Anthony Bourdain is many things: chef, author, TV star, and silver fox.
He is also an amazing dad. Here's the adorable pancake bar he made for his daughter's sleepover.
Satisfied clients of "Dada's Bespoke Pancake Bar" #SlumberParty
Check out the badass griddle he has set up for easy batch cooking.
Note that Tony's got all of his ingredients ready to go before he starts cooking: His banana chopped, his bacon crisped, and his butter portioned.
My morning after #SlumberParty mis en place ready for the kids # PancakeBar
He knows that prepping ingredients ahead of time ("mise en place" — chef speak for "everything in its place") means no stress during cooking.
While we're patiently waiting for an invite to the next "bespoke pancake bar" chez Anthony, here are a few more tips for your own pancake bar or pancake party.
1. First step — use a proven recipe and don't overmix when you're combining ingredients.
2. You can also prep ahead by DIY-ing your own Bisquick Pancake Mix.
3. Squeeze bottles make it easy to draw shaped pancakes with your batter.
4. Get creative with the flavors, like peanut butter or whole grain. Then, separate and label them in squeeze bottles.
5. For a pancakes-for-dinner bar, include a chocolate batter.
6. You can also stir sprinkles into your basic batter for Funfetti-style pancakes.
7. If you're adding fillings, let a base layer cook on the griddle, then add the ingredients, then top with a LITTLE more batter.
8. Obviously you have to warm your maple syrup.
9. Include other toppings like caramel sauce, strawberry jam, and peanut butter all work well. Obviously, you should include Nutella.
10. Use craft or butcher paper to line your pancake bar. You can write on it with a permanent marker to label each ingredient, and it makes for easy clean up.
11. If you have it in you, you can make these miniature pancake pops.
12. Bacon is a must. Serve alongside or just add strips to the pancake like this.
13. Serve these bacon pancake dippers with jars of maple syrup for easy dunking.
14. Add something healthy to the bar. Fruit skewers are a healthy and pretty addition.
15. Really, there are no rules, except that you can never have too many pancakes.
