Bizou food truck is now serving real Breton-style crepes

The only true crepes, says master crepe maker Frédérique Guette, are the ones utilizing recipes from the region of France where, historically, the crepe — a light, paper-thin pancake — originated: Brittany. Guette is from Paris, but her husband and business partner, Frédéric Boëté, is from Brittany and a purist.

“A savory crepe is called, in the Breton language, a galette. Only the sweet ones are called crepes,” says Guette.

Both sweet and savory crepes are now being freshly prepared — currently on weekends, but soon Thursday through Sunday — by Guette and Boëté in their bright green food truck, Bizou. The name translates as “kiss” in French, but in the Breton dialect, it means a round piece of jewelry.

“And our crepes are round,” Guette says. “And beautiful.”

The Bizou truck made its Kansas City debut last Sunday at the corner of 31st Street and Gillham.

Bizou was parked in the lot in front of the Bridgeport Community Church, but it was a particularly damp morning.

“We opened at 11 a.m.,” Guette says, “but we didn’t have our first customer until 2 p.m.”

Frédérique Guette doesn’t have much a Gallic accent. She first came to Kansas City in 1983 as a foreign exchange student (she was placed at Winnetonka High School) and shortly afterward, married a classmate.

“I stayed in Kansas City for 10 years, then divorced and moved back to France for 15 years,” Guette says. “That’s when I met Frédéric. We wanted to open a restaurant called Bizou when we decided to move to Kansas City. I even bought a building for it. But we decided to start more simply, with a food truck.”

This couple is very serious about their crepe-making skills. Both attended and completed the crepe program at Ecole Maître Crêpier in Rennes, France, two years ago.

“It’s the finest crepe school in France,” Guette says. “They still use ancestral methods to prepare the batter and to “turn” the crepes on the grill.”

The Bizou food truck will serve 10 savory crepes and 10 sweet crepes, including the popular Nutella and banana version and the savory complête made with egg, Gruyere cheese and Black Forest ham. Other choices will include a savory creation — all the savory crepes are made with buckwheat flour — made with smoked salmon.

“I also make my own dark-chocolate ganache for people who don’t care for Nutella,” Guette says.

The husband and wife operate the Bizou truck together: Frédéric at the grill and Frédérique as salesperson and public face of the business. “My husband’s English isn’t perfect yet,” she says.

This Saturday, from 4 to 8 p.m., Bizou will be parked at Bridgeport Community Church. The following day, Bizou will be selling crepes from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“We realized last weekend that the customers wanted coffee or tea with their crepes. Starting Saturday, we’ll have it.”