When it’s okay to have a fire in the kitchen

Ever since humans conquered fire, we have been fascinated by it. Therefore it’s no surprise that we use fire or combustion in celebratory ways, whether as fireworks, bonfires, or even in our food. Since at least the 1700s, when crème brûlée flambé was allegedly invented, enterprising cooks have found ways to bring fire into the dining room, most often as part of the dessert course.

While crème brûlée may be the first flambéed dessert, dining room pyrotechnics didn’t become popular until the late 1800s, when August Escoffier invented both cherries jubilee and peach melba, the former to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Jubilee celebration, and the latter in honor of Australian opera singer Nellie Melba. The popularity of both desserts has waxed and waned over the years, and Eater recently reported that cherries jubilee is making a comeback on fine dining menus. We love to see those flames.

Other desserts in the same vein are bananas foster (created at Brennan’s restaurant in New Orleans in the 1950s), crêpes Suzette (allegedly invented by Henri Charpentier in 1895 when he accidentally set a dessert on fire – although that account is disputed), and baked Alaska (attributed to chef Charles Ranhofer in the later 1800s). Over the years chefs have created any number of flambéed desserts that don’t have the same staying power as the iconic ones mentioned above, like the flaming skull served at Las Vegas restaurant Chica. I’m a sucker for flaming desserts, despite losing a few strands of hair in a flambé incident. For its simplicity and the fact that we usually have bananas in our house, I make bananas foster the most often. What’s your favorite flambéed dessert?