I am reading a book "Wild Ride" by Adam Lashinsky about Uber and came across the following sentence: "Kalanick appeared on WEF panels moderated by Western and Chinese broadcasters, gamely attempted to flip a traditional pancake over an intimate dinner with the managers responsible for Uber’s local operations in Tianjin, and huddled with his entrepreneurial peers."
And I can't understand the meaning of the phrase in bold. Would highly appreciate it if someone could help me to figure it out.
I did some research in online dictionaries and Google in general.
- I know that "to flip" means "to move into a different position",
- to flip one's pancake = "to delight", "to inspire",
but I cannot figure out a meaning in this particular context.
Does that mean that he tried to inspire his local managers? Why then "traditional pancake"? Because he usually tries to inspire people?
I am not a native speaker and sometimes cannot grasp all the shades of meaning, that's why I'm asking for help....