Crêpe Suzette

Flambéed citrus Crêpe Suzette

Crêpe Suzette with raspberries

Crêpe Suzette (pronounced: [kʁɛp syzɛt]) is a French dessert consisting of a crêpe with beurre Suzette, (pronounced: [bœʁ syzɛt]), a sauce of caramelized sugar and butter, tangerine or orange juice, zest, and Grand Marnier or orange Curaçao liqueur on top, served flambé.^[1]

Preparation

The most common way to make Crêpe Suzette is to pour liqueur (usually Grand Marnier) over a freshly cooked crêpe with sugar and light it. This will make the alcohol in the liqueur evaporate, resulting in a fairly thick, caramelised sauce. In a restaurant, a Crêpe Suzette is often prepared in a chafing dish in full view of the guests.

Origins

The origin of the dish and its name is somewhat disputed. One claim is that the dish was created out of a mistake made by a fourteen year-old assistant waiter Henri Charpentier in 1895 at the Maitre at Monte Carlo's Café de Paris. He was preparing a dessert for the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, and his companion Princess Suzanne (daughter of Edward, Prince of Wales, who was the son of Queen Victoria). It was his favourite meal.

This is told by Henri Charpentier himself in Life a la Henri, his autobiography,^[2] although later contradicted by the Larousse dictionary.

It was quite by accident as I worked in front of a chafing dish that the cordials caught fire. I thought It was ruined. The Prince and his friends were waiting. How could I begin all over? I tasted it. It was, I thought, the most delicious medley of sweet flavors I had ever tasted. I still think so. That accident of the flame was precisely what was needed to bring all those various instruments into one harmony of taste . . . He ate the pancakes with a fork; but he used a spoon to capture the remaining syrup. He asked me the name of that which he had eaten with so much relish. I told him it was to be called Crêpes Princesse. He recognized that the pancake controlled the gender and that this was a compliment designed for him; but he protested with mock ferocity that there was a lady present. She was alert and rose to her feet and holding her little skirt wide with her hands she made him a curtsey. 'Will you,' said His Majesty, 'change Crêpes Princesse to Crêpes Suzette?' Thus was born and baptized this confection, one taste of which, I really believe, would reform a cannibal into a civilized gentleman. The next day I received a present from the Prince, a jeweled ring, a panama hat and a cane.

Different sources (like the Larousse Gastronomique) however doubt that Charpentier was serving the prince instead of the head waiter because he would have been too young.

The other claim states Crêpe Suzette was named in honor of French actress Suzanne Reichenberg (1853–1924),^[3] who worked professionally under the name Suzette. In 1897, Suzette appeared in the Comédie Française in the role of a maid, during which she served crêpes on stage. Monsieur Joseph, owner of Restaurant Marivaux, provided the crêpes . He decided to flambé the thin pancakes to attract the audience's attention and keep the food warm for the actors consuming them. M. Joseph was subsequently director of the Paillard Restaurant in Paris and was later with the Savoy Hotel in London.

In 1896, Oscar Tschirky published the recipe as "Pancakes, Casino Style" with everything in place except the final flambée. This appears on page 629 of his book published in New York, The Cook Book by "Oscar" of the Waldorf.

The dish was already a speciality of the French restaurant Marie's by 1898 (Paris Vécu, L.Daudet, 1929).

References in popular culture

Music

• In the song "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream", Bob sings, "I ordered some suzette, I said 'Could you please make that crêpe'."
• In the George Jones & Tammy Wynette duet "We're Not the Jet Set", they sing "The Jones and Wynette set / Ain't the flamin' suzette set."

In print

• Crepe Suzette is the name of a character in the Strawberry Shortcake series of books and cartoons.
• In the Terry Pratchett novel Witches Abroad, the dish (identified as "Crap suzette") is served to Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and Magrat Garlick, who think they are getting a plate of ordinary pancakes. Granny (who takes a dim view of foreign food) sees the dish finished and says "Oh, now he expects us to eat them. He only goes and sets fire to them, and he still expects us to eat them!"

