You cannot go to France without at least once eating flaming food. The joy of the flambé is irresistible for not only does it make the food taste better but you gain instant attention from the rest of the patrons who look enviously on when your crepe bursts into flames while they are stuck with a flameproof gateau or passé creme caramel. Naturally I ordered anything that was listed au flambé whenever I saw it on the menu.
In one restaurant in St Malo, after a very pleasant dinner we decided to peruse the dessert menu and there was listed a Gateau Normand au flambé. I ordered it immediately. Out came a large slice piled high with meringue. The waiter then produced a copper pot filled with Calvados which he promptly ignited and poured all over my desert. The entire restaurant was galvanized and we at the table recoiled back in horror as the gateau erupted loudly in flames. Eyebrows were singed and the establishment was filled with the smell of charred meringue, eyebrows and apples. Eventually the blaze died down to the obvious relief of the other patrons who were making surreptitious checks for the sign marked “Sortie”. The waiter, who was obviously a closet pyromaniac, looked most satisfied with his work and I ate the burnt offering with the appropriate expressions of contentment.
Life is too short to drink bad wine 