By Margaret Sheard …
Pancake Day is well recognised in the UK and I was so pleased to be able to visit The Food Lodge in Catalkoy on Tuesday 13th February to enjoy one of their delicious pancakes.
So what is Pancake Day (or Shrove Tuesday) all about. It certainly isn’t just about eating pancakes, and this is an extract from Wikipedia, explaining a bit more about this tradition.
“Shrove Tuesday (also known in Commonwealth countries and Ireland as Pancake Tuesday or Pancake day) is the day in February or March immediately preceding Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent), which is celebrated in some countries by consuming pancakes.
This moveable feast is determined by Easter. The expression “Shrove Tuesday” comes from the word shrive, meaning “absolve”. Shrove Tuesday is observed by many Christians who, including Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists and Roman Catholics, “make a special point of self-examination, of considering what wrongs they need to repent, and what amendments of life or areas of spiritual growth they especially need to ask God’s help in dealing with.”
When I arrived at The Food Lodge in the early afternoon, Sonja told me there had been a steady stream of customers and they had served in the region of 50 pancakes up until then. Most customers were regulars to the Bakery who have lunch or buy bread and cakes but there were also some who come just for this annual treat.
I looked at the list of American, Crépe and British pancakes with a variety of fillings to choose from, how could I make a choice from these?
- Sugar and cinnamon
- Butter lemon with treacle
My Banana and Chocolate Pancake - Chocolate sauce
- Vanilla/Choco Ice Cream
- Maple Syrup
- Cointreau Orange (alcohol)
- Banana and Chocolate
- Fresh Strawberries with whipped cream
- Hot Cherries
- Bacon and Egg
I eventually plumped for the Banana and Chocolate pancake and when it arrived wondered if I had done the right thing! There were two large pancakes and also a serving of cream. It was absolutely delicious and I had a hard time finishing it, but I did. As one of the customers said “it is only once a year after all”.
The Food Lodge have organised a special Pancake Day for the last 5 years and I am sure there are many people who are grateful that Sonja and Latifa follow this tradition for our enjoyment in North Cyprus.
While talking to Sonja I mentioned their Classic Film Nights which are still continuing every Thursday, at 5pm, during the winter months. These are organised in conjunction with the DVD Shop in Catalkoy which has a huge range of DVDs. It is however necessary to make a reservation as space is limited. We receive an advance monthly listing of the films to be shown which are included in our Weekly Events Calendar on the cyprusscene.com website, and there are some really good old classic films to enjoy.
I noticed T-shirts, mugs, key rings with various pictures and patterns and Sonja told me she now has the equipment to transfer images onto these items which can be done from a photograph, and so can produce personalized t-shirts with custom designs, text via vinyl cut printing, the result is brilliant and very good quality.
There seems to be no end to these ladies’ skills, they are true artists in so many fields.
