KINGSTON — When it comes to crepes, Paul Pluska, owner of J’aime Les Crepes in Kingston and Bainbridge Island, is a big fan of tradition.

Pluska learned the art of making crepes in France, under the informal tutelage of chefs in family-owned creperies. Now that he owns two of his own, Pluska is sticking to the original, buckwheat crepes that started in Brittany, France.

With 16 employees currently and up to 20 during the busy summer months, a lot of training is required to keep that traditional style.

That’s why Pluska and his wife Heather Pluska, co-owners of J’aime Les Crepes, are starting to send their employees to Paris to learn from the masters.

“I thought it was a unique benefit that we’re going to start offering trips to all of our employees, even our most junior employees, to Paris to experience what I did and go to some of the similar creperies that I learned in,” Pluska said.

Currently, employee Faith Knight is in Paris, learning from creperies that utilize the white-batter Parisian style as well as the traditional Brittany style. She’s the test-subject for the tour. Starting this year, Pluska will be sending two employees each fall to Paris for a week to visit creperies.

“We have requirements,” Pluska said. “You have to be 18, of course, and an opener and closer of both shops, have keys and be proficient at a certain level so that this is important.”

The two employees who are leaving for Paris on Sept. 29, Kim Hissung and Selene Duffy, both meet those requirements. Hissung has been working with Pluska for six years. Duffy, however, has only been there for seven months.

“I was super-honored when they chose me,” Duffy said. “I was incredibly honored for being technically the newest person … to get to be (one of) the first person to go after Faith.”

This is especially exciting for her, because Duffy has never flown in a plane before.

“I was just blown away by the opportunity, and absolutely was like, ‘Yes, yes,’ ” Duffy said. “I cried when I told my mom.”

Hissung said, “To visit Paris is amazing.”

“He’s talked about it before, in the past,” she added, “something that he’s wanted to do, but when he actually said it was going to happen, we were shocked.

“I think it’s pretty rare and pretty exciting. Not a lot of business owners do this for people, so we’re really appreciative and we’re really excited.”

J’aime Les Crepes can be found in Kingston, at 11264 NE State Highway 104, as well as on Bainbridge Island, at 143 Madrone Lane N. For information, go to www.jaimelescrepes.com.

Pluska credits the success of his year-old branch on Bainbridge Island with finally being able to afford to offer this to his employees. He’ll be paying for the airfare and lodging; he’ll also be giving them a stipend for food, so they can visit the six creperies he’s picked out for them to learn from.

“I think they’re going to benefit huge,” Pluska said, “because they’re going to taste and experience and sample all the same sort of crepes I did and come back, and (they) wouldn’t just be doing a job anymore.

“(They’d) have the same vision as me. Which is going to be, I think, highly motivating.”

Duffy said that the opportunity to travel sort of “fell into my lap,” but that it didn’t “come without hard work.”

“What I could get out of it is just, life experiences and beautiful memories and returning home and being a completely different person,” Duffy said. “And how precious it is that Paul and Heather (chose me). The experience is going to change [my] life.”

Word of the opportunity the Pluskas are now able to offer their employees has spread, resulting in an unexpected benefit to the business.

“I can say an added, unexpected thing happened with all this,” Pluska said. “I thought this would be a more internal thing; we were just doing it all for ourselves. But then someone found out and … business has gone up maybe 40 percent.”

He added, “People are finding out and they’re wanting to support us even more because of what we’re doing for our employees.”

Duffy said that the working environment is great, resulting in a low turnover rate and, instead of a large quantity of employees, a high quality of them.

“I think it’s such a job that’s more than just a job,” Duffy said. “They pay us so well, they treat us so well. They really want us to be happy there, and they’re constantly saying that.”

Hissung said one of the best parts about her job is the teamwork and camaraderie she has with her fellow employees.

“The job here is definitely different than any other job I’ve had,” she said. “It’s a lot of hard work. It’s really fun though, and it’s a lot of teamwork. All the girls are really close together. Everyone’s kind of like friends.

“It’s a lot of multitasking and a lot of organization and planning everything out all day. It can be stressful, but it’s well worth it.”

With their upcoming opportunity, Hissung and Duffy are both excited about their trip, and their job as a whole.

“I really appreciate it, and I really thank Paul and Heather for giving us the opportunity,” Hissung said, “and that I’m one of the first people to go, and I really appreciate that.”

Duffy said, “Thank you, thank you, thank you to Paul and Heather.”

“I’m just so beyond excited,” she went on. “It’s just unreal to me; I feel so grateful and so blessed to be in this tradition.”

J’Aime Les Crepes offers a wide variety of traditional sweet or savory crepes. For more information on their hours, location and menu, visit www.jaimelescrepes.com.