Week beginning Decem,ber 16th - Karolina 'Special K' Malinowska

Karolina left us this week. Does that sound dramatic? It's meant to, as Karolina 'Special K' has joined a select group of staff who are qualified Kaffeine legends. Those who have worked here, made their mark, made their impression and given their time, passion and energy to the business. Those who will always be remembered.

Karolina started in October 2011 and was recruited for the now defunct Lend Lease operation that we started inside the corporate headquarters on Euston Road. Unfortunately, that business only lasted six months, but in that time Karolina became an Assistant Manager and under the close supervision of superstar barista Niall Graham, had become a very good barista herself.

Luckily, we did not have to lose any staff when we closed Lend Lease, they all integrated back into Kaffeine and it was from May 2012 to last week that Special K worked as an Assistant Manager on the floor, the machine and in the kitchen. She even helped me to lay the vinyl flooring in the vaults area.

She moves on to follow her own career path in translating and is now a 'transcreation executive' working for H and M over in Clerkenwell.

I would say that she is truly loved by not only all the staff who work here but judging by all the presents and cards she got when she left, by many of our customers as well.

We are lucky that she will still be in London and will still be able to pop in now and then for coffee and say hello, afetr all, one of her leaviung presents was a gift vioucher for a lifetime supply of Kaffeine coffee.

Well done, Karolina, you will be truly missed and your influence and commitment to Kaffeine is much