One of the most recognisable crepe dishes in the world, Crepe Suzette is a dish comprised of a thin dessert pancake served with an orange, butter and brandy sauce and flambéed, usually at the table. The theatricality is one of its major draws but the unusual combination of tart citrus and the sweet sauce has also cemented the boozy dessert as a favourite for many.
According to legend, the creation of Crepe Suzette was a complete accident. It was 1895 at the Café de Paris in Monte Carlo where Prince Edward of Wales was a regular patron. The heir to the throne was paying a visit to this frequented restaurant with a friend and his daughter and was to be the catalyst for the crepes creation. On that fateful day, 15-year-old Henri Charpentier was playing the role of assistant waiter and was called upon to serve the royal guest.
One of the courses that the kitchen had decided to showcase that day was their crepes which were cooked in the kitchen and then finished with a sauce made from orange peel, sugar, and a combination of liqueurs in a chaffing dish in front of the guests. It was while young Henri was warming the crepes in the sauce that it caught fire and unexpectedly flambeed the dish.
The extra char and dramatic presentation both appealed to the Prince and his guests. In his delight, Prince Edward enquired about the name of the dish and how Henri would go about naming his new creation. Charpentier offered ‘Crepes Princesse’, but Prince Edward instead suggested naming it after his friend’s young daughter, Suzette. And thus a classic was born.
Henri Charpentier went on to be a world-famous chef and in his memoirs, he wrote of the evening adding, “Thus was born and baptized this confection, one taste of which, I really believe, would reform a cannibal into a civilized gentleman.” A lofty claim for a dessert, but one that it seems to be living up to.
Charpentier’s tale is often disputed with many thinking it more likely that at 15 he was simply a bystander to the event rather than the server allowed to wait upon the crown Prince. Some more risque versions of the tale also suggest that Suzette wasn’t a child at all but one of the Prince’s consorts. Another chef by the name of Monsieur Joseph claims that he invented the dish for the German actress, Suzanne “Suzette” Reichenhurg but even this claim has a variety of renditions.
Some say there was a play running at the time in which the character of the maid, named Suzette, served the rest of the characters pancakes and Monsieur Joseph was the daily provider of these pancake props. Another account alleges that the dish was ideated by a chef named Jean Reboux who was asked by Princess Suzette de Carignan to make the dish for King Louis XV as a token of her affection.
A child, a mistress, an actress, a maid or a princess, it seems like nobody will truly ever know who Suzette really was. But even so, the dish itself has gained a level of global recognition and become a standard part of French classic cuisine forever.
