Doughnut, have visited the Eastern States many times, and have travelled the world extensively and repeatedly. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts hold little mystique for me, they have mostly been readily available when I have wanted them. And yet I still have a Krispy Kreme t-shirt, and a Krispy Kreme box framed hanging on my wall. It’s just that they’re that good.
By Catering Sydney on Jul 29, 2010
I just luv Krispy Kreme, although I am lucky to be in sydney, So, I don’t have to wait for long to eat those delicious donuts. I feel, there must be some legal issue, otherwise they would be definitely be there in perth for you guys!