Onscreen

Film

• In the movie Darling Lili, Julie Andrews, playing a German Spy in WWI, attempts to learn the details of "Operation Crêpe Suzette" from English pilot Rock Hudson.
• In the movie Gummo, one boy asks his friend Solomon if he has ever had Crêpe Suzette as Solomon loads dead cats into a garbage bag.
• Didi Pickles in Rugrats in Paris: The Movie says that, upon coming to France, she expected to eat Crepes Suzette instead of the Japanese cuisine the family was served their first night in Paris.
• In the film Talladega Nights, Jean Gerrard (Sasha Baron Cohen) attempts to make Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) say that he loves crêpes. Despite Bobby refusing to say it and having his arm broken by Gerrard, they both agree that they enjoy Crêpe Suzettes.
• In the movie Trading Places, Coleman the butler makes Crêpes Suzette for Louis and Penelope to set the mood for the film.

Television

• In the Hogan's Heroes episode "The Pizza Parlor", Corporal LeBeau prepares Crêpe Suzette for his comrades while giving Sergeant Schultz a sample.
• In the The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air episode "Community Action", Alec claims he would have made crêpe suzettes if they had Grand Marnier.
• In the episode titled "Cobra Soundwaves", of the G.I. Joe cartoon, Roadblock prepares Crêpe Suzette to celebrate a victory.
• In Lost in Space Season 1: Episode 5, "There Were Giants in the Earth", after Dr. Smith is confronted by Maj. West in the Jupiter 2's lower level dining area about Will's safety from the robot, Dr. Smith reacts by stating that he is preparing Crêpe Suzette: "Ahh, Major West, just in time to test a culinary marvel. The Crêpe Suzette, Enrique Ugarte de Pari, which I learned at the feat of a master."
• In the M*A*S*H episode "The Life You Save", Hawkeye Pierce, while attempting to make French toast for the entire camp, asks the cook for vanilla. The cook sardonically replies, "Sorry, I used it all last night in the Crêpe Suzette."
• In an episode of Pinky and the Brain set in 19th century France, as part of a plan to assassinate Napoleon (and take his place), the Brain alters the recipe for crêpe suzette by adding an extra ingredient which causes the dish to explode when ignited. In the end, his plan literally blows up in his face.
• The theme song to The Patty Duke Show states: "Where Cathy adores a minuet, The Ballets Russes, and crêpe suzette, Our Patty loves to rock and roll, A hot dog makes her lose control -- What a wild duet!"
• In the The Simpsons episode "Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Three Times", Homer murders Moe by turning him into a large version of the dish.
• In the Strangers with Candy episode "Yes, You Can't", during a career aptitude test administered by Chuck Noblet, Jerri Blank claims her favorite food is crêpe suzette. However Chuck Noblet's lie detector discovers this claim is, in fact, false and her actual favorite food is meat balls.
• The televised cartoon series, TaleSpin, takes place in a fictional town called Cape Suzette.
• In the FX original animated comedy series Archer, Archer tries ordering Crêpe Suzette at the strip club to cure his cancer but winds up getting side tracked.
• In the first episode of series two of "Downton Abbey", Ethel enquires if she could have some Crêpe Suzette that Mrs. Patmore was preparing for the house.
• In "Phineas and Ferb" season two, episode 39, Roller-coaster: The Musical, a french vendor asks everyone on the roller coaster, "Crêpe Suzette?" and Phineas responds by saying, "Hey Suzette, want a crêpe?"

References

1. ^ Courtine, Robert J. (1984), Larousse gastronomique (French edition), Paris: Librairie Larousse.
2. ^ Charpentier, Henri & Sparkes, Boyden (2001), Life À La Henri - Being The Memories of Henri Charpentier, New York: The Modern Library, Paperback Edition. Originally published by Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1934.
3. ^ Claiborne, Craig (1994) Craig Claiborne's The New York Times Food Encyclopedia, Random House Value Publishing.

External links

• Recipe (in French)
• Recipe (in English)
• An orange being flambéed over a Crêpe Suzette (YouTube video)
• Restaurant Reflet In this famous Dutch restaurant in Amsterdam the crepes are prepared at tableside.