Jamal Daftani’s journey from NYC bakeries to his own crêperie in North Baltimore
For Jamal Daftani, the secret to a great crepe–and by extension to a successful crepe business–is in the presentation.
“Crepes is not an easy business,” says Daftani, who opened Bonjour Crepes in the Belvedere Square Market last October. As with other kinds of French food, “you’ve got to pay attention to how you present things to people.”
A good crepe presentation, he explains, depends on an eye for detail and a steady hand in adding the fillings. Making the base of the crepe is easy–the key is how you finish off the top, he says.
In a classic Nutella crepe, for example, a drizzle of chocolate works better than a thick layer because of the way that the flavor should combine with, and not overpower, the sweetness of the crepe batter, the French cream and the hazelnut spread.
“There’s a lot of details involved.”
Daftani, who grew up in New York City, comes from a family of bakers. “My whole family was in the coffee, bagel and doughnut business,” he says. “My father was in the same business. I learned from him,” as did his three brothers.
“The only thing we know in the whole family is how to do bagels,” says Daftani, with a laugh.
As a teenager, he attended the Manhattan Comprehensive Night and Day School, which schedules classes throughout the day and into the evening to accommodate student needs.
“I went to night school instead of day school because I had to run the bakery. I’d go to school from 5 [p.m.] to 11. Then I had to be prepared to be at the bakery at 1 o’clock in the morning to bake the bagels and to bake through the morning.” After the bagels were made, he ran the coffee shop until he got off work in the early afternoon. “That was my sleep time.”
Although Daftani has spent many years in the bakery business, he made some other stops on his way to Belvedere Square. In 2003 he moved to the D.C. area, where he worked in the nightclub business and ran a car dealership. A few years later he moved to Philadelphia, where he managed a group of Popeyes.
“After a while I said to myself, ‘I need to do something new,’” Daftani recalls. He hit upon the “French crepe concept” and decided to go abroad to learn the business firsthand.
“I traveled overseas to France and other countries to see the cuisines and how they do things, how they do everything right,” he says.
Bonjour Crepes offers a range of sweet and savory choices. The sweet ones are in the French style, he says, with an emphasis on fresh fruit. The savory crepes are less traditional, with flavors like Philly cheesesteak and teriyaki chicken.
What to choose is a personal decision, he says. “Some people like the savory, and some people, especially young people, like the sweet.”
Other offerings at Bonjour Crepe are rolled ice cream and bubble tea.
Daftani hopes to expand Bonjour Crepes to other locations and says that he picked Belvedere Square as the place to start because of the good feeling he got when he visited the neighborhood.
“It’s a great community, very involved in the food court,” he says. “They’re supporting the food court–that’s why I picked this place.”
Bonjour Crepes is open Monday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It’s located in the southeast section of the Belvedere Square Market at 529 E. Belvedere Ave.
To learn more, follow Bonjour Crepes on Instagram, @bonjour_crep.