The French term for igniting alcohol in a dish to burn it off theatrically is flambé.
Flambé comes from the French verb flamber, meaning “to flame.” In the technique, a spirit such as brandy, rum, or cognac is added to a hot pan and ignited, producing a brief burst of flame. The method is associated with tableside drama, but professional cooks also use it during preparation of savory dishes such as coq au vin.
The practice became especially popular in the 19th century. Famous flambé dishes include Bananas Foster, Cherries Jubilee, Steak Diane, and Crêpes Suzette. It does not remove all the alcohol: one cited cooking model found that roughly 25% of the alcohol was boiled away by flambéing. The flame mainly burns alcohol vapors, so safe technique matters; spirits should never be poured directly from a bottle onto an active flame.