A lifelong chef finds entrepreneurship success with Crêpe Delicious

Oded Yefet

Oded Yefet has always loved to cook. His mother wasn’t a very good cook growing up, so he started at an early age. This led to his first business at age 16 at a community centre in Israel selling drinks, fruits and snacks to children during an after school program. His passion for cooking led him to enroll in a food and beverage program in Israel and later chef school in Europe. When he was 23 he opened his first catering company supplying events, parties and film shoots.

After running the business for 10 years he moved to Canada and found his next entrepreneurial venture. “The idea came when I was looking for the perfect addition to the Canadian quick service food industry,” Yefet says. “I wanted to find something that was healthy, tasty and quick for people on-the-go.” He travelled the world in search of inspiration, from Far East Asia to North Africa. But it was on the streets in Paris where he noticed street vendors selling crêpes in the same way North American vendors sell hot dogs and found his bright idea. “I loved the versatility of the crêpe, how it was not only seen as a dessert or breakfast food but could be served for any meal. Crêpes take about a minute to make and you can put just about anything in it!” And so Crêpe Delicious was born.

The first location opened in 2004, and the first franchise opened a year later. The restaurant is now the largest mall-based creperie in Canada, with 13 locations in Ontario and Alberta. Yefet has a commitment to healthy eating and says they only use fresh ingredients to fill their signature crêpes.

There were some bumps along the road for Yefet while starting the business. First he had to understand the Canadian taste palate. “What did Canadians want to eat? How would crêpes fit into this?” His second challenge was financing – it took him a while to build relationships and gain credibility with banks. He says knowing that it was the right path made it easy to overcome these obstacles. “When you really believe that something is going to happen, that’s when you get scared, but you know it’s right when it’s in your bones.” He stresses the importance of commitment and passion, and says that entrepreneurs have to be prepared to put 150% into their work. He says learning how to listen is important, as is resourcefulness. “Be resourceful by making sure that you can find people that you trust to do different things.” When it comes down to it, Yefet thinks that being charismatic, dreaming big and believing in your idea are the three qualities that will lead entrepreneurs to success.

With his love for food rooted firmly in his past, Yefet can now only look to the future. “Crêpe Delicious is going national,” he says, with plans to double the number of franchises by end of 2011. “We are continuing to grow and we will continue to keep expanding and opening new locations across the country.”

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