LOS ANGELES — Can you smell what The Rock is cooking? You can now eat like your favorite celebrity wrestler turned actor at Brique.
Racquel Rockquemore-Breiz, better known as "Chef Rocky," created the perfect French toast for her celebrity client.
“This is stuff I love to eat for myself and everybody else around me loves to eat,” said Rockquemore-Breiz.
Chef Rocky is a personal chef and so is her husband Daniel Breiz. They recently opened Brique, which specializes in French toast. They met in culinary school and both wanted to transition into the private space, working for various families around the country before landing jobs in LA.
“We always thought, ‘Damn. What if we cooked for so and so one day?’ But it wasn’t pressure,” said Breiz.
This dream came true when Chef Rocky became the private chef for The Rock. Yes, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. She was introduced to Johnson by a friend and they hit it off. Having the same name was just a bonus she says, “What a coincidence. What are the odds that we have the same name?”
Johnson is known for eating clean, but having massive cheat meals. This is where Chef Rocky can be creative. One day she made her French toast, which she always served to her family, but Rock-sized the portion.
“You have to manipulate dishes to be twice the size that they are and create flavors that are new and still taste like home,” said Rockquemore-Breiz.
She infused her style with Johnson's favorite flavors making her own whipped cream, a peanut butter coconut maple syrup and coconut chips all covering a big brique, which is a thick-cut brioche toast dipped in a custard batter.
“It’s a process to get it to look like it does. I can’t share that secret, but he attempts it and it’s cute when he does, but I do it myself,” said Rockquemore-Breiz.
Aptly named “The Rock Toast,” Rockquemore-Breiz decided to go public eight months ago, popping up around the city with Johnson’s blessing. But, they didn’t expect what happened next. Johnson actually shared a video of the brique on his Instagram that garnered more than 15 million views. Chef Rocky and Breiz's business grew quicker than they expected.
“After that, our lives changed for the better. He’s totally supportive and has been nothing but kind and gracious about Brique,” said Rockquemore-Breiz.
Now, anyone can get their hands on the Brique in pre-packaged to-go boxes that allow diners to top it themselves at home. They are still keeping their private jobs. Rockquemore-Breizwon’t give her secrets away, so she still hand-makes every single brique herself.
“People think you only eat French toast for breakfast or lunch or brunch, but now with Brique you can have it any time of day. There is no wrong time to have a brique,” she said.
Pre-order this larger than life French toast made with love from Brique popping up around LA and with a storefront coming soon.