Saturday 22 March 2014

Week beginning March 24th - Shots per kilo

I feel a bit silly that we have only just started doing this. Perhaps every other cafe out there does it already and we are just a bit behind. The question was raised, how many shots do we get per kilo and how do we prove it?

The fact is, that question has always been raised and it has only ever been an estimate. If you are dosing at 19 grams then that's simply 52 shots per kilo. But you have to allow for wastage, dialling in, staff coffees, mistakes so.... 'let's make a guess, maybe 40?'

So we started checking. We created a spreadsheet where we record all the necessary information over a week. We bought some digital bathroom scales. We still use the buckets that Square Mile used to deliver their coffee in, so we weighed how much an empty bucket is (410 grams).

Each morning, we weigh the coffee in its bucket then minus the weight of the bucket to get weight of beans. We then keep all the buckets we use through the day, at the end of the day we weigh the coffee again (and minus the bucket).

Opening stock, plus stock used (purchases) minus closing stock. The simplest method of stocktaking that you learn in day one of accounting. This gives us how many kilos we have used each day, which is another great measuring and ordering tool. We then refer to our Aireus Ipad till system and work out how many espresso drinks we have sold, divide that by the kilos used to get 'shots per kilo'. It's fascinating.

I'm not going to go into the details of how many kilos we use or how many shots we get, but what is interesting is seeing any variances. Really we should be getting consistent spk's (I just made that up, cool huh?) and when we don't, we should be able to identify a reason why.

But lets take a number and use 10 kilos per day as an example. If you are getting consistently 40 spks and then one day you only get 30, that means that over the whole day you have lost 100 shots. 100! If your average coffee retail price at £2.50, then that is £250 of lost revenue. What the...?

Now the end of day text from the manager on duty is takings/total coffees/till variances and the spk's. We have a new goal to aim for and achieve each day. The higher the shots per kilo while still using the same dose weight, and the more consistent over a range of days, the better. Another way to say to our hard working baristas, thank you well done.

So here is a question for you. How much are you dosing at? (Most people would probably know that). And how many shots do you get per kilo and do you have the records to prove it?

Please enjoy our wonderful Spring cleaning menu for this week, as we will enjoy bringing it to you.


Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60
Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60
Fruit salad (pineapple, mango, strawberries, grapes, passion fruit) 3.70
Ciabatta roll with omelette, pancetta, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Ciabatta roll with courgette omelette, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Croissant with Italian roast ham, talleggio cheese, spinach & plum tomatoes 4.90
Seven seed bakery bloomer toast with home made preserves 1.90
Pumpkin seed and apricot fruit toast 2.40
Banana bread 2.40
Porridge with choices of cinnamon, dried fruit, chopped nuts, honey, golden syrup or compote 3.00

Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissant 1.90
Pain au chocolat 2.50
Almond croissant 2.80

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffin: Raspberry and marshmallow  2.40
Savoury Scone: Crushed curried peas and red Leicester cheese 2.40
Rhubarb friands 2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Afgan Biscuits 2.00

Lunch:
Soup: 4.50
Romero pepper, olive and orzo with semolina bread
French retro baguettes 5.00
Ham, lychee, ginger and chilli mascarpone, avocado, cucumber and rocket
Smoked salmon, pesto, tomato, red onion, and spinach.

Foccacias 5.30
Pancetta, jalapeño cheese, roasted fennel and rocket
Panko crumbed butternut with sweet chilli sauce, coriander, brie and spinach

Salads: 5.50/6.90
Tuna, cannelini beans, sea aster, pine nuts, capers, shrimp with a light tomato dressing
Black rice with blanched pepperwort broccoli, pecan, poppy seeds, red onions pickled in rice wine vinegar 
Salsify in a cheese and ramson sauce.

Tart: 4.40 or 7.90 with salad
Fried polenta with ash goats cheese, crushed avocado, roasted cherry tomatoes and scrurvy grass flowers

Tuesday 18 March 2014

Week beginning March 17th - St Patricks Day menu

Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60
Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60
Fruit salad (pineapple, mango, strawberries, grapes, passion fruit) 3.70
Ciabatta roll with omelette, pancetta, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Ciabatta roll with courgette omelette, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Croissant with Italian roast ham, talleggio cheese, spinach & plum tomatoes 4.90
Seven seed bakery bloomer toast with home made preserves 1.90
Pumpkin seed and apricot fruit toast 2.40
Banana bread 2.40
Porridge with choices of cinnamon, dried fruit, chopped nuts, honey, golden syrup or compote 3.00

Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissant 1.90
Pain au chocolat 2.50
Almond croissant 2.80

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffin: Cox apple and blackberry 2.40
Savoury Scone: Tomato and mozzarella 2.40
Rhubarb friands 2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Afgan Biscuits 2.00

Lunch:
Soup: 4.50
Leek and potato

French retro baguettes 5.00
Ham, roast rhubarb, mature cheddar, basil, spinach
Hummous, grated cheddar, piri piri sauce, avocado, red onion, spinach

Foccacias 5.30
Pancetta with glazed yellow plums, perl wen, rocket
Roast aubergine, chilli mayonnaise, feta and spinach

Salads: 5.50/6.90
Salmon fillet marinated with Irish whiskey, honey, roast new potatoes, green beans and watercress
Roast parsnips with honey chilli dressing
Quinoa with roast cherry tomatoes, cashew nits and parsley

Tart: 4.40 or 7.90 with salad
Beef and Guiness and cheese pie

Saturday 8 March 2014

Week beginning March 3rd - Get it fixed

A very good manager I worked with a long time ago taught me this. If something is wrong or broken, fix it immediately. If something needs to happen to make the work of your staff all that easier, do it as soon as possible. If you need a new piece of equipment that will improve the quality of your product and your efficiency, buy it now. (within reason of course).

It seems like common sense, and it is, but in the rush of hospitality and within the pressures of business, it is easy to just let things slide. The thing is, as the owner, if you don't fix it, or buy it, or do it, then no-one will. And then your standards start to fall. And the respect you should have from your staff starts to slip.

I read somewhere once a very good method for this is to have a little pocket notebook that you write down everything in as soon as you see or hear about it, so then you can get it done.

I just use my iPhone notes section. For example one of our superstars asked me today, 'can we please have a separate set of tongs to be able to get the butter circles we cut from the Lescure butter rolls onto the plates that we use for banana bread or toast'. Brilliant idea.

So I type that into my notes,  I have a section called 'Remember' which often has 20 or 30 points in it. Then when I get to sit down I write it in my 'to do list' in my diary. The key point then is of course to action it, as soon as possible.

But what if you don't action it, or forget about it, it's so easy to forget. Not only this one point, but any of the million and one brilliant ideas/improvements/DIY jobs/equipment requests your staff hit you with continuously.

I know how I would feel as a staff member. Not valued.

Now you can't do all of them, not all are practical or commercially viable, but most of them are. If you explain the reasons why it is not viable, that is a good start too.

Keeping on top of these things is really, really hard, but it is really, really necessary. And it is an integral part of keeping your business at it's peak performance at all times.

(I'm off now to buy a new flat head screwdriver so we can change our Anfim grinder burrs tonight, otherwise who else is going to?)

Please enjoy the menu for this week, as we will enjoy bringing it to you.

Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60
Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60
Fruit salad (pineapple, mango, strawberries, grapes, passion fruit) 3.70
Ciabatta roll with omelette, pancetta, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Ciabatta roll with courgette omelette, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Croissant with Italian roast ham, talleggio cheese, spinach & plum tomatoes 4.90
Seven seed bakery bloomer toast with home made preserves 1.90
Pumpkin seed and apricot fruit toast 2.40
Banana bread 2.40
Porridge with choices of cinnamon, dried fruit, chopped nuts, honey, golden syrup or compote 3.00

Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissant 1.90
Pain au chocolat 2.50
Almond croissant 2.80

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffin: Yarrow tiramisu pan-cake 2.40
Savoury Scone: Protein pretzel 2.40
Rhubarb friands 2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Afgan Biscuits 2.00

Lunch:
Soup: Spiced lentil 4.50

French retro baguettes 5.00
Ham, grapefruit mayonnaise, avocado, tomato, rocket
Aubergine, sweet chilli, thai basil, goats cheese, spinach

Foccacias 5.30
Smoked salmon, buckthorn hollandaise sauce, cucumber, spinach
Tomato, mozzarella, pesto and rocket

Salads: 5.50/6.90
Black rice, wild cabbage, almonds, roasted potatoes, pickled lemon and black pepper.
Rhubarb, hot smoked salmon, glass noodles, celery, carrot, chilli, fish sauce, peanuts, coriander and mint
Roasted purple mooli and green beans with ash cheese.

Tart: 4.40 or 7.90 with salad
Semolina pastry filled with almonds and ricotta, potato and spinach