Pancake Day masterclass

In our most recent Masterclass, in partnership with Great British Chefs, Chef Jérôme Pendaries teamed up with Michelin-starred Chef Tom Brown to celebrate Pancake Day! The chefs’ delicious crêpes were the perfect sweet treat to get us in the spirit for Shrove Tuesday.

Our lucky guests had the opportunity to cook along with these amazing chefs and learn how to professionally execute the dishes that they had created exclusively for our Masterclass. First up, Chef Tom Brown, head chef at Outlaw’s at The Capital Hotel who made pancakes with rhubarb, almonds and clotted cream. Starting with the pancakes, Chef Tom added ginger to the basic Scotch or American style batter, a classic complimentary flavour to the sharp, tangy rhubarb. He also ensured our guests properly rested their pancake mix which meant every pancake was velvety and delicate, not chewy.

To compliment these gorgeous, fluffy pancakes was a rhubarb compote. Chef Tom used forced rhubarb, which is in season from December to March and is grown indoors by candlelight. It grows so quickly you can hear it squeaking as it stretches upwards! To add to the strong taste of rhubarb, a diced apple was added for sweetness, and ginger beer to continue the running through of this flavour.

Next came the fun part for our guests – frying the pancakes! This ritual is always a source of amusement on Pancake Day, and our guests definitely took it in their stride, with perfect flips across the kitchen – not a folded over pancake in sight! Once they were all ready, our guests then assembled their delicious creations, layer upon layer of pancakes, a healthy serving of the vibrant pink rhubarb compote, and finished with a dollop of decadent clotted cream.

In order to compliment the amazing food, our Wine Development Manager, Matthieu Longuère MS paired the dish with a dry Normandy cider - Sydre Argelette, Eric Bordelet, Chateau de Hauteville, Normandie, France 2014. Here is what Matthieu had to say about the pairing:

“This unique dry cider is bursting with fresh apple flavour and really very refreshing, the balance more related to wine than your average cider. Although it is not a sweet cider, it is so ripe and fruity that it is not going to clash with the compote and its crisp acidity will refresh the palate in between bites.”

After our guests had completed their dishes, Chef Jérôme demonstrated how to make his culinary creation; Blackcurrant Crêpe Soufflé. To make this two part dessert, Chef Jérôme firstly made some thin and traditional, French-style crêpes before getting to work on the soufflé filling. He then showed our guests how to make his blackcurrant purée, thickened with corn flour and heightened with a touch of crème de cassis. Next he made a French style meringue, and mixed a third through with the blackcurrant purée. The remaining meringue was also folded through, before being transferred to a piping bag. He then piped the soufflé mix into the folded crêpes, before baking for a few minutes until the crêpe was golden brown and the soufflé just cooked through.

To serve, Chef Jérôme dusted with icing sugar, and poured over a mascarpone coulis – which is simply mascarpone, mixed through with some lemon zest, vanilla seeds and a simple sugar syrup. The mascarpone is the perfect sweet and creamy sauce to cut through the sharp blackcurrants.

Chef Jérôme's crêpes were delicious and the perfect end to a great evening, and hopefully we've inspired you to create some delectable pancakes tonight too - or visit Café Le Cordon Bleu and try out our limited edition chocolate and cherry crêpes that have a rich mascarpone and orange zest filling.