Crepe Crusaders

Local chef buys business to work with son

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The sights and smells of France can again be enjoyed out of a Shasta Camper at Finnriver Cidery.

Local Chef Brian Stafford purchased the camper and crepe business from Coco and Olivier Huin of La crepe de Quimper.

Now under the name Little Spruce Creperie, Stafford has used the time with his new business to repaint, retool, and retrain himself on a food he had only enjoyed but never prepared before making the purchase.

Stafford has, however, been cooking for many years and spent the last three as the chef at Finnriver before making the plunge in November.

Now, he’s taking his 18-year-old son Blake along for the ride of entrepreneurship as they fold over this delicately fluffy new page in their lives.

“They told me I’d always be able to feed my family,” Stafford said of how the previous owners had convinced him to buy the business.

Blake had his first crepe out of that camper while working as a busser for the cidery before his father took the reins. He’d get passed crepes from Coco without ever being allowed to pay, perhaps a fortuitous sign that he was already a part of the family business.

Blake and Brian both studied under Coco, who taught them how to hand whip the buckwheat flour, sensing by smell when it was ready.

As she turned the flour by hand, she would say that this is the smell of my home in Brittany, France and there is Monet, pointing to the fields of flowers growing on the farm, Stafford recounted of his training.

The camper was originally purchased by Olivier for only one dollar, then completely gutted and refurbished using techniques Olivier had learned through years of wooden boat building to give it the hand-finished charm it bears today.

With a fresh coat of paint and a little additional Pacific Northwest charm, Stafford is keeping the best of what was — while making sure it’s his family’s own unique love coming out of their kitchen.

Part of what makes the experience so special at Little Spruce is the care Stafford has put into sourcing ingredients. The flour for the crepes is about as local as can be, coming right from Finnriver Farm & Grainery. Greens come from Chimalow Produce, which farms three different plots between Chimcacum and Port Ludlow (hence the name).

On a recent Saturday, they were featuring a crepe with wild salmon from the Columbia River that Stafford’s wife had just caught on her line.

Because they’re bringing that level of freshness to the menu, it will be an everchanging, seasonal delight.

One sweet star that will always shine, however, is their crepe with butter, cinnamon sugar, cardamom, and whipped cream.

Currently, Little Spruce Creperie’s hours regularly run from noon to 3 p.m. for lunch, and 5 to 7 p.m., for dinner Friday through Sunday.

They’re also considering adding hours on Mondays and Thursdays if there’s enough demand, so get to eating.