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A conversation with French baker Pablo

 

Daily Busan sat down with Pablo, a Parisian and the baker-owner of Quartier Général (큐제), a bakery and café in Yeonje-gu District.

Q. Please introduce yourself and your shop to Daily Busan subscribers.

My name is Pablo. I am French and came to Korea for the first time in 2014 on a working holiday visa. I fell in love with Korea and the Korean language, so I kept studying Korean even after I returned to France. I met my Korean wife in Paris, and we came back to Korea in 2019 to open a bakery café. 

At that time, we opened our shop, QG, in Namsan-dong. Last September, we relocated here, near Busan City Hall. Thanks to the new location, most of our customers are civil servants. That's why we are busy on the weekdays but relatively quiet on weekends. 

QG follows traditional French recipes because I want to offer authentic French-style bread and pastries to Koreans. I use healthy ingredients to make freshly baked bread every day. I also use premium roasted coffee beans in the café.

Since most QG customers are Korean, we also provide fusion-style breads. Our signature items are croissants and apple pies. People love our apple pies because we make our own apple jam with high-quality apples. It’s not too sweet, and it’s delicious.

Q. Could you tell me about your life in Busan?

Compared to Seoul, where I lived once, Busan is less populated and easy to get around. It takes only 30 to 40 minutes to go anywhere in the city. Another thing I like about the city is the nice weather and various events throughout the year.

Q. Why did you open a bakery in Busan?

My wife was born and raised in Busan. We decided to open our bakery here because it would be comfortable and easy to start a business where my wife has family.

At first, I didn’t know what kind of bread or drinks Korean people like. And I didn’t know how to make drinks at first, so I took a class. I also went to various cafes to figure out what people like. I learned that Koreans generally like sweet things like desserts, so I made a lot of sweet breads and pastries.

Q. What are the rewards of running a bakery?

I feel my effort is appreciated by customers when they come and say, “It’s delicious.” I guess they wonder and want to know about me because I am Parisian. These days, we talk about Paris and the 2024 Paris Olympics. Some Busanites are impatient, but most of my customers are kind, and I have many regulars in my shop.

Q. Busan is becoming more global than in the past. Do you have any ideas on how to make Busan more global?

I think it’s a great idea that the city focuses on English education to be a global city, but I also think many foreigners are interested in Korean culture and language. Thus, I wish we had more Korean language classes for foreigners who want to learn. Many of my friends want to continue studying Korean, but they say it’s hard to find classes in Busan. Korean language classes for international residents are needed to make a truly global hub city.

◎ QG (큐제): 34 Jungang-daero, 1043beon-gil, Yeonsan-dong, Yeonje-gu