[Render Block into string] #episerver

ConvertHelper.cs

using System.IO;
using System.Web.Mvc;

namespace Foundation.Helpers
{
    public static class ConvertHelper
    {
        public static string RenderViewToString(ControllerContext context, string viewName, object model)
        {
            if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(viewName))
                viewName = context.RouteData.GetRequiredString("action");

            var viewData = new ViewDataDictionary(model);

            using (var sw = new StringWriter())
            {
                var viewResult = ViewEngines.Engines.FindPartialView(context, viewName);
                var viewContext = new ViewContext(context, viewResult.View, viewData, new TempDataDictionary(), sw);
                viewResult.View.Render(viewContext, sw);

                return sw.GetStringBuilder().ToString();
            }
        }
    }
}

usage.cs

                var result = pages.Items
                        .GetRecipes()
                        .Select(x => ConvertHelper.RenderViewToString(ControllerContext, "~/Features/Shared/_Thumbnail.cshtml", x));