Itwas over a hundred years ago, the place was the Cafe de Paris in MonteCarlo, and the dish was a mistake made by a fifteen year-old, who waspreparing a dessert for Edward,the Prince of Wales. The French pancakes he was about toserve were to be re-heated at the table but while the young waiter/chefwas preparing the sauce, 
the cordials caught fire. What to do? He tasted it -- delicious! He plunged the pancakes into the boiling sauce, poured in more cordials,watched the flames rise again, and served them to the Prince. ThePrince not only ate the cakes but also spooned up the remaining sauce andasked what the dish was called. The young chef stammered a name honoringthe Prince. However, the Prince gallantly suggested there was a ladypresent, the young daughter of one of the men at his table. Her namewas Suzette. Whynot call the dish Crepes-Suzette? The little girl rose andcurtsied to the chef. The next day the Prince sent the chef a jeweledring, a Panama hat and a cane.Right now, as I writethis, there are on the Internet menus featuring Crepes Suzette from restaurants in France, England, Germany, Aruba, Mexico, Brazil,Lisbon, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Peru, Argentina, The Philippines, Kenya,Vancouver and the Isle of Jersey.
Henri Charpentier (1880-1961)was the name of the boy who cooked the pancakes for the Prince of Walesand introduced them to the world. He grew up in the hill town ofContesnearNiceon The French Riviera. At the age of ten he began an apprenticeshipwith his foster brother, Jean Camous, head chef at the Hotel CapMartin, where beginning as a page boy, he served many notables, includingQueen Victoria, the mother of Edward, the Prince of Wales. Besides his foster brother, Henri's other two mentors were the master chef,AugusteEscoffier, and the Swiss hotelier, CesarRitz. Eventually Charpentier became famous for his Crepes Suzette. Escoffier included a recipe for the dish in his definitive cookbook ofFrench cuisine, and the town of Contes named a street the Rue Henri Charpentier. Henri went on to become head chef at several distinguished restaurantsin Europe, where he continued to serve the nobility and then in NewYork, where his clientele included J.P. Morgan, Woodrow Wilson and TheodoreRoosevelt. Diamond Jim Brady, wearing $500,000 worth of preciousgems and accompanied by two bodyguards, would spend $500 on food alone,as he didn't drink alcohol. The equivalent today would be $7,500. In his memoires, Henri tells his story, and he also gives his recipe,which follows in his own words from The Henri Charpentier Cookbook,published by Price/Stern/Sloan, Los Angeles, 1945.
"CREPES SUZETTE" 
by HenriCharpentier
2 eggs
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon cream
2 tablespoons milk
1 pinch of salt
"Stir the ingredientssmoothly to the consistency of olive oil, or until it will pour back silentlyand smoothly from a foot or more above the mixing bowl. Rememberthis is a French pancake and must be thin. Put 1 teaspoon of butterinto a small round-bottomed frying pan (not aluminum) and when it bubblespour in enough paste to cover the bottom of the pan. Be quick inmoving the pan so as to spread the paste thinly. Keep the pan moving;that paste is a delicate substance. After 1 minute turn the pancakeover, then turn it again and again until it is nicely browned. Foldthe circle in half, then again to form a triangle. Make eight ofthese, which should serve four. This first step is a smoky one andshould be done in the kitchen. The pancakes, however, are to be cookeda second time, a procedure which occurs in the dining room.
"SUZETTE SAUCE"
Vanilla sugar Juice of 2 oranges
Skin of 2 oranges Juice of 1 lemon
Orange Blossomwater Rum
Kirsch Maraschino
White Curacao
"This sauce shouldbe made in advance since it keeps for many months without spoiling. It can be made in great quantities; like good wine, it will improve withage. Vanilla sugar is one of the requisites for a fine cuisine. Put three or four vanilla beans in a quart jar of granulated sugar. After several days the sugar will be delicately flavored by the vanillain the beans.
"With a knife peel2 oranges and 1 lemon so thin that the pulp remains on the fruit. Cut the peel julienne style and mix it with 4 tablespoons of vanilla sugar. Squeeze the strained juice of the 2 oranges and 1 lemon into a chafingdish. Add the vanilla sugar, etc. and 1/8 pound of butter. Let it come to a boil and then add 1 teaspoon of orange blossom water,2 ponies* of kirsch, 2 ponies of white curacao, 2 ponies of rum and 1 ponyof maraschino. When it comes to a boil, remove it from the fire. This is the sauce which, if prepared in advance, will keep indefinitely.
"After the Crepes Suzettehave been made and have been brought to the dining room, the final stepis ready to be taken. Put some of the above prepared sauce into alarge chafing dish (the quantity depends on your desire) and when it beginsto bubble lay the pancakes in the sauce. Those who have no chafingdish need not worry: it's not the chafing dish that makes the CrepesSuzette, it's the sauce. If necessary, make it in the kitchen usinga pan. Cut minute pieces of orange and lemon peel (no pulp) and puta little on top of each pancake. Blend 1 pony* of each of the cordialsused in the making of the sauce by placing them in a small heated casserole. Make the cordials flame and pour it over the pancakes which are in thebubbling sauce. Serve immediately. The perfect Crepes Suzetteare not too liqueur-y. This is an equally delicious sauce for compotes,puddings, ice cream or sweet omelets. "
*Note: a "pony"is a small glass or jigger, about one ounce, or 2 tablespoons.
The most popular variationof the recipe provides the substitution of Grand Marnier (or orange liqueur)for the mixture of cordials. The delightful colored photo ofcrepes you see above is from the CafeCreosote recipe which uses Grand Marnier. However, one of themost informative sites about French pancakes in general comes from theCanadianEgg Marketing Agency, where they tell you how to beat, blend, whisk,refrigerate or freeze crepes and how to use one of those fancy upside-downcrepe pans, if you happen to have one.
As for Henri, he spentthe last fifteen years of his life in Redondo Beach, California, wherehe retired. Retirement for Henri? That meant doing what heloved best. Each night he served just sixteen people whatever mealhe chose from the produce available. Hollywood stars includingBing Crosby, John Wayne, Ingrid Bergman and Edward G. Robinson, as wellas local residents, paid a deposit and often waited four years for a reservation. They never knew what they would be served when they arrived, except forone thing: there would always be Crepes Suzette for dessert.
WhoCooked That Up? is copyrighted 1998 by J.J. Schnebel
Revised February 2002
all rights reserved for your pleasureand enlightenment