Cape Town - It’s a real challenge to start a business during the lockdown, but starting a business in another country is even riskier and more challenging.
Laurent Bezaudun is a French businessman who wanted to settle outside Paris and chose Cape Town as his new home two years ago
With a background in sales and advertising, Bezaudun said: “The French are known for two things, gastronomy and fashion. I know nothing about fashion which is why I thought a bakery would be better.”
With his sights first set on Asia, social media posts of a friend living in Cape Town caught his attention and changed his mind. When he landed in the Mother City he instinctively knew that a French-style bakery would work well in the city.
Bezaudun opened Paris Cape Town on Sea Point Main Road in June and, with the help of a French baker, he has been creating breads and patisserie to delight the taste buds.
He said he started to work on the business plan and it all came together in Cape Town: “People here like to eat and drink, a lot like the French and love good food so it became obvious.”
He admitted: “I was meant to open in June 2020 and then last year I had to fly back to France to get my visa issued and when I got back in December 2020… thankfully I had already found the bakery space and an architect.”
It took them four months to get the bakery up and running. But days before he opened, ]level four restrictions came into effect. “I was lucky because 60 percent to 70 percent of my business was already based on take-aways. But it is a shame because people cannot sit down now and enjoy their pastries.”
With a small staff on board for the launch, Bezaudun said he was hopeful that the business would only grow from strength to strength. He said: “I have invested a lot of money in this first bakery because I want it to be nice. In the future I am sure I will open more bakeries but the best advice I received was to manage my cash flow now and invest later.”
“Having two French chefs guarantees a perfect quality and a pure French production in Cape Town,” said Bezaudun. Pastry chef Fabien Huchet has worked in a pastry lab for nearly 10 years. Head baker Thierry Gondran has been in the industry for 30 years now and has worked in France and Norway and for the last 10 years, in South Africa. He is an old-school baker full of French baking techniques, which produces quality and unique pastries and croissants. The bakery also has a team of waiters, two baristas, and two kitchen staff.
Bezaudun said his breads and cakes were sold out daily by early afternoon which was a positive sign that there was an appetite for his business in Cape Town. “I’m sure I can find great places to rent at a good price but for now I don’t want to expand too quick but build on this success.”
Weekend Argus