By Jeanni Ritchie
I immediately started singing the minute I walked into Papabubble, my childhood dream of wishing I’d found a Golden Ticket like Veruca Salt pushing its way to the forefront of my brain.
The Candy Man can…
Jesse Cushman is Houston’s own Candy Man, mixing and pouring and twisting up candy in his shop in Houston Heights.
Houston’s Papabubble is the only one in America, the 20-year old Barcelona-originated chain in 11 countries and 30 locations today. It was created out of a passion for reviving and building upon the ancient artisanal process of candy making.
It was as if I’d gotten a tour of Willy Wonka’s factory from Willy Wonka himself. Cushman demonstrated the candy-making process and all the various techniques in creating different types of candy.
Then I got to make my own candy! Choosing orange, yellow, red, I poured and swirled and pulled and shaped. taught me how to make candy lips then shared the story of a recent Swiftie-themed party where a group of tween girls made red lip candy and sang to popular Taylor tunes. A day late and a few decades long…I hate that I missed that experience!!
Papabubble is a popular afterschool hangout as well. Kids drift in when the dismissal bell rings, looking for a sweet treat after a long day. Some come back with friends for candy-making classes.
Like the one I took! I made a candy snake, a spiral sucker, chopped up pieces of hard candy (a great pick-me-up on long drives, I later discovered) and a giant lollipop.
I tasted the candy while it was still warm (delicious!!) and left with a huge bag of cooled and packaged candy. At this point, I was Veruca Salt on a sugar high.
I wanted it all and I wanted it now!
Jeanni Ritchie is a freelance travel writer from Central Louisiana with a wicked sweet tooth! She can be reached at jeanniritchie54@gmail.com.
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