Bon appétit: The Four Frogs Creperie is dishing up crepes to happy customers all over Sydney

When you want a French food fix, say bonjour toFour Frogs Creperie – the undisputed home of authentic French crepes in Sydney.

Ownedby four Frenchman (the ‘frogs’), the restaurant has brought the art ofcrepe-making to our sandy shores from Bretagne, the very town where crepesoriginated. They began serving up crepes and galettes (the savoury version) tohappy customers in Mosman, before hopping to two more locations in The Spot(Randwick) and Circular Quay’s new dining precinct.

WhileFour Frogs Creperie uses traditional recipes and methods, it’s known forexperimenting with flavours. The result is a menu that tickles all tastebuds.There are old-school delights like ham and swiss cheese and nutella andstrawberry, alongside smoked duck with hoison sauce and crepes flambees. Yes,that means ‘on fire’, and trust us when we say the chocolate, coconut icecream, and rum one is something special.

InFrance, crepes are enjoyed with cider, wine or an aperitif, and the Frenchmenhave continued that tradition with a carefully curated beverage list.

We caught up with the founding ‘frog’, FlorianGuillemard, to chat about how he turned a craving for good crepes into asuccessful Sydney franchise.

What prompted your move from France to Sydney?

My wife is from here. We had spent sometime in Europe, but we decided we wanted to live in Sydney to raise our kidsand enjoy the lifestyle.

When did you start thinking about opening a creperie?

We decided on opening Four Frogs in2012, but it took us almost a year to put everything together and find thelocation.

What are some of the biggest challenges in running a business in Sydney?

The biggest one is finding stars tojoin our team. The second is real estate. After that, the rest is just fun!

Has being in Australia influenced your menu or the way youmake crepes?

In France, crepes are very simple – welike them with ham, cheese and egg. So, we had to adapt to the Australian tastebuds.We’ve created plenty of new crepes to keep our customers and ourselves excited.

We also mill our own buckwheat flour,as the French one is a bit too strong in flavour for Australian tastes, and weprefer to support Aussie farmers instead of importing.

In France, what is the process to become a crepe master?

We do have a crepe maker diploma inFrance. It looks easy, but making hundreds of perfect crepes in each servicerequires skills and experience. There are 5000 creperies in France so they needa lot of crepe makers.

Four Frogs Creperie started in Mosman, and now has three locations, which is amazing. At which point did you know you could expand, and how did that change things for you?

We opened Mosman without really thinking we would have three amazing restaurants four years later. We had a great response from locals in Mosman and the restaurant became too small very quickly, so when a good opportunity opened up in Randwick, we took it. It was the same for Circular Quay: since we were offered an opportunity in such an iconic location, it was hard to refuse – especially being next to Nick Palumbo (Messina) and Adriano Zumbo.

Where do you source your ingredients? 

We are lucky to have some excellent producers in NSW, so there is no need to search far away. We know all of them and share the same love for food, so it makes things easier and very friendly.

What does a typical day look like for you?

It’s an early start with family breakfast, dropping the kids off at school, and getting a surf in if possible. I make a few phone calls, then commute by car to visit one, two or sometimes all three restaurants, where I meet with managers, partners or the head chef. I try to come home early when I can (which is not often), because I love cooking dinner for the family. If I can, I go for a run, then I respond to emails after dinner almost every day. It sounds like an easy day on paper, but I do this 6 or 7 days of the week.

What do you think of the French food scene in Sydney?

There are a lot of choices at the moment for French food, such as Bistro Gavroche and Bistro Guillaume. I’m glad they’re here, as they do a good job in bringing the taste of home to Sydney – especially the steak tartare at Bistro Gavroche.

Which crepe is the most popular, and which is your favourite?

Our most popular is the salted caramel sauce with white chocolate gelato and grilled almond.

I like all of the crepes, but my favourite at the moment is ham, goat’s cheese, cherry tomato and egg followed by Belgian chocolate sauce and grilled almond for dessert. I do eat crepes every day and find each one delightful.

Four Frogs Creperie has three locations

Mosman

Shop 1, 175 Avenue Rd, Mosman

Randwick (The Spot)

30 St Pauls St, Randwick

Circular Quay

Gateway Sydney, 1 Macquarie Place, Circular Quay

For more information, check out the Four Frogs Creperie website and Facebook page.

Explore the Sydney suburbs that Four Frogs Creperie call home; Mosman, Randwick and Circular Quay.