Bonjour mesdames et messieurs,
My name is Maître Flambée and I am a passionate professional Flammkuchen chef. For a number of years now I have been preparing freshly cooked Flammkuchen according to the old Alsation tradition for my diners – la Tarte Flambée d’Alsace. Can you smell it yet? The delicious aroma of the firewood, the hearty bacon and the fresh onions?
Flammkuchen – a traditional dish with a long history
In addition to its unique taste, the special thing about the tarte flambée, or Flammkueche as it is often called in Alsace, is the tradition from which it arose. It originates from a time more than 100 years ago when Alsatian farm owners in the Kochersberg region still baked bread in their own wood-burning stoves. Once the wood in the stove had been ignited, the baker had to work out when the oven had reached the right temperature for the bread. To this end the farmer broke off a little piece of dough, rolled it out thinly and laid it on the hot stone slab in the oven, or “in die Flammen”, for a few minutes. If the piece of dough crisped up, the temperature was perfect for baking bread. One day, one such farmer - an ancestor of mine as it happens - had the idea of topping the slab of dough with bacon and onions, his favourite ingredients, before putting it in the oven. Underneath them he spread a little cream. The aroma that poured out of the oven attracted the other farmers in the neighbourhood, and so my ancestor cut the dough into several pieces in order that each of them could try it. The result was so delicious that it gave rise to an entire tradition, and over the course of time it became a delicacy – the Alsatian Flammkuchen.
Sociability at its heart
Et voilá, today homemade Flammkuchen from an original stone base oven has countless devotees. In Alsace itself, of course, but also in the neighbouring Palatinate and Baden regions, and nowadays across the rest of Germany and Europe too. The finished, freshly prepared Flammkuchen is traditionally served on a pre-heated wooden board, which helps it to retain its heat for longer. In Alsace, a Flammkuchen is a common choice for sharing with a group of friends or family to this day. Straight after taking it out of the oven, I cut it into 6 or 8 pieces and my diners curl their piece up and tuck in using their hands. I keep serving them up one after another until my diners give me an indication that they have had enough for today. Then I give them one or other of my sweet dessert Flammkuchen to finish their meal. By now I have developed so many different combinations of toppings that there is a Flammkuchen to suit every taste. It tastes best with a delicious glass of wine or a fresh draught beer, perhaps followed by some homemade schnapps – that is the true culinary experience à la Maître Flambée.
Flammkuchen wins over hearts and minds
Since the thing I enjoy most is making my diners happy with Flammkuchen, I have undertaken to take tarte flambée, or “crispy joy” as I call it, beyond the Alsace, the Palatinate and Baden and into the rest of France and Germany, and even Europe, putting Flammkuchen on the menu in Austria, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Spain.
That is why there is the Maître Flambée Flammkuchen24 online shop for restaurants and hotels, and of course for anybody who loves good Flammkuchen as much as I do.
What makes Flammkuchen special
Oh, là là! The aroma of a fresh Flammkuchen rising up into your nose and the crunching noise as you bite into it – simply priceless! That’s why I’d like to let you in on my Flammkuchen secret today: the perfect Flammkuchen experience all comes down to having the right base. The dough must be made using the best ingredients and be as thin as possible, then be baked in a stone base oven for a few minutes – this will make it uniquely crispy and tasty. Très bien.
To enable you to offer it to your diners in exactly this way, at Flammkuchen24.co.uk you can buy fresh gourmet dough bases. The special combination of beautiful, wafer-thin dough, an excellent taste thanks to the premium, regional ingredients with no preservatives, along with fantastic baking characteristics are what make our Flammkuchen dough bases stand out from the crowd. You then top this dough base with fine ingredients – in traditional Alsatian style with cream, onions and bacon or however you and your guests would like it served, fresh out of the oven and on a wooden board. Voilà, your tarte flambée is ready.
A genuine attraction and culinary experience for your restaurant and diners.
Bon appétit!
Your Maître Flambée