Don’t flip out, but yes, a real pancake artist made an appearance in Marquis Dining Hall on Tuesday.
“If you have a picture, or I can look it up, I make it into a pancake,” said Lee Goldberg, a Dancakes Pancakes artist of nine years.
For those who prefer their grains simple and banal, Dancakes Pancakes, “the first name in pancake art,” uses colored pancake batter to create edible portraits of whatever the mind desires. Think “Cake Boss” (2009-20) but for breakfast.
“We use gel food coloring,” said Goldberg, one of the two pancake artists showcasing their craft. “It makes it really, really bright and vibrant, cooks well and doesn’t affect the taste.”
The two artists sat at a table with two electric griddles, countless colorful squeeze bottles and their phone displaying the next person’s request. Intrigued students and faculty asked for various types of designs: photos of themselves, pets and many cartoon characters.
“I’m waiting for a very cool pancake, aka my lock screen, with me and my mom in Guatemala,” said dining supervisor Cristen Gonzalez after braving the line.
She attempted to edit her request to make it more reasonable for the artist, but they told her they would do exactly what she wanted.
Explaining how he became such an expert in this field, Dancakes co-owner and pancake artist Ben Daniels highlighted the importance of repetition and perseverance.
“Just a lot of bad pancakes,” he said. “You just keep doing it over and over again.”
Chris Nappo ‘27 was also pleasantly surprised when he walked into the dining hall, previously unaware of the event. He requested a toucan holding a blueberry from Goldberg, who executed exactly how he imagined.
“I knew that Lee knew what was up as soon as he saw the photo,” Nappo said.
Despite years of experience, pancake art wasn’t the first idea of a career for the baking pair.
Before pancake art, Lee Goldberg was a cook at a Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center in Phoenix, giving him ample time and resources to start up a new hobby.
“When I would get bored, I would make faces out of hash browns, sausage, bacon,” Goldberg said. When a resident recommended pancake art, he picked it up and has now been an artist for Dancakes for nine years.
Daniel, meanwhile, joined their band first.
“I had zero interest in doing pancake art whatsoever,” he said. But with practice and time, it became his life and soon, his business.
Some advice for beginners looking to get into the culinary craft: “If you have an electric griddle and some squeeze bottles at home, I recommend everyone try it at home,” Goldberg said, before adding, “Maybe temperature off first.”