The Original Pancake Kitchen

With seeing how well pancakes were received by the American population they thought it would be a great idea to bring to AustraliaWelcome to the Original Pancake KitchenAs The Original Pancake Kitchen has been around for many years (since 1965), there are quite a few stories I could tell you but I will stick to the main facts as I know them. This may, or may not be totally correct as I have but together bits and pieces form stories, old papers, newspaper clippings and general gossip.The idea for a Pancake Restaurant was first conceived in 1959 while Roger Meadmore and Allan Trascall were on a driving trip in America. They would frequently stop at road side restaurants where pancakes were a favourite on the menu.Seeing how well pancakes were received by the American population they thought it would be a great idea to bring to Australia.With the idea fresh in their minds, they made enquiries on how to go about opening a Pancake Restaurant in Adelaide. The first problem they had was with how wheat was germinated and processed in Australia at that time, it was too course to make light fluffy pancakes. They overcame this by importing from America Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix, eventually after 10 years a local Australian company was able to produce a product that could equal the American style pancakes.The first Pancake Restaurant was opened at 13 Gilbert Place Adelaide in 1965 known to most Adelaidians as “The Pancake Kitchen”.They had little money but great expectations. The only place they could afford was a burnt out delicatessen which they paid only 5 pounds per week to rent. It was small yet cozy and had a very unique feel about it.When they announced that they would only sell pancakes at this new restaurant, people laughed, they didn’t think a restaurant that only sold one type of food would work. But curiosity got the better people and they came, in droves, to try the pancakes.The first customer to be served was a man named Bill Hickling (and yes, Bill was still around in Adelaide in 2006, he came back to The Original Pancake Kitchen that year).It was quite chaotic in that first phase of the business as they didn’t have a menu, their motto was “Come into the kitchen and tell us how you’d like your pancakes”. Luckily the customers were good natured as they washed their own dishes and serviced their own tables, some of them were made honorary staff members for the evening.