Friday 28 October 2011

Week Beginning October 31st - Expanding

Some of you may have picked up that we are recruiting for new staff as we are expanding the business. This is true.

Lend Lease is an Australian based construction company that employs over 17,000 people worldwide and who are involved in some of the world leading construction and community building projects.

Their head office is on Euston road, just a ten minute walk from Great Titchfield Street, and they are renovating these offices to be able to accommodate their 500 UK employees and Kaffeine, which in this case will trade as One Tree Coffee, will be the internal 'staff' canteen.

They occupy the ground, first, second and third floors of a ten story building and we will be on the second floor, with capacity of about 100 including a specially designed eco-friendly roof terrace.

All the food will be produced at our main store and transported up on our new and exciting trolley twice a day and the bench layout will be very similar to what we currently have as well with a synesso cyncra, the grills and the display case.

The only difference is that it is not on the 'high street' and accessible for everyone, but the benefit for Lend lease of course though is they get their own cafe and never have to leave the building.... Now that sounds like a good idea.

Opening day. November 7th.


Breakfast
Porridge - served w chopped dried fruit, muscovado sugar, golden syrup or honey 2.50
Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 2.90
Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 2.90
Fruit salad (pineapple, mango, strawberries, grapes, passionfruit, peach) 3.30
(add 30 p for granola or yoghurt)
Ciabatta Roll with omelette, pancetta, rocket and tomato salsa 4.50
Croissant with Italian roast ham, talleggio cheese, spinach & plum tomatoes 4.50
Croissant with gruyere cheese and plum tomatoes 3.50
Seven seed bakery bloomer toast with homemade preserves 1.70
Cinnamon and raisin toast 2.00
Banana Bread 2.00

Weekend Brunch
Lemonade bread with gin butter 2.50
Porridge w poached strawberries, apple and pear 4.00
Homemade baked bean casserole with toasted kumara bread 6.50
Smoked salmon lox with toasted bagel, capers, red onion 9.50


Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissants 1.60
Pain au chocolat 2.20
Almond croissants 2.70

Baked Treats
Apple and walnut muffins 1.80
Spinach and feta savoury muffins 1.80
Pear friands 1.90
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.20
White chocolate blondies 2.20
Portuguese tarts 1.80
ANZAC cookies 1.60
Passionfruit melting moments biscuits 1.60

Lunch

Soup 3.30 or 3.70
Kumara, orange and basil

French retro baguettes 4.50
Aged cheddar with onion jam, rocket, tomato
Coppa cotta ham with gruyere, gherkin, dijon, red onion and spinach

Foccacias with sea salt and rosemary crust 4.70
Smoked salmon with lemon butter, spinach, dill, capers
Bufala mozzarella with basil, tomato, aioli, rocket


Salads 4.50/5.50
Crown Prince Squash with parsnip, dill, orange segments, almonds and baby spinach
Chicken adobu with red rice, coriander, rocket
Brussell Sprouts with apple, hazelnuts and cider

Tart 4.00 or 6.50 with salad
Fennel gratin

Monday 24 October 2011

Week beginning October 24th - making someones day

I recently received an email from a young man who resides in Malaysia, looking for employment here in London. He works in the coffee industry and is very, very passionate about it all, his dream is one day to be a world class barista. Unfortunately, in order to get a visa to work in the UK he needed a letter of employment, something I am cannot offer. I replied and told him I am sorry I am unable to help.

Anyway, he has just been over on holiday to check out London and he came in to see us, not just once, but a couple of times. One of those was a Saturday, and we soon had him up behind the machine, making coffee and spending time learning with our baristas James and Amy. He loved it! He was nervous, but he loved it...and he did a great job.

I asked him how many emails he had sent to other cafes and he said over 20, but that we were the only ones that replied.

On the day he left to go back to Malaysia, he brought in a thank you card and a massive box of chocolates for us all to share. It was such a nice gesture on his behalf, we were very touched.

We like to get people who show interest in coffee in behind our machine and we also like to encourage people who are passionate about it to follow their dreams.

I guess we also like to think of everyone as a customer and if we can make their customer experience all that more memorable by a little bit of effort, then we are a doing a good job. I hope that Mavin will remember his experience for a long time to come and that he will also remember to always afford a little bit of time to those who show a lot of passion.

Just a little bit of extra effort and we have made someones day, it's what I like to think hospitality is all about.


Breakfast
Porridge - served w chopped dried fruit, muscovado sugar, golden syrup or honey 2.50
Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 2.90
Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 2.90
Fruit salad (pineapple, mango, strawberries, grapes, passionfruit, peach) 3.30
(add 30 p for granola or yoghurt)
Ciabatta Roll with omelette, pancetta, rocket and tomato salsa 4.50
Croissant with Italian roast ham, talleggio cheese, spinach & plum tomatoes 4.50
Croissant with gruyere cheese and plum tomatoes 3.50
Seven seed bakery bloomer toast with homemade preserves 1.70
Cinnamon and raisin toast 2.00
Banana Bread 2.00

Weekend Brunch
Lemonade bread with gin butter 2.50
Porage w poached strawberries, apple and pear 4.00
Homemade baked bean casserole with toasted kumara bread 6.50
Smoked salmon lox with toasted bagel, capers, red onion 9.50


Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissants 1.60
Pain au chocolat 2.20
Almond croissants 2.70

Baked Treats
Raspberry and white chocolate muffins 1.80
Tomato, spinach and cheese savoury muffins 1.80
Passionfruit friands 1.90
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.20
White chocolate blondies 2.20
Portuguese tarts 1.80
ANZAC cookies 1.60
Passionfruit melting moments biscuits 1.60

Lunch

Soup 3.00 or 3.50
Creamy mushroom soup

French retro baguettes 4.50
Italian roast ham with apple butter, gruyere, gherkin, spinach
Roast aubergine with sweet chili, goats cheese, rocket

Foccacias with sea salt and rosemary crust 4.70
Roast chicken with salsa verde, brie, tomato and rocket
Bufala mozzerella with peri peri sauce, tomato and spinach


Salads 4.50/5.50
Crown Prince Squash with parsnip, dill, orange segments, almonds and baby spinach
Vietnamese noodles with chicken, carrots, coriander, lemon and chili
Brussell Sprouts with apple, hazelnuts and cider

Tart 4.00 or 6.50 with salad
Leeks with goats cheese and thyme

Saturday 15 October 2011

Week beginning October 17th - Her Majesty The Queen

So it was that on Thursday of last week, I was fortunate enough to be invited to an 'all Aussie bash' at Buckingham Palace, held by the Queen, before she goes off to Australia on business later this month.

I came to work in the morning, then went for a thermal Spa and massage at Spa London in Bethnal Green, then home to get ready. I don;t know how many times I checked my invite, made sure I had my passport and re tied my tie, but it was a lot.

I walked up to the front gates at 5:15, walked past all the tourists taking photos, went up to the police and said 'i'm here for the party'. We waited in a queue for a few more minutes, then were allowed to walk in through the main courtyard up the steps leading into the palace.

It was like the red carpet entrance, with Australian news cameras interviewing the celebrities such as Elle MacPherson, Bill Granger or Jason Donovan. We them went upstairs (I got a bit emotional here, bit overwhelming), into the picture gallery where we had champagne and canapes and met some of the ladies in waiting to the Queen, who were circulating and talking to the guests.

Soon, we were told to have our passes ready and then we walked into another amazing room full of chandeliers and were introduced to the Queen and Prince Philip and shook their hands as we passed into the next room for the main part of the party.

I was talking to a man Called Dick Porter, who set up STA travel and lives around the corner from Kaffeine. At this stage I think I was just in the right space at the right time, as a man came past and said, 'right, you six people, form a horseshoe shape as the Queen will soon enter and she will say hello and may ask you a question'. We were told to call her 'Your Majesty' and then after that to call her 'maam as in ham'.

So then she came in, she spoke to some people in the line including Dick Porter, I was next to the director of the English ballet and she spoke to him first, then she asked me what I do. I explained as best I could what Kaffeine is and she asked where we sourced our beans from. Big plug here for Square Mile coffee and James Hoffman and she thanked me and off she went to the next person.

Amazing.....

The party continued and I then met Bill Granger who has tells me he has been into Kaffeine and thinks it's fabulous, then I chatted to my old boss from MCC, Keith Bradshaw and also Jason Donovan who is good friends with a good friend of ours and then I just wandered for a bit around the rooms, looking at all the incredible art drinking champagne and eating mini lamingtons and pavlovas.

Finally I ran into Shelagh from Lantana who I was really glad to see had been invited as well and we talked for a bit about the party and the people and then it was time to go.

I walked out of the Palace under a full moon and walked slowly up through Green Park, hardly able to believe what had just happened. I feel very very lucky indeed.


