Vlad Bunoan

Crepe Glazik owner Neven Charpentier and some of the restaurant's dishes. Handout

Article (news)

Leah C. Salterio

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1767674658910combo 2.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Crepe Glazik owner Neven Charpentier and some of the restaurant&#x27;s dishes. Handout</div>What began as a simple act of generosity during the pandemic has grown into a thriving business. In 2020, French native Neven Charpentier and his Filipina wife, Nicole de la Peña, started giving away homemade crepes to frontliners — an effort that would eventually lead to the birth of Crepe Glazik.“We were sending to hospitals, giving doctors and nurses, even sending crepes to their families for free,” Charpentier told ABS-CBN News.“There came a time when they already wanted to pay. We were surprised. We were just doing caramel and chocolate crepes from home, trying to help as our donation. But that eventually became our business. We started our menu step by step. I also made recipes in progress. We started very humble. Then we had our first restaurant.”From a neighborhood spot in Salcedo Village, Makati, where it opened in 2021, Crepe Glazik slowly began to grow. The second branch rose at Uptown Mall in Bonifacio Global City, followed by the opening of its third location over the weekend at Shangri-La Plaza. “This is also our biggest branch because it’s twice the size of our first two branches,” informed Charpentier.  “We open one branch every two years,” Charpentier added. “Crepe is like our pizza in France. There’s pizza around the world. In France, we don’t bring crepe as much, but we try to also bring it around the world.“Especially from my region in Brittany. My family really do crepes. From the time I was a kid, I know the taste of crepe. I know how to make it. It was for me something that will always remind me of home.” <div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1767674625731att.s6glnArrZks5nLY0lxrO_aXzwbpimhAXR6m37dlHkkQ.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>(From left) Celebrities Kris Bernal, Iza Calzado, Crepe Glazik owners Nicole de la Peña and Neven Charpentier, French ambassador Marie Fontanel, Coleen Garcia and Billy Crawford with son Amari at the ribbon-cutting of the restaurant&#x27;s latest branch. Handout</div>Charpentier hails from Quimper, a small city of about 70,000 people in France’s Brittany region, widely regarded as the birthplace of the crepe.“We can have small variations in doing crepes,” he said. “We can do crepe with egg, without egg, for example. Sometimes it’s crispier. We can do the crust that makes the crepe crispy. We are trying to do something different for the Philippine market.“We are trying to do the crepe as authentic as it can be. That’s why we get a lot of French customers, including the ambassadors. We really get a mix of customers. We really join Filipinos and French together. So if you go, you will see a table full of French beside Filipino families. That’s my goal. To bring everyone for dessert and enjoy the cultural and culinary taste of Brittany, the Western part of France,” he added.Charpentier was delighted that many Filipinos know about crepes. “There are people who also try the authentic crepe,” he said. “Maybe might be more premium what we do here [in Crepe Glazik]. At least people here know about crepe. We don’t have the difficulty introducing it to the market.”<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1767674592275CrepeGlazik0042.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Some of the crepes served at Crepe Glazik. Handout</div>Charpentier didn’t go to culinary school; he studied mechanical engineering in college instead. “My culinary background is always family,” he said. “I learned how to make crepes at six years old. At 10, I was already putting the ingredients. In our family, we made crepes every week, on Saturdays and Sundays.”Crepe Glazik serves authentic French crepes, as well as artisanal home-made gelato. “Everything is home-made,” said Charpentier. “Others were asking why we don’t have Nutella. We don’t have any industrial product. I want to offer home-made products. I keep on saying that, so we always try something new.&quot;Putting that philosophy into practice, Charpentier began making his own chocolate creations with almonds and hazelnuts. “We roasted in our kitchen,” he said. “We ground it and made out own nut paste with caramel. That’s our home-made Nutella, with praline caramel. That’s an authentic one.&quot;Charpentier isn’t afraid to experiment with flavors for the local palate, either. “Putting mango in a crepe? Why not? That’s more authentic than fusion. I don’t hesitate to do combinations for Filipinos. Sweet and salty taste is good for the Filipino market. I used a bit of raw honey from Mindanao. It combines super well. French love it. Filipinos love it also.”<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1767674541956CrepeGlazik0398.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Crepe Glazik serves more than just crepes. Handout</div>The couple is looking to open a branch in the south, but not this year.“If you want to stay in business, go slow. We opened three restaurants in four years,&quot; he said. “We want to keep control and make sure quality remains the same day after day, year after year. We maintain the same recipe. I don’t want to change it. We also try to improve step by step.”

In 2020, French native Neven Charpentier and his Filipina wife, Nicole de la Peña, began sending homemade crepes to hospitals — never imagining it would turn into a business.

In 2020, French native Neven Charpentier and his Filipina wife, Nicole de la Peña, began sending homemade crepes to hospitals — never imagining it would turn into a business.

How a pandemic food donation turned into Crepe Glazik

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How a pandemic food donation turned into Crepe Glazik

Leah C. Salterio

Published Jan 06, 2026 12:48 PM PHT

Read More:

Crepe Glazik

French food

crepes

gelato

Shangri-La Plaza

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