Dutch genes and passion for Pancakes

I know I know, it should have been a picture of me eating pancakes! And I am sure that many such pictures exist, considering the amount of pancakes I ate as a child – I just haven´t found them yet.

But the fact is that I am part Dutch – my father is Dutch – and that might explain some of my passion for pancakes.

I grew up I Denmark, but we traveled a lot to the Netherlands when I was a child, and we never visited without eating pancakes (pannenkoeken) at least ones.

It was usually my grandfather baking them, and he would spend hours in the kitchen. All us kids would then consume an unrealistic amount of pancakes in a very short time – it never really seemed fair. But I sensed that he loved it, and it sure did bring a very big smile to all our faces.

Back then we had the hot meal in the middle of the day, and the pancakes where considered the main course. We always had soup first, and that would usually make us eat less of the main course, but never when pancakes where on the menu.

Dutch Pancakes are quite large, they are thicker than Danish pancakes, and you don´t roll them, but just get one pancake that fills the whole plate. They look like this.

We always had them with powdered sugar and a thick syrup (stroop), but they come in many variations with baked in apples, ham, cheese, banana etc.

I can reveal, that the theme of my next Afternoon Pancake event (April 12 th.) will be Dutch Pancakes – and I will visit Amsterdam this weekend to find inspiration for a good recipe, and to buy some of that special thick syrup that is a must have, when I serve them.

I will make sure to keep you posted on the trip and my findings!

Author: Camilla Hilbrands

Camilla formed the company At Work A/S in 1992 at the age of 20 and has been active as a wellbeing expert ever since. She has followed and been involved in creating the development within health and wellbeing in the workplace from its modest beginnings at the start of the 1990s, and she has, among other things, been an expert at National Centre for Workplace Health Promotion (Nationalt Center for Sundhedsfremme på Arbejdspladsen). Camilla is an experienced leader, teacher and speaker and spends most of her time developing and arranging courses and concepts that aim at increased wellbeing for individuals and groups. Creativity, honesty and social intelligence are Camilla’s strong points, and in addition to this she is known for her passion for and book about pancakes. Her focus is basically resource-oriented and innovative and her tal and workshops are based on the most recent research in the fields of positive psychology, neuroscience and behavioural science. Camilla is an informal and humorous speaker, and with her solid professional background she always leaves her audience with aha moments and specific tools they can use straight away. Camilla is an active participant and networker at various conferences, including TED conferences, and in addition to this she has been enrolled as a member of Richard Branson’s “Change Makers and Rule Breakers”, and she is a strong supporter of the motto: Be the change you wish to see in the world. View all posts by Camilla Hilbrands