We tried flammekueche at Amelie in Wyken Vineyards, near Bury St Edmunds, and this is what we thought

‘What exactly is flammekueche?’ That was the burning question as I took my seat in the middle of the Suffolk countryside — ready to experience a dish entirely new to me.

My partner and I were full of curiosity. How big is it? Is it similar to pizza? And perhaps most importantly, how do you even pronounce it?

We ventured to Amelie at Wyken Vineyards, near Stanton, where Alex Crepy — who co-owns the Blue Fig in Bury St Edmunds with his father Regis — was crafting this intriguing flatbread-style dish.

As complete novices and feeling rather peckish, Alex encouraged us to sample the three available options and with each bite, we were met with a fresh explosion of flavour, leaving us absolutely blown away.

This thin, crispy specialty of Alsace in France, exceeded all expectations.

After seeing success with their Cambridge restaurant which opened in 2018, the new pop-up at Wyken opened on April 26 and cleverly uses the site's pre-existing pizza oven.

Within minutes of ordering, we were slicing into our first flammekueche (pronounced flam-uh-koosh) and we started with ‘the authentic’ — topped with sliced onions, bacon lardons and Gruyère cheese.

What I particularly enjoyed was the relaxed and informal presentation — the dishes were simply laid out before us, inviting us to decide how to best tackle them.

Unlike the predictable triangular slices of pizza, each cut we made created these brilliant rectangles of flavour — sometimes with a delightful, crusty edge.

It felt incredibly communal and I could easily see me sharing one of these with a group of friends.

After enjoying the classic version, we couldn't resist trying the other two. I eagerly cut myself a piece of the mushroom, mozzarella and garlic butter dish, and honestly, my mouth watered as I brought the slice to my lips.

It was so delicious. While garlic butter can sometimes overpower other ingredients, it really complemented the earthy mushrooms to create a wonderful taste.

Before diving into our final flammekueche, I found myself admiring Amelie's atmosphere, even on a quiet Friday afternoon with the sun attempting to pierce through the clouds.

The best word to describe it is ‘tranquil’ — tucked away and surrounded by nature, the only sounds came from the kitchen or from other customers enjoying their food.

With a bit more sunshine, I could absolutely picture bringing a blanket, settling on the nearby grass with a couple of beers and having a steady stream of flammekueche delivered every hour. Now, that would be a dream come true.

Back to the food, my partner was slicing into her most anticipated item on the menu — the dish topped with pulled pork belly and hoisin sauce.

Yet again, our socks were blown off. It was slightly messier than the other two due to the sticky sweet sauce, but the flavour was impeccable, adding a whole new dimension to what we had been tasting up to this point.

After 20 minutes, we had conquered all three of the tasty flatbreads and were so full we couldn’t move let alone order any dessert — though the tarte tatin with caramelised apples did sound tempting.

Before we left, Alex joined our table to chat about how the first month of opening had been going and his plans for the next couple of months during Amelie’s residency at Wyken Vineyards.

He said: “This pop-up is like our baby.

“We love being able to bring what we do to the countryside, in the middle of nowhere, and to see if the people of Suffolk are ready to try out flammekueche.

“The feedback we’ve had so far has been amazing and to be here, especially during the busy Saturday morning markets, is really new for us and we feel like a proper street food vendor which is a completely different direction for us.

“Flammekueche is just a perfect summery flatbread and we know people will love it.”

Amelie is open from 11am to 3pm on Fridays and Sundays, and 9am to 3pm on Saturdays.

On Friday, June 20, Wyken Vineyards is hosting its summer solstice event within its orchard setting and you can book your tickets here.

Entry is £5 (including all fees) which gives full access to the orchard and music performances while Amelie will be serving flammekueche.