"his complicated version began as the dish of pancakes with fruit sauce his foster mother made on very special occasions." The addition of liqueur was au courant among chefs in Paris at the time. The other claim states that the dish was named in honour of French actress Suzanne Reichenberg (1853–1924), who worked professionally under the name Suzette. In 1897, Reichenberg appeared at the Comédie-Française in the role of a maid, during which she served crêpes on stage. Monsieur Joseph, owner of Restaurant Marivaux, provided the crêpes. He decided to flambé the thin pancakes to attract the audience's attention and keep the food warm for the actors consuming them. Joseph was subsequently director of the Paillard Restaurant in Paris and was later with the Savoy Hotel in London. In 1896, Oscar Tschirky published the recipe as "Pancakes, Casino Style" with everything in place except the final flambée. Escoffier described Crêpes Suzette in the English version of his Guide Culinaire in 1907 (French 1903) the same way, also without the final flambée. The dish was already a specialty of the French restaurant Marie's by 1898. References External links French desserts Flambéed foods Pancakes