A Private Shore Excursion from Brest to Crêpe / Pancake Workshop

Today, we will come and pick you up at your Cruise Ship in Brest. Depart, in a small group only, for a short drive to a nearby village to experience one of the most interesting & fun activities of the region, Crêpe (Pancake) making. Accompanied by your English speaking driver or driver/guide, reach the local workshop. The experience will take place in English and everyone has the opportunity to participate. The workshop lasts 2 hours

On your program:

Demonstration of how to make your pancake batter

Learn about the handling of crepe making and how to fold crepes

Tasting: miniature crepes - salty & sweet - Cider and Apple Juice

The Crêpe as explained by Pascale Filliâtre - Journalist-traveler.

The crêpe is THE Breton speciality: a small, sweet or savoury gourmet treat to enjoy on the go or at one of the region’s many crêperies. From traditions to recipes, here we tell you everything about this treasure of Breton gastronomy.

While the first cakes made with water and cereals and cooked on a hot stone date back to 7000 BC, in Brittany, the crêpe first appeared in the 13th century. Buckwheat – black wheat brought back from Asia to France after the Crusades, and whose cultivation is well adapted to the Breton climate – became the main ingredient.

A Beautiful Curl

In Breton language, the crêpe is called “krampouezenn” (plural, “krampouezh”). In French, the word crêpe comes from the Latin ‘crispus’, meaning curly. When it’s well measured out onto a hot plate, a ladleful of batter takes this curly form in just a few seconds. The “crisp” became the pancake – but could be called the ‘curly’!

Crêpe or Galette

Bretons themselves don’t always agree, but beware of confusing crêpes with galettes! In the pancake, typically sweet, white wheat flour and milk replace buckwheat and water. Eggs are also added. Galettes, made with water and buckwheat flour, are typically eaten savoury. In both cases, apple juice and Breton cider are delicious accompaniments.

Sunshine on a plate

Celebrated on 2nd February, 40 days after Christmas, Candlemas – a candlelight festival according to religious tradition – became the pancake festival. It is said that in Rome in the 5th century, Pope Gelasius I comforted pilgrims with pancakes, a symbol of the return of sunny days and abundant harvests. With their golden roundness, pancakes evoke the light, the sun and the spring – even if in Brittany, you can eat them all year round. 

Bilig, rozell and sleight of hand

To make authentic pancakes, you need the right equipment. The bilig (or pilig) is the circular, cast iron baking pan on which pancakes are made, also called a crêpe maker, tuile or galettière. It is used with a small wooden T-shaped rake, the rozell, to spread the batter; and a spatula, the spanell, to flip the pancake. It sounds easy, but to make a smooth, evenly-cooked pancake, it takes practise.

Butter & sugar or a sausage galette

The classic butter & sugar pancake, always using salted butter from Brittany, is the purists’ favourite. Those garnished with the divine salted butter caramel, jam or chocolate are also very popular. The ‘complet’ (eggs, ham and cheese) is the queen of the galettes. To satisfy big appetites, there’s nothing better than a sausage galette, sold at all the markets in Brittany.