They’re an any-time-of-the-day food, just as appealing for breakfast, lunch or snacking as they are for dinner or dessert.
For French-born Cecile Charrue, crepes are a family tradition, forever linked with her childhood and fond memories of watching her mother stir the crepe batter every Sunday.
Born and raised in Brittany – where crepes originated – Cecile’s mum taught her the art of traditional French crepes, a gift that Cecile now shares with the wider community at local markets, festivals and parties, via her mobile stall Peace Love and Crepes.
Cecile makes crepes the traditional way, but has tweaked her recipes to give them a health-conscious local twist. For example, her buckwheat savoury crepes are made using activated organic buckwheat (gluten free and easier to digest) and are egg free, so they are suitable for vegans.
She says running an ethical and planet-friendly business has always been her priority. ‘I choose local and spray free first, then organic. If I can’t get it locally I’ll choose Australian organic, and if I can’t get Australian, I always choose organic and fair trade. I shop in co-ops and compost all my food waste,’ she said.
Nimbin cheese; free-range local eggs; organic spinach; local spray-free mushrooms, olives and tomatoes; and free-range Bangalow ham feature on the Peace Love and Crepes savoury menu, while the sweet crepes – made with organic flour, local milk and free-range local eggs – are topped with goodies such as macadamia and cacao spread (fair trade and sustainable palm oil) with local bananas; local honey; Cecile’s homemade salted butter caramel; homemade jam made from spray-free blueberries, strawberries and raspberries from Bangalow, and traditional lemon and sugar (with unprocessed rapadura sugar).
Making crepes requires a degree of finesse, and watching Cecile at work in her open kitchen is part of the fun and appeal of the Peace Love and Crepes stall. It’s a concept she now plans to extend into catering for private parties, weddings and events: ‘People can watch and even have a go if they feel like it!’ she said.
www.peaceloveandcrepes.com.
