UPDATE: Check out this fab video that was actually part of the Grade 4 curriculum a few years ago!
This term the Petits Chefs are testing out some of the recipes from my cookbook and this week, I had them work on something I’ve kind of been putting off as I’ve worked through the recipes. Crêpes might sound like a simple dish but there are so many variables in terms of the pans people use to cook them that I’ve been thinking of the best way to test this with the type of equipment most people have in their kitchens and of course, our humble science lab with basic equipment was the answer. Watching kids make a dish and seeing how they react to instructions/ recipe directions is also extremely useful in terms of figuring out how to explain simple instructions – it’s often the simplest recipes that are the hardest to explain!My motivation for making these with the boys started last year actually when a group of boys in my Grade 4 class elected to research crêpes as part of a French culture project. They wrote research questions and answered them (although I admit we never found out the answer to “Who was the very first person EVER to eat crêpes?” LOL) and decided they wanted to present their knowledge by making a recipe video and sharing the results of a cooking session with their classmates.
Last week, since it was La Chandeleur, I figured it was a great time to make those crêpes and we got cooking with three different batters (one recipe the boys had researched, two others I wanted to test!), filmed the entire process and enjoyed lots of delicious crêpes (stay tuned, I might share a video in the next couple of weeks!).
Wait, what? La Chandeleur – what’s that? I hear you asking… In English, Candlemas, it’s the day people eat crêpes in France. Celebrated by Catholics on February 2nd which is 40 days after Christmas, it’s also known as la fête de la lumière or the Festival of Light (chandeleur comes from the word chandelle which means candle) and it also marks the Day Mary was allowed back into the temple after giving birth to Jesus. Nowadays, it’s celebrated in France by the consumption of many crêpes! Tradition has it that if you hold a coin in the hand you write with and flip the crêpe in the pan with the other and actually catch the crêpe, your family will enjoy a prosperous year to come (note that we didn’t try this at school!).
I’ll admit that I was a little nervous – 17 boys in the tiny science lab, one teacher who would be occupied filming a group of 3 of them basically leaving the rest of the class to their own devices armed with hotplates, spatulas, crêpe batter and frying pans.. Sounds like it might have been a recipe for disaster… In actual fact, the boys totally took control and rocked their batter, making at least one crêpe for every person, in some cases two!
Of course they weren’t all perfect and we had our fair share of duds (though all the boys told me this was “totally normal”!) but for the most part, they were beautiful!
So impressive for a bunch of 9 year-olds! I went away and hurriedly scribbled down a bunch of notes which I hope will be useful for readers of my book!
This week, in cooking club, I got a different group of boys working on crêpe batter (again, just to be sure…) and had my crêpe experts work on buckwheat crêpes (slightly more challenging but I figured they were up for it!). I’d practised at home the night before and had a batter I was very happy with… (the one below is slightly too thick – I was playing with different amounts of batter in the pan).
Looking good….. (the bubbles and the lacy edges are a hint of what’s underneath!)
Check it out! Nearly perfect (but so tasty anyway, as one of my boys told me!).
This week and last was an exercise in patience and persistence (if your first few crêpes fail, keep trying) and we figured out that what makes a good crêpe or galette (as the buckwheat versions are called) is a batter with the right consistency – check! – and a pan on very high heat (but controlled) – check!
SO grateful to work with my book’s target market every week (well, every day if you consider that writing a book for kids is just like writing a whole lotta worksheets!). It’s been truly helpful in terms of writing instructions geared to young cooks and bakers (and the boys think it’s been pretty tasty too!).
Stay tuned to see what recipes we test from In the French kitchen with kids next week!
I still have not made crepes but I guess if 9- year -olds can make them then I can too.
I’m glad the boys helped me get over my fear!
You are brave working with that many boys lol. It looks like a fun time was had by all! And those crepes look fabulous!
Well it’s kind of my job so brave or not I don’t have a choice 😉
I love this! And that’s so great that your students were able to handle the task so well. My 9 year old and I choose a different country each month to make a dish from. This month it’s France, specifically for the crepes.
Oh that sounds like a lot of fun! And 9 is the perfect age!
Batter, like dough, always intimidates me but you’ve made it seem much easier. And hey if the kids can do it….
Right….? 😉
Never heard of the chandeleur before! Nice to know, I save it in my calender so each year I can celebrate it with a nice crepe!
A good holiday to celebrate for sure!
What a great skill for young chefs to learn how to make crepes! I’m sure they’ll remember this for the rest of their lives!
I hope so!
Those boys are learning so much more from you than being able to make a meal for themselves. I truly love the work you do with these guys and love following their adventures. I can imagine the satisfaction you get from it. Well done, Mardi. Also, they’re brave souls. I think I might be bit shy to try crepes.
If the boys have taught me anything it’s that you have to just jump in and have a go!