What?
Breville traditional crepe maker, £30. Non-stick podium, housing electrical heating element, with temperature slide dial. Solidifies batter.
Why?
Griddle me this: how can something so flat get you so high?
Well?
Full disclaimer: I am mad for pancakes. I observe Shrove Tuesday religiously. Any device that facilitates me eating thin French pancakes is good. So I’m well disposed toward this traditional crepe maker. It says “traditional” on the box; I’m not sure a thermostatic dial with cord storage is how crepes have been creped since time began. The box also carries details of the Breville website turnonyourcreativity.com, which includes ideas for crepe fillings. Now, that is a waste of a domain name. Turnonyourcreativity.com should be an artist’s resource, or a writer’s blog, not a page of toasted sandwiches. I had a look and the fourth recipe on it is “salmon and soft cheese bagel.” Using recipes isn’t even creative. It’s JUST FOLLOWING ORDERS, isn’t it? And WHERE DOES THAT LEAD?
Sorry – no need for a crepiere review to get dark. Let’s talk pancakes. The clue’s in the name. You can make them in … a pan. You don’t need a specialist machine. If you did, a crepe pan would take up less space. Having said that, this is a pleasure to use. It’s smooth and open, heats up quickly, and stays at temperature. If you’re hosting a crepe party, it would be a great centrepiece. (Crepe party! What an idea. Definitely turningonmycreativity.com.) There’s something else: included is a little wooden T-stick for spreading batter. Like the ones the professionals on food stalls use. Swirling clockwise helps you achieve nearly paper-thin pancakes that cook in seconds before being furled into sumptuous rolls. I melt goat’s cheese, spinach and pine nuts, and fall hard in love. All of a sudden a fantasy erupts. Me, selling Breton galettes on the Champs-Élysées. Maybe I’m a Left Bank roué, who has turned his back on sensual pleasure, and now finds delight in the vending of the simple crepe. Is this a T-stick I see before me? Or a divining rod, pointing to joy? Maybe all this bonhomie is just the pancakes talking. But though I am once more stuck with a pile of crepe, this time I couldn’t be happier.
Any downside?
You can’t toss your pancakes, and some weeks that’s the only exercise I get.
Counter, drawer, back of the cupboard?
On bathroom scales – a system of crepes and balances, failing to regulate my waistline. 3/5
