Ahead of Shrove Tuesday, we discover what makes pancakes so popular at Fluffy Fluffy Leeds on the Headrow.
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00:00 I was a medical rep before this, but my husband and I have always had a passion for food and
00:06 desserts in particular. So we're big foodies. We like to go around everywhere, finding new
00:11 and interesting food. So Japanese pancakes came up on our radar and we just love them.
00:16 With a career flip from medicine to hospitality, Sabah Ishtiaq and her husband have risen to
00:22 the challenge of bringing Japanese souffle pancakes to the heart of Leeds.
00:26 What makes them special is the fact that they are made with love. They're mixed fresh every
00:32 single time, they're scooped onto the oven. Because we don't want them to deflate and
00:37 to have that natural fluffiness, we have to make them fresh. And I think it's kind of
00:42 worth the wait. It's made right in front of you. It's an open kitchen concept. So you
00:46 see the mixing process, you see the scooping process on the ovens, you see when they get
00:50 flipped on the oven, when they get taken out and when they're decorated. So we've got like
00:54 a station for each bit.
00:56 In Japan, it's traditional to enjoy pancakes with friends and family, particularly at weddings
01:01 and parties. But Fluffy Fluffy Leeds has seen an appetite for their creations throughout
01:06 all of their opening hours on the head row.
01:09 I don't think you ever know how it's going to do until you start something. So you can
01:14 gain like a rough idea. With Leeds, it's been surprising but in a good way. Because we thought
01:21 after Covid, the culture was more like a takeaway culture and staying at home. But what we have
01:26 seen is people have been craving to get back out again. So we've got lovely neighbours.
01:31 We had Tamatanga that opened last year as well. We've got Miller and Carter. The light
01:35 are amazing. So we're part of the light. And I feel people want to come out and they like
01:39 to experience everything there is in Leeds. They'll go out shopping. Location-wise, we've
01:43 been very lucky.
01:45 So what's it like to be surrounded by pancakes on a daily basis?
01:49 According to my friends, I might say that these are like dream jobs because I got a
01:54 chance to work with dessert and like all these great smells every day. In Fluffy Fluffy,
02:01 I work like mainly on the drinks station and also on the till station. So it's very nice
02:07 like working with the drinks, I smell the coffee every day and also like to get a chance
02:13 to meet lots of like great families and like good people every day.
02:18 In terms of top toppings, there are some clear favourites and trends amongst Leeds locals.
02:24 Leeds seems to love Nutella strawberry. Creme Brulee does very well. Pistachio, tiramisu.
02:29 And we've got a lot of matcha lovers it seems out here as well. So the mixed tiramisu and
02:35 the matcha tiramisu does very well as well.
02:37 Personally, I really like the pitastio one. It's very like rich and nutty.
02:41 It's been amazing. I can't have asked for a better reception in Leeds. Leeds has been
02:47 great. Customers have been amazing. The staff, the team are wonderful. So yeah, it's been
02:54 fun but a lot of hard work, very busy, very crazy, but we couldn't ask for any more really.
03:00 So all good fun.