The best choc-chip cookie in the world.

The White House Art Gallery and Coffee Shop in Parys. Home of the world's best choc-chip cookie.

On Sunday I tasted the best choc-chip cookie in the world.
I may be exaggerating, as I obviously have not tasted every choc-chip cookie ever made -- although I've tried hard to reach that lofty goal and have the waist-line to prove it.
Choc-chip cookies are my drug of choice and while Mrs White Ou makes a mean CCC -- maybe the second best in the world now -- I regret to say, I have found biscuit Nirvana.
The biscuit in question, that I came across completely by accident, can be found in Parys, a little town on the banks of the Vaal River, about an hour-and-a-half's drive south of Johannesburg and I came across it completely by accident.
My son and I planned to give our motorcycles a run and Parys sounded like a nice turning point. In years gone by I've passed through the town, on my way to other destinations but never stopped.

Delightful little hamlet

I'm glad I changed that. It is a delightful little hamlet, with streets lined by quaint coffee shops, art galleries and antique shops. We spent a pleasant morning strolling through the down and, in one of the shops, I picked up a pristine Kodak Retina IIc camera, complete with leather case, for R250 (about $30). Made somewhere around 1955, the little gem needs to be serviced and lubricated -- standard procedure for cameras of that vintage -- that will cost another R250.
Once done, I will have a precision German instrument, equipped with one of the finest lenses ever made, that will certainly outlast me. (To read more about my passion for German life-shuttered cameras visit my photographic blog, The Light Stuff.)
But back to the choc-chip cookie.
We pulled into Parys, cold, wind-blown and keen to find a good cup of coffee.
We chose an establishment called "The White House Art Gallery and Coffee Bar", for no reason other than it was close to where we'd parked. It turned out to be a good choice...perhaps it was destiny...because it was there that I found THE cookie.

No fanfare

There was no big fanfare upon arrival at our table and no prior indication of what was to come. We did not order it, it was just part of the package that is a cup of coffee at The White House.
But when I bit into it...!
It's difficult to adequately describe a taste experienced to someone else, but I guess you want me to take a shot.
The biscuit was harder than the usual limp, somewhat soggy, offerings so often encountered in coffee shops. It snapped when bitten, rather than crumbled. It's texture was coarser than expected, sort of like a health biscuit and it was sweet but not overly so.
The embedded choc-chips were large and generous but it was the other flavours that grabbed my attention...pecan nut and a hint of marzipan.
The producer of this sublime confectionery turned out to be the establishment-owner, Annette Dannhauser, an artist whose work adorns the walls. In search of a quieter, more tranquil life, she and accountant husband, Jannie, moved to the village from Johannesburg, although he still commutes to and from the "big smoke" every day.
We spent a very pleasant hour chatting about the town, things to see and life in general and, on their recommendation, I will return to visit the nearby Vredefort Dome, World Heritage site.
I left with two packets of the world's best choc-chip cookies and a promise that I'll be back soon.
I have no doubt this article will get flour up the noses of some bakers, maybe even spark a choc-chip cookie war -- fire away, I can take it -- but until I am proven wrong, Annette Dannhauser's biscuit will hold the position of "best in the world"
...at least in my opinion and on this blog.

Details of the White House Art Gallery and Coffee Shop.
33 Bree Street, Parys. Tel (+27) 056-817-2889
www.annettedannhauser.co.za

Some other views of Parys and the Vaal River: