Money comes and goes, but memories — and delicious crepes — are what really matter.

That, at least, is Paul Pluska’s philosophy, and the guiding principle behind his upcoming efforts to fund annual European trips for select employees of his increasingly popular crepe restaurant J’aime Les Crepes, which recently marked the first-year anniversary of operation of its second location in downtown Winslow.

During their trips, with meal and travel expenses covered by Pluska, the young crepe cooks will follow a loose educational itinerary and visit and sample the very same local crepes that first inspired Pluska himself to take up the craft years ago.

“While living there, I had a lot of time and the opportunity to learn all about how the French operate a small creperie,” Pluska said. “I learned all that we do from small, family-run creperies in Paris and throughout Brittany [and] Normandy. Many of these families helped me with equipment, recipes and advice.”

He has since sought to emulate those tasty traditions and, judging by the awards continually racked up by the grub at both his Kingston and Bainbridge-based shops, succeeded.

“Our savory batter is just what you would find in many typical creperies in the Brittany [and] Normandy regions of France,” he explained.

Very soon, the first of Pluska’s selected employees won’t simply have to take his word for that fact anymore.

Faith Knight, 19, a Kingston native and experienced employee working in both branches of J’aime Les Crepes, has been selected as the first to make the voyage. She’ll be traveling with a friend, and spending approximately 10 days in Paris seeking out Pluska’s picks for the best crepes, as well sight-seeing and exploring the city.

“This is all about fun,” Pluska explained, saying that the experience and memories of travel — such a treasured part of his own life — is a benefit he’d prefer to give his employees rather than simply a monetary bonus.

“It is a new idea for a small employer to offer a benefit like this,” he said. “I know it is unusual, but it will work for us. I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time.”

Financially speaking, the time was finally right, he said.

“We had a very good year,” he added. “The opening of [the] Bainbridge [store] has allowed it to happen.”

The trip will be the first time abroad for Knight, and she is very excited for the opportunity and proud to be the shop’s first international crepe ambassador, she said recently.

“I’m so excited,” she exclaimed, adding that it had long been her intent to travel to Europe, and Paris in particular. She had, she said, “been planning it.”

“I always wanted to travel,” Knight said. “It’s an incredible opportunity.”

Knight said she was most excited to visit the shops on Pluska’s list and sample the local food, as well as some more “cliched” tourist stops, including the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame Cathedral.

In the future, Pluska said he intends to send two employees together on the trip, which he intends to offer at least once annually to select employees based on their performance, experience and desire.

“[It’s] very exciting to our employees, but also I see it as a benefit to me and our customers,” Pluska explained. “The employees that go will return with the same vision I have. They will feel more a part of the bigger idea, rather than just doing a job.”

“We already have very hard-working employees with low turnover, this will make it even better,” he added.

Knight said she intends to keep a travel journal and possibly a blog during her trip, and Pluska said he has long considered distilling his knowledge of European crepe stylings and regional variations into a book or travel guide.

“I believe the more successful business model going forward is letting  more of the profits and benefits flow down to all rather than all the profit going to the top” Pluska explained. “Lower-level employees can contribute a lot more if they are included in the bigger picture. This is my way of operating a business in that spirit.”