Standing out of doors on a cold morning with a pancake in a frying pan, tossing it in the air and dropping it on the ground, is not the best way to make pancakes. And the presence of a model to help with the tossing is probably not essential to the flavour. But literalness has never been the forte of the public relations industry.
The pancake-tossing outside the Westbury Hotel yesterday, on the eve of Pancake Tuesday, was designed to publicise the Catex 99 exhibition in the RDS from February 22nd to 25th, where an international cooking competition will take place.
The competition has been organised by the Irish Panel of Chefs and is recognised by the World Cooks' Federation. Teams from Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales the USA and Europe will compete for a trophy.
Pancake Tuesday marks the beginning of Lent, when, traditionally, the last of the eggs and the butter were used up before the period of fasting began. In more modern times, fasting rarely goes further than sacrificing sweets, cigarettes or alcohol, and pancakes are eaten the whole year round, but today will undoubtedly see a surge in the consumption of both the savoury and sweet versions.
The basic recipe for pancake batter is essentially the same for both, according to cook and food writer Darina Allen, who runs the Ballymaloe Cookery School. For six to eight savoury pancakes she recommends five ounces of flour, a good pinch of salt, three eggs (preferably free range) eight fluid ounces of milk and four of water and two to three tablespoons of olive oil or melted butter.
The eggs, milk and water are added to the sieved flour and salt, and whisked in. The oil or butter is added, and the batter left to rest for 30 minutes before being cooked in a non-stick pan. They can then be filled with a filling like a spinach and mushroom filling, and folded into parcels.
Sweet pancakes are made in much the same way, with the addition of a dessertspoonful of castor sugar and an extra ounce of flour. She recommends two eggs and one or two egg yolks instead of three eggs, and butter instead of olive oil - added just before they are cooked. If the pancakes are to be served with lemon and sugar rather than a sweet filling, she suggests adding an extra tablespoonful of castor sugar and the grated rind of half a lemon. The mixture should be left to stand for at least an hour.
Tossing in the air to turn them is not essential. Her instructions are: "Heat a non-stick pan until very hot, pour in just enough batter to cover the base when you tilt and swirl the pan. Put the pan back on the heat, loosen the pancake around the edge with a non-metal slice. Flip over, cook for a few seconds on the reverse side. Slide over on to a plate. Repeat until all the batter had been used up."