The day I found my inner (Pancake) Warrior

MANILA, Philippines — I have always dreamed of becoming a warrior — the superhero that does good. Well, at least that is how I would describe a warrior.

But, I much fancy myself more like Buttercup of the famous Powerpuff Girls because her mission is to “save the world before bedtime.”

Enter the pancake warrior

“Do you want to meet a Pancake warrior?” Lifestyle editor Millet Mananquil asked me.

“Pancake Warrior?” I asked. “Sure, I have always wanted to meet a warrior.”

 I only cook or bake when there are special requests made by certain members of my family. But the chance to meet a real live warrior, who makes pancakes, got me to say yes.

Pancake Warrior and YouTube sensation Elle Jay Orbase has over 110,000 subscribers on YouTube and garnered over 16 million views on his YouTube channel.

“Three days — the longest time my niece has kept an art hotcake that I made for her,” he says.

Like all true and great warriors, Elle Jay looks like a regular guy who does his magic and shows his powers when he is in “Pancake Warrior” mode.

Elle Jay is originally from Cotabato City, but he studied and graduated in Cebu. It was in 2012 when he took up culinary courses on the weekends while working at a call center to support his dream of learning culinary. After receiving his diploma, Elle Jay served as a demi-cook for Shangri-La Mactan in their buffet section and dessert-plating section.

“I used to make drawings when I was a child,” he says. “But when I got to high school and then college, I had forgotten about that passion of mine.”

Elle Jay admitted that he is not a professional chef and neither is he a professional artist.

“Actually, nag-start ako when I was strolling in the mall and I happened to pass by the food section. May nakita akong pancake demo and then may idea na pumasok sa mind ko,” he began. “I decided to test it. So I bought the pancake mix and then I started creating what I had in mind. The first design I ever made was the Facebook logo and then after that I started experimenting on other designs.”

Elle Jay started to upload his videos on YouTube and — as he got better at his art designs — so, too, grew his number of followers.

“It brought back memories of when I was younger and I would join poster-making contests,” he said. “My childhood passion was reignited with my pancake art. Now I make art as the Pancake Warrior.”

Fun and pancakes

“I want you to have fun,” said Elle Jay, as he started to draw his first art hotcake design. He showed us the plastic catsup bottles that were filled with Maya Hotcake mix in various colors as the tools he would use in creating his art. Then there was the griddle, which he said must be turned on only after the pancake design has been done.

I watched with bated breath as he made his first “simple” design: a smiley emoji.

“I prefer to look at a design when I draw,” he said.

So, as he held the plastic bottles he looked at the emoji drawing he made on a piece of paper.

Creating pancake art is more fun when shared with family and friends. Author Kathy Moran and event host Monique Buensalido

Once his artwork was done, he turned on the griddle and told us to wait until the batter began to form bubbles.

“Are you ready?” he asked us.

“Yes!” came our eager replies, as we were all excited to see the finished artwork.

He flipped his art pancake and voila, a perfect emoji was smiling straight at us.

Cool.

Pancake warrior, come forward

We moved into the Maya Kitchen, where griddles, plastic bottles and paper drawings we could get ideas from were ready. “Inner art pancake warrior be free,” I whispered to myself as I took my place.

When I got to my station, a sudden case of cold feet overcame me, because I don’t know how to draw.

But a warrior always finds a way to make an art pancake.

I asked event host Monique Buensalido to help me as I ventured to make a drawing of a smiling emoji bear.

It was teamwork that got me to complete my colorful emoji bear. Since I love lots of colors, I made use of as many colors as possible to complete my hotcake art.

When my piece was done, I called the Pancake Warrior, asked him to sign my artwork, and to flip the pancake for me (I was scared I would destroy what I had created).

The experience was lots of fun, and made me realize that the fun wasn’t really in what my art pancake looked like as much as creating the pancake art within a team.

My attempt at pancake art

Maya Hotcake Art

Ever since he started The Pancake Warrior YouTube Channel, Elle Jay has always used Maya Original Fluffy n’ Tasty Hotcake Mix and Maya Quick n’ Easy Hotcake Mix for his creations.

“It is easy to prepare and has a consistent texture,” he says. “Just like Maya, I also believe in making cooking fun, and so this project on hotcake art began.”

By bringing a creative twist to this breakfast staple, Maya encourages families to bond more together in the kitchen.

After all, Elle Jay’s Hotcake Art is all about sharing with others imaginative and fun ways to enjoy hotcakes.

The best part? Seeing the look of excitement on kids’ faces when they are able to make their own hotcake versions of their favorite shapes and cartoons.

 “You don’t need to be an expert to do Maya Hotcake Art,” the Pancake Warrior says. “For me, the important thing is that you make your kids and family happy, and that you have fun together.”

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For more fun ideas on making hotcake art, follow Maya Hotcakes & More on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Mayahotcake and on Instagram at @mayahotcakesandmore.

Visit at The Maya Kitchen Culinary Center every Tuesday to Saturday at 8F Liberty Building, 835 A. Arnaiz Avenue (Pasay Road), Makati City or call 892-1185, 892-5011 local 108 or 0929-679-6102.