Did you know bananas foster was born at this New Orleans restaurant?
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — While New Orleans is known for its rich culture and history, it’s also known for its iconic cuisine.
While many dishes come and go, some have made a name for themselves locally and nationwide.
When thinking about New Orleans or Louisiana foods, gumbo and red beans and rice often come to mind. But what about dessert?
The sweet treat known as bananas foster also has New Orleans roots.
Brennan’s General Manager Christian Pendleton said the dish was born at the original Brennan’s Vieux Carre Restaurant on Bourbon Street in the 1950s.
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The New Orleans delicacy came about when Owen Brennan tasked his sister, Ella Brennan, with creating a special dessert for Richard Foster, who Pendleton said was chairman of the New Orleans Crime Commission.
He said Ella Brennan worked with a team to come up with something that could be executed quickly and taste good.
Pendleton said the idea to brûlée bananas came from Ella Brennan’s childhood, as her mother used to brûlée bananas for her for breakfast.
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“One of Ella’s and the family’s favorite treats was when their mother would brûlée bananas and serve it with soft scrambled eggs as a treat,” said Pendleton.
The butter, the brown sugar and the cinnamon became part of the recipe because of that memory.
He also said, at the time, New Orleans was one of the largest ports in the country for bananas, making them almost always readily available around the city.
Pendleton said the idea for flambéing the dish stemmed from baked Alaska served at Antoine’s.
“The idea was ‘let’s flambé it.’ Guests, especially in 1951 but we’re even seeing a resurgence now, guests love being entertained while they go out and eat. So, we’ll make that special, we’ll flambé it.”
Brennans and Napoleon House on Tuesday, April 23, 2019. (Courtesy: Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group) Brennans and Napoleon House on Tuesday, April 23, 2019. (Courtesy: Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group) Brennans and Napoleon House on Tuesday, April 23, 2019. (Courtesy: Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group) (WGNO/Bella Dardano) (WGNO/Bella Dardano) (WGNO/Bella Dardano)
According to Pendleton, the two spirits came into the recipe when Ella Brennan was asked if the bananas should be flambéed in banana liquor or rum.
“One of my favorite quotes from the story was, well, we could flambé with banana liquor, or we could flambé with rum, and Ella famously says, ‘It’s New Orleans let’s use both,'” Pendleton said.
He said the addition of ice cream almost served as a “poke” at Owen Brennan, who reportedly believed ice cream had no place in fine dining as it wasn’t as renowned as it is today.
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“Owen famously said, ‘Really? A la Walgreens?’ because Walgreens was an ice cream shop and a drug store like many were at the time, and Ella said ‘Be quiet. People like ice cream,” said Pendleton.
At Brennan’s, bananas foster is prepared tableside. Something Pendleton says creates a memorable moment for guests and elevates the dining experience.
“It makes dining out special when you take the care to do things tableside,” said Pendleton.
While working at Brennan’s and continuing the legacy of the dish, one of the things Pendleton says he enjoys the most is seeing the guests experience the tableside preparation.
“To see that flame, to feel that warmth, to smell those smells, that is something that will stick with that person for the rest of their life,” said Pendleton.
Pendleton says he’s made more than 100 bananas fosters for guests in a day.
He also says the restaurant went through 14 tons of ice cream last year to prepare the dessert.
Pendleton said the classic recipe has not changed over the years but has been elevated as the quality of ingredients has evolved.
“You don’t change the recipe of bananas foster, but one of the things that’s really important to us at Brennan’s is to show how food evolves. There is honoring the history and traditions of New Orleans, but there’s also the evolution of New Orleans,” Pendleton said.
He said an example of enhancing the quality of the ingredients is in the vanilla bean ice cream.
“We went from using a readily available ice cream to now we make our own vanilla bean ice cream because we wanted to capture the right amount of vanilla and a specific type of a vanilla so that it will cut through the sauce and you will get that note and it won’t get lost in the sauce,” said Pendleton.
He also said they are working with a distillery in Lafayette, Louisiana to produce the rum used in the dish.
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When making the dish at home Pendleton says the number one mistake people make is using 151 rum, as it will cause a larger flame than expected and could cause issues.
“You just need a quality rum and a hot pan. Chemistry or physics will do the work for you,” Pendelton said.
Another mistake Pendleton says people make at home is cooking the banana for too long.
“The bananas should be like when you cook any vegetable or fruit, you should still have the structure. If you cook the banana too long, it breaks down and it just kind of falls all over itself and so you lose that texture of the banana,” Pendelton said.
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