Real Southern banana pudding made with Nilla Wafers is certainly a truly worthwhile culinary experience, but outside of this lone outlier, the world of pudding doesn’t necessarily pose too strong of a draw for those whose ages have long since crept into the double digits. The idea of pudding conjures up images of little boxes of chocolate, vanilla and tapioca powder. Or maybe at best, an auntie or neighbor who brought a rice or bread pudding with her to every retirement party, christening and wake when you were young.

I remember the Wendy’s salad bar buffet near my childhood row home in Philadelphia having a deep plastic bin of the chocolate stuff right there next to the iceberg lettuce and various ladles of thick, creamy salad dressings. Long story short, pudding isn’t exactly an exciting and vibrant part of the culinary world, where chefs are doing their imaginative best work.