If pancakes are the middleweight champion, Doctor Dan the Pancake Man is...okay, it's an imperfect metaphor. Basically, if you didn't know pancake art is a thing, you're about to be pleasantly surprised by the following interview with one of the world's only pancake artists - and certainly the only one I've seen pour a pancake of Nick Fury's face that looked both uncannily real and unbelievably delicious.C: We read a little of your background on your site, but can you rehash how you got into the professional pancake pouring business? What was your first creation?
D: It started as a method to try and earn better tips. I was a fry cook, making less than $5 an hour and trying to make ends meet while working the slowest shifts. Not easy. But I saw folks on busier shifts would slap dollops of batter on pancakes and call 'em Mickey Mouse cakes, and I got to thinking: your pancake doesn't have to be round, does it?
I doodled in high school and I self-published comic books in the years after, so starting with big dumb smiley faces seemed like a natural progression. As fate would have it the first 'dancake' I served got me a $15 tip from a guy who looked like he'd just as soon have eaten ME. I decided then and there that every cake would be special from that day forward.
Eventually, I got better, and the Internet caught wind of me. I went from being a fry cook by day/musician by night to being flown out to the Today Show. Craziest experience of my life. I brought my best friend Hank, who's now my manager. It was after that we launched our business as professional pancake artists.
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| Baymax dancake |
D: I get this question a lot...and more often than not I'm not sure what to say. You know what I like to do? Something I've never done before, things I've never even thought to try. My brain requires a steady stream of ridiculous stimulation for me to stay focused and trying to draw someone's dog in pancake batter - except with a T-Rex body - makes me laugh and think a lot harder than doing Elsa for the ten-thousandth time. I heavily encourage creativity in my guests requests. I also pride myself on not turning requests down. I HATE saying no, I think my brain is broken or something.
C: We just saw on your Facebook page you're headed to Brazil. Exciting! Do you pack your own griddle and ingredients when you travel?
D: It really depends! With the Brazil trip, since it's international (and I'm going by way of Toronto so I'm actually going through customs TWICE both ways) the Hoje Em Dia producers have gotten together some off brand batter and dyes for when I get there. And they also got their hands on two griddles; a big steel restaurant one and a small residential one. The advantage to learning the trade in a diner is that I'm pretty flexible and I can make most setups work so long as the basics are there.
I'm definitely packing my trusty spatula, though. Also, my own condiment bottles...your drawing implements are critical and I feel I'll do a lot better if I'm using something that I already know has the right nozzle width and hand fit.
C: What are some of the strangest pancake suggestions you've had?
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| Supernatural dancakes |
D:. Aside from the aforementioned Dog-As-A-T-Rex pancake, the requests really run the gamut. What I default to telling folks when they ask me that though is: someone once asked me to make a Pancake of Me Making a Pancake of Me Making a Pancake. We've got to go deeper.
C: This might be weird, but we have to know. Do you eat the pancakes you make? If so...how do you stave off getting totally burnt out on pancakes?
D: NEVER GET HIGH ON YOUR OWN SUPPLY. Actually, no, I'll occasionally fix myself a pancake. Usually they're served or given away, though. And because I do most of my pancake art live and in front of folks there's not usually a bunch lying around!
But the best way to keep them from getting old is to try weird things with them. Mix cocoa into your batter! Get a pancake bar with sprinkles and strawberries and caramel sauce. I have a friend named Charlie, and he once told me "Pancakes are just fancy bread." He followed that comment by dumping a ladle of chili on a full-stack. Get creative! And don't be afraid to make mistakes in pancake art; for one thing, that's how you get better. But more importantly, MISTAKES ARE DELICIOUS!
Be sure to visit dancakes.com, where you can order your very own personalized dancake and get the skinny on booking Dr. Dan for your event. You can also find Dan on Facebook.
For those of you hitting up Wizard World in St. Louis May 22-24th - or for those of you who have thought of going and need another great reason to go - Dr. Dan will be giving a demonstration on the big stage on Saturday the 23rd. Yum! BONUS: If you haven't gotten your tickets yet, you can enter the code 'Dancakes' upon checkout for 10% off your ticket price!
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| Courtney's personal favorite dancake...bulbasaur! |
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