When it comes to pancakes, our first reaction should be "Jianbing"! The same is true of pancakes in Britain, which are made of white flour, milk, lemon, etc. The British even have a Pancake Day, which is a holiday related to pancakes. It is also known as Shrovetide or Shrove Tuesday.

Pancake Day is also known as "Shrove Tuesday." This day is actually the last day of the Christian Church before the start of the "fasting day" 40 days before the Good Friday, which has a long history and is also one of the traditional Christian festivals. It is celebrated in many countries around the world, but it is most popular in the UK. During Lent, some devout believers regularly "fast" to commemorate the death of Jesus Christ. In ancient times, people used all the delicious food in the house before "Shrove Day". Since eggs, sugar and butter were rare delicacies in the past, people would use these ingredients to make pancakes and enjoy them, which later became a British tradition.

Pancake races are often held on Pancake Day. The tradition is said to have originated in Olney, Buckinghamshire, England. On the morning of Pancake Day in 1445, a housewife near the Olney market was so busy making pancakes that she forgot to go to church. Suddenly the church bell rang, the housewife was in a hurry, picked up the frying pan and rushed to the church, running, while also not forgetting to turn the pancake in the pan, for fear that the pancake was burnt. Since then, the "pancake race" has continued, adding a lot of atmosphere to the festival.

The pancake race requires participants to each carry a long-handled pan containing a pancake, turn the pancake over a number of times (the number of times set before the race) and keep the pancake from falling out. The person who reaches the finish line first is the winner. There's a pancake contest in downtown London this year, near St. Paul's Cathedral.

Pancake Day falls on the 47th day before Easter Sunday, so the date varies from year to year. In 2023, Pancake Day will be celebrated on February 21.

One of the most traditional and popular events on Pancake Day is the Pancake Race, which is a fun and enjoyable event to watch. Simply put, participants hold a frying pan, while running to flip the pancake in the frying pan, the first to reach the finish line and the pancake does not drop the contestant wins.

Pancake races are held all over London on Pancake Day, which is highly recommended if you're first hearing about it, it's a lot of fun and fun.

Leadenhall Market Pancake Race

Address: Leadenhall Market, Gracechurch St, London EC3V 1LR

Time: 13:00-14:00, February 21

The coveted Golden frying pan is up for grabs as the legendary Leadenhall Market pancake race returns to The City of London for its 15th year.Hosted by the world-renowned market’s 18th century pub – The Lamb Tavern – the annual tradition is set to take place on Tuesday 13th February at 12:30pm and will see teams of four compete for glory during a 20m flipping relay on the Victorian covered Market’s ancient cobblestones.

The winning team will secure their place in Leadenhall history with their name inscribed on the Golden Frying Pan which is then displayed behind The Lamb’s bar for the remainder of the year. Winners can also look forward to a Lamb Tavern Hamper, while runners up in second place can earn themselves a £50 bar tab and third place will be awarded with a bottle of prosecco. And of course, all competitors can expect free pancakes. Losing teams will receive the consolation of one of The Lamb Tavern’s famous scotch eggs (cut into quarters!)

In recognition of Leadenhall Market’s iconic City status, participants are invited to don bowler hats, while Market personality Charlie from London City shoeshine will provide a running commentary of the much-loved annual event.

To mark the event’s 15th anniversary, more pancakes than ever before will be on offer for spectators, with many delicious free pancakes – made by The Lamb’s Head Chef Sian – available to those cheering on from the side lines.

Leadenhall Market's Pancake Race this year, hosted by The Lamb Tavern pub, will be a team relay, with each team completing a 20-metre pancake flip run. Entry is free and teams of up to four are required to register in advance.There will be 100 free pancakes made by the bar chef, all contestants will also enjoy free pancakes, and the final winner will be rewarded with a shiny frying pan trophy...




Inter-Livery Pancake Race

Address: Guildhall Yard, London EC2V 5AA

Time: 12:00-13:30, February 21

Dressed in their full regalia, the members of the related Liveries of London compete in this pancake-flipping race.

Crowds gather to watch the race for the crown in Guildhall Yard. Organised by the Poulters (egg suppliers), the event employs the skills of a variety of liveries: Clockmakers time it, Gunmakers fire the starting pistol, Glovers provide the white gloves worn by racers, the Fruiterers provide lemons and the Cutlers provide the forks! This is a really fun event, with 30 teams competing in their traditional clothes. Only time will tell which guild will win the coveted frying pan trophy.

The ever popular annual event on Shrove Tuesday, 30 teams take part in the Guildhall Yard, plus for those not able to submit a full team there is the Master’s Qualifying Race. The Racing is followed by a well earned buffet lunch in the crypt.

The Inter-Livery Pancake Race at Guildhall Yard is arguably the most entertaining event to watch, as the participants will be dressed in grand dresses or exaggerated costumes, and then run while flipping pancakes, which is fun just to think about! The race is also a team of four, and the winning team will receive a frying pan

Pancake Restaurant Recommendation

The soul of Pancake Day is, of course, the pancake itself, so why not try pancakes on this special holiday? The traditional English pancake is actually a very simple thin base cake, more similar to the French crepe, eating alone will appear relatively bland. Modern restaurant pancakes, mostly in the form of muffins, are fluffy, soft and flexible, making them great for breakfast and afternoon tea.

The Breakfast Club

📍 There are branches in London, Oxford and Brighton

The Breakfast Club is best known for its English breakfast and often has a long queue on weekend mornings. In fact, they have very good pancakes, with options for fresh fruit and cream, sausage and bacon for dinner, and a deluxe version of The Pancake called The All American, which is literally a whole English breakfast on top of a muffin.

Polo Bar
📍176 Bishopsgate, EC2M 4NQ

Polo Bar's All day breakfast truly lives up to its name as the restaurant is open 24 hours a day! Pancakes are also a signature feature of the restaurant, which offers CBD pancakes, said to be the only one in London, in addition to the traditional topping.

The restaurant also has lots of fun activities such as brunch Buffet (£30 per person) and the Big Eater Challenge. Polo Bar challenges include the Muffin Challenge and the Burger Tower Challenge. The muffin Challenge consists of 12 stacked muffins, each layer filled with cream and filling, and can be flavored with fruit, Oreo or caramel biscuits. The price is £35, eaten in 15 minutes and free.

Granger & Co
📍：175 Westbourne Grove, London W11 2SB
The London restaurant, run by renowned Australian chef Bill Granger, already has several branches in the city.

They are located in Chelsea, Clerkenwell, Kings Cross, Marylebone, Notting Hill, you can choose a shop close to you.

Just happen to go to Notting Hill market on the weekend on this side of the branch, Saturday morning at 9:30 arrived has been filled with people, it seems that foreigners do not sleep late on the weekend ah ~ waiting for about 10 or 20 minutes of free position to take a seat, feeling that weekday people should be less.

The signature banana muffin

(ricotta hotcake, banana and honeycomb butter)

With a casual, horizontal scribble and a banana, the muffins are not stacked in the standard round stacks of an English breakfast shop. You can add an appropriate amount of maple syrup according to the degree of sweetness you like, a little butter melts on the cake, eat the light sweet muffins while they are hot and quite soft, eat a little slow to cool it is not too soft.

Another fried egg with sourdough bread, not too special feeling, is OK. Next time you skip the line, you can try something else.