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Food That Brings People Together: Pancakes
Pancakes are more than just a breakfast food; they are a way of bringing people together around stories, culture, and comfort. Vanessa Baxter from The Fearless Kitchen, who also works with St Bart’s and was a Top 4 contestant on MasterChef New Zealand, loves how pancakes can connect people across countries and generations.
Vanessa recently travelled to Bali, where she discovered Balinese-style pancakes. Across Indonesia, different regions have their own versions, using ingredients like mixed nuts, local honey, and coconut. These flavours sit on top of soft pancakes, creating a beautiful mix of texture and taste. For Vanessa, pancakes are universal: they carry memories of home, feature in historical stories, and have even been used as sustaining food during hard times, like wartime in the UK when they ate pancakes until the flour ran out. There is a strong nostalgia and comfort factor in pancakes; they feel like more of a treat than a simple piece of bread.
Topping Ideas and Textures
Sweet toppings are a favourite for many pancake lovers. Vanessa has noticed that in Bali, people often add granola or nuts to give a crunchy contrast to the softness of the pancake. Berries, honey, and syrups all add colour and flavour, turning a basic batter into something special. The simple combination of soft pancakes with crunchy toppings makes each bite more interesting.
Teaching Kids Through Pancakes
Pancakes are also a fun way to introduce children to cooking and different cultures. Kids can learn to whisk the batter, mixing the egg and milk before slowly adding the flour and watching the lumps form and then smooth out. Even though there are more modern, faster ways to make pancake batter, giving children the chance to do it by hand helps them understand where their food comes from. Vanessa also introduces them to small bananas from Asian grocers, encouraging them to experiment with thick slices and learn how to cook them properly with pancakes. Classic touches like Canadian maple syrup are favourites, and some people even add protein powder to the batter for an extra boost.
Pancakes Around the World
Different countries use pancakes as a base for their own flavours. In France, crêpes can be filled with Nutella, or ham and cheese, almost like a pizza base that you can customise with your favourite toppings. In Russian and Ukrainian traditions, pancakes are often layered or filled with soft cheeses like ricotta or cottage cheese, so that when you bite into them you get a creamy centre. Australians might keep it simple with butter and Vegemite on a hot pancake. In Bali, Vanessa tried a Russian-style pancake served with caramelised condensed milk, showing how cultures can blend together on one plate.
Pancakes and Community at St Bart’s
When Vanessa started volunteering at St Bart’s, breakfast was served on Mondays and Fridays with volunteers coming in to cook for residents. They wanted the experience to feel less like a canteen and more like a café, with simple meals like eggs, bacon, and toast. When corporate groups joined in, Vanessa suggested adding a pancake station. The response from residents was overwhelming; they were excited to choose toppings like honey and maple-style syrup. Even though the toppings were simple, the experience felt abundant. Volunteers enjoyed it too, and the whole feel of breakfast changed into something warmer and more communal.
Vanessa treasures the messages and memories people share about pancakes. Most of those memories are not about eating alone, but about sharing pancakes with others—sitting around a table, smiling, and remembering teaching their kids to flip pancakes when they were young. Those small, shared moments are often enough to bring people together. For Vanessa, pancakes are a simple but powerful way to start community and conversation around the table.
Listen to the full chat with Vanessa below.