TYUMEN, February 22 (Itar-Tass) — The weeklong Pancake festival in the town of Yalutogorsk, Tyumen Region, is to end with the baking of a huge pancake with a diameter of three metres. People from neighbouring Cheyabinsk, Sverdlovsk, and Kurgan Regions, as well as from Perm Territory will traditionally come there to see the wonder of culinary art.
Natalia Boiko, director of the Yalutogorsk-based House of Ethnic Cultures, has told Itar-Tass that the neighbours' interest is also prompted by the fact that ever since the idea arose, confectioners "have not managed to bake a worhty pancake and turn it over properly: it invariably turned out to be lumpy".
All began in 2007. The local auto repairs plant made a frying-pan three metres in diametere and weighing almost 300 kg, as well as burners and large spades to turn a pancake over. The confectioners devised an original recipe.
"This year we shall go ahead with the pancake baking effort. However, even if the pancake again turns into a huge lump, the festival must not be spoilt for Yalutogorsk folk and guests -- there will be plenty of ordinary-size pancakes for everyone to enjoy," Boiko said.