Breakfast
Porridge - served w chopped dried fruit, muscovado sugar, golden syrup or honey 2.50
Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 2.90
Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 2.90
Fruit salad (pineapple, mango, strawberries, grapes, passionfruit, peach) 3.30
(add 30 p for granola or yoghurt)
Ciabatta Roll with omelette, pancetta, rocket and tomato salsa 4.50
Croissant with Italian roast ham, talleggio cheese, spinach & plum tomatoes 4.50
Croissant with gruyere cheese and plum tomatoes 3.50
Seven seed bakery bloomer toast with homemade preserves 1.70
Cinnamon and raisin toast 2.00
Banana Bread 2.00

Weekend Brunch
Lemonade bread with gin butter 2.50
Porage w poached strawberries, apple and pear 4.00
Homemade baked bean casserole with toasted kumara bread 6.50
Smoked salmon lox with toasted bagel, capers, red onion 9.50


Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissants 1.60
Pain au chocolat 2.20
Almond croissants 2.70

Baked Treats
Elderberry and Apple muffins 1.80
Tomato herb and cheese savoury muffins 1.80
Pear friands 1.90
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.20
White chocolate blondies 2.20
Portuguese tarts 1.80
ANZAC cookies 1.60
Passionfruit melting moments biscuits 1.60

Lunch

Soup 3.00 or 3.50
Hungarian Goulash

French retro baguettes 4.50
Italian roast ham with onion jam, strong cheddar, spinach
Bufala mozzarella with puttanesca sauce and rocket

Foccacias with sea salt and rosemary crust 4.70
Coppa Cotta ham with crab apple jelly, brie and spinach
Smoked salmon with aioli, red onion, capers and spinach


Salads 4.50/5.50
Chicken adobu with red rice, coriander and rocket
Purple sprouting broccoli with tobasco butter
Roast Jerusalem artichokes with peanut oil

Tart 4.00 or 6.50 with salad
Crown price squash with feta and chilli

Friday 7 October 2011

Week Beginning October 10th - Buckingham Palace

About a month ago, I received in the post a very nice envelope with my name and address written in fountain pen on the front with a big red stamp ER at the top. I opened it very carefully, to find inside an invitation to Buckingham palace for a cocktail party!

Her Majesty the Queen has instructed the Master of the Household to invite Mr Peter Dore-Smith to a party in the palace before she travels to Australia on a business trip. This is not one of the garden parties, this is inside the Palace!

So this Thursday the 13th, I will be off to the Palace for an party with the Queen and apparently about 300 other guests. She does these sorts of parties when she goes off to other countries and invites members of that country to the palace for a leaving do.

To think that the Queen has somehow heard about Kaffeine is a truly wonderful and humbling thought. To know that the extremely hard work of all the staff who currently work and who have worked here, and that the support of all our fabulous customers is being recognised is even better.

Obviously, I cant wait, its going to be an exciting week...I wish I could take you all with me.


Breakfast
Porridge - served w chopped dried fruit, muscovado sugar, golden syrup or honey 2.50
Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 2.90
Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 2.90
Fruit salad (pineapple, mango, strawberries, grapes, passionfruit, peach) 3.30
(add 30 p for granola or yoghurt)
Ciabatta Roll with omelette, pancetta, rocket and tomato salsa 4.50
Croissant with Italian roast ham, talleggio cheese, spinach & plum tomatoes 4.50
Croissant with gruyere cheese and plum tomatoes 3.50
Seven seed bakery bloomer toast with homemade preserves 1.70
Cinnamon and raisin toast 2.00
Banana Bread 2.00

Weekend Brunch
Lemonade bread with gin butter 2.50
Homemade baked bean casserole with toasted kumara bread 6.50
Smoked salmon lox with toasted bagel, capers, red onion 9.50


Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissants 1.60
Pain au chocolat 2.20
Almond croissants 2.70

Baked Treats
Victoria Plum muffins 1.80
Four Cheese savoury muffins 1.80
Pear friands 1.90
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.20
White chocolate blondies 2.20
Portuguese tarts 1.80
ANZAC cookies 1.60
Passionfruit melting moments biscuits 1.60

Lunch

Soup 3.00 or 3.50
Fabada - Spanish bean soup with chorizo

French retro baguettes 4.50
Italian roast ham with red onion, gruyere, gherkin, dijon, spinach
Bufala mozzarella with plum tomatoes, aioli, basil and spinach

Foccacias with sea salt and rosemary crust 4.70
Roast beef with Gjetost cheese, horseradish cream, rocket and red onion
Smoked salmon with aioli, red onion, capers and spinach


Salads 4.50/5.50
Crown prince squash with goats cheese and wet walnuts
Lancashire cheese with pancetta, pickled onion, herb balls and spinach
Broccoli with oyster sauce

Tart 4.00 or 6.50 with salad
Cauliflower and gruyere tart

Sunday 2 October 2011

Week beginning October 3rd - Porridge and Clerkenwell Chocolates

Amazingly, just as we plan to relaunch porridge into the hearts and bellies of Fitzrovia, and premier the incredible Clerkenwell Chocolates, the weather goes mental and we are back into summer. But what a great few days it has been.

