Only a few short months ago, Marcus baked nothing but greasy, uninspired donuts. Now that The Bear has gone through a major glow-up from sandwich shop to fine-dining restaurant, so has he. Marcus makes tarts, pies, and elaborate desserts—but he never stops learning.
One day, he spots a word in head chef Carmy’s notebook: “legerdemain.” “It’s French for ‘sleight of hand,'” Carmy explains. “Ahh, magic,” Marcus goes. “Yeah. To push a dish further.”
Being the sponge that he is, Marcus immediately begins soaking up Youtube videos about the topic. In one of them, a narrator explains why “real” magic is harder to conjure than cheap tricks in a card game: “What makes magic different is that it’s inherently honest. You tell someone you’re gonna deceive them before you deceive them. In some way, that makes it more difficult.”
Nobody likes being duped at a high-stakes game of poker, but when you go see Hans Klok, Mr. Copperfield, or David Blaine, you fully expect to be lied to. You want to be. Deep down, you’ll know at all times: This lady is not really being sawed in half. But between that truth and what you see on stage, there’s a tension, and the space between the two is filled with wonder.
Unless the visuals are compelling, however, the whole construction falls apart—and compelling visuals are extra challenging when the audience is in on the trick: “Physics won’t allow this. So how can this look so real?” This is, quite literally, where the magic happens.
For Marcus’ new calling, that means elevating his desserts not just in terms of variety and taste but turning them into an experience as stunning as a magic show. Can you make a dessert that looks like an apple but tastes like a pear? Can you serve a piña colada ice cream that brings the drink to life in your mouth in an entirely new way? What about collapsing chocolate domes, hidden elements, and flavors that only activate once you add the right drink? Adding such honest lies to his craft is what’ll take Marcus’ patisserie skills to the next level.
That’s the kind of magic we can make with human hands: honest lies. A gripping novel. A stunning movie. An eclair with an unexpected filling. And though it might not be the kind of witchcraft we ultimately long for, it goes a long way in making both others and ourselves feel enchanted.
Don’t knock the craft. Tell honest lies. Make magic.