Croissant with joie de vivre

While I walked the French section of the Camino in autumn 2026, people back in Denmark were discussing lower VAT on healthy foods.

That always provides some entertainment. First someone has to work out what a healthy food actually is. Then the rest of the country has to explain why they are wrong.

Meanwhile, I was sitting in a café overlooking a mountain peak, with a small coffee and a butter croissant.

That was when I realised how much of a meal is about the joy of living.

We can debate how healthy the croissant itself is. But there was no reason to question the pleasure of the coffee, the view and those crisp, buttery layers.

That is why we at MOLIN believe croissants should, at the very least, have half the VAT. Joy ought to count when we do the sums.

Butter, crisp layers and crumbs with a remarkable ability to find their way into your clothes.

Golden outside. Soft inside. With an aroma that makes it difficult to take an interest in the nutrition label.

The joy may vary with the view. We have done our part with the butter.

Order a small coffee. Find a seat with a view and leave your phone in your pocket.

Break off a piece of croissant and take your time eating it.

No mountain peak nearby? Start with the croissant. You have to start somewhere.

The idea arose in a café on the Camino while Denmark was trying to define health through a VAT rate.

With butter on our fingers, we felt something was missing from the calculation.

It was the joy.

Because someone should have stopped us.