From pastizzi in Velbert to pastizzi in Rabat

Tacky, tacky, tacky – with so many young and not so young Maltese chefs and entrepreneurs working night and day to develop excellent, contemporary catering concepts in good surroundings, the Prime Minister and Michelle take three European prime ministers for tea in a glass and pastizzi at is-Serkin in Rabat, scene of 5am brawls involving Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando and Franco Debono. It’s the usual Maltese error of thinking that the stuff we find cute and homey on our own island is going to have the same connotations for everyone else. It doesn’t. If I were a guest of some winemaker in Sicily (to draw some kind of equivalent parallel as I am not a politician) and they took me to some horrid, cheap arancini place for lunch or elevenses, I would be insulted – and yes, it would be an insult and no proper host would ever do that to a guest.