SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- People buzz with excitement to get their hands on a paczek. But of course, weeks if not months of preparation have led up to this point.
"I would describe it as the single busiest day of the year. Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, are all major holidays for us. So those, I would say, are the three, three main holidays, however, paczki is its own beast."
I spoke to Adriana Macri-Luczkowski, head of operations and PR at Macri’s Bakery in downtown South Bend, and she tells me the polish staple has made it into hearts and bellies around Michiana for many years now, coming in a variety of flavors and ways of preparation. But whatever you do, do not call it just another donut.
"So, the way that the paczki are prepared, and the ingredients that are used in a paczki are very different than ingredients that are used in a, in a traditional donut. And if you taste one somewhere, and you don't taste that, that it's different than you, you're going to the wrong place."
But in the end, wherever you get your paczki is the right place, thanks to the hard work, ingredients, and care put into every single one in every bakery around Michiana
"I know any other bakeries out there that are also doing this, it's hard work, and everybody's putting a lot of extra hours in and extra time. I think there's a lot of really awesome tradition around paczki in South Bend, and I think that's a really important thing to remember. It keeps us, keeps us working and keeps us working hard, because we know that customers really appreciate it and they value the time of year."
Paczki will be on sale throughout the rest of the week at Macri’s so if you missed out on the Fat Tuesday celebration, you still have a little time to pick some up.