But still, have porridge back on as as today, Monday, and as it's going to be freezing later this week, we delayed Clerkenwell Chocolates until Thursday when it will be a bit cooler.

It is wonderful how popular our porridge is, we make it with Bonsoy soy milk and chef Jared has his own secret method to making it that creates a great consistency. Topped with either honey, chopped dried fruit, muscovado sugar or golden syrup it is a perfect start to the day.

Clerkenwell Chocolates are made by a wonderful lady called Belinda who has this incredible passion for making simple, beautiful, quality chocolates. They are seriously some of the best chocolate we have ever eaten.

Available from Thursday, we strongly recommend you try some. We only have limited supplies each week, so you may have to be quick. Our first delivery is on Wednesday night ready for Thursday morning.

Oh, and the new espresso blend by Square Mile with be dialled in this week too, they are saying it is one of their best blends ever, we are really looking forward to it.


Breakfast
Porridge - served w chopped dried fruit, muscovado sugar, golden syrup or honey 2.50
Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 2.90
Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 2.90
Fruit salad (pineapple, mango, strawberries, grapes, passionfruit, peach) 3.30
(add 30 p for granola or yoghurt)
Ciabatta Roll with omelette, pancetta, rocket and tomato salsa 4.50
Croissant with Italian roast ham, talleggio cheese, spinach & plum tomatoes 4.50
Croissant with gruyere cheese and plum tomatoes 3.50
Seven seed bakery bloomer toast with homemade preserves 1.70
Cinnamon and raisin toast 2.00
Banana Bread 2.00

Weekend Brunch
Lemonade bread with gin butter 2.50
Homemade baked bean casserole with toasted kumara bread 6.50
Smoked salmon lox with toasted bagel, capers, red onion 9.50


Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissants 1.60
Pain au chocolat 2.20
Almond croissants 2.70

Baked Treats
Blueberry muffins 1.80
Courgette, cheese and herb savoury muffins 1.80
Pear friands 1.90
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.20
White chocolate blondies 2.20
Portuguese tarts 1.80
ANZAC cookies 1.60
Passionfruit melting moments biscuits 1.60

Lunch

French retro baguettes 4.50
Italian roast ham with apple butter, gruyere, gherkin, spinach
Tuna with olives, capers, red onion, aioli, rocket and lemon

Foccacias with sea salt and rosemary crust 4.70
Coppa cotta ham with strong cheese, onion jam, rocket
Mushroom and Welsh rarebit and spinach


Salads 4.50/5.50
Vermicelli noodles with chicken, carrots, coriander, chilli and sesame oil
Wet walnuts with strong cheese, red water cress and blackberries
Broccoli with oyster sauce

Tart 4.00 or 6.50 with salad
Leek, goats cheese and thyme

Week beginning September 26th - Spain

We have been away from the shop for a week on holiday, so I have been a bit slack in not getting the menu up and online. We went to Spain for a week, Granada, Madrid and Seville. Awful coffee, some great (and not so great) food and some real quality time with my family.

It was wonderful....


Breakfast
Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 2.90
Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 2.90
Fruit salad (pineapple, mango, strawberries, grapes, passionfruit, peach) 3.30
(add 30 p for granola or yoghurt)
Ciabatta Roll with omelette, pancetta, rocket and tomato salsa 4.50
Croissant with Italian roast ham, talleggio cheese, spinach & plum tomatoes 4.50
Croissant with gruyere cheese and plum tomatoes 3.50
Seven seed bakery bloomer toast with homemade preserves 1.70
Cinnamon and raisin toast 2.00
Banana Bread 2.00

Weekend Brunch
Lemonade bread with gin butter 2.50
Homemade baked bean casserole with toasted kumara bread 6.50
Smoked salmon lox with toasted bagel, capers, red onion 9.50


Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissants 1.60
Pain au chocolat 2.20
Almond croissants 2.70

Baked Treats
Victoria Plum muffins 1.80
Spinach and feta savoury muffins 1.80
Pear friands 1.90
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.20
White chocolate blondies 2.20
Portuguese tarts 1.80
ANZAC cookies 1.60
Passionfruit melting moments biscuits 1.60

Lunch

French retro baguettes 4.50
Asparagus with brie, pesto and spinach
Pancetta with tomato, parmesan, basil, rocket and aioli

Foccacias with sea salt and rosemary crust 4.70
Italian roast ham with gjetost cheese, pears, rocket and red onion
Mushroom and Welsh rarebit and spinach


Salads £4.50/£5.50
Chicken adobu with wild red rice, coriander and rocket
Cobnuts with blue cheese, red water cress and blackberries
Roast parsnip with peppercorn dressing

Tart £4.00 or £6.50 with salad
Spanish pepper and goats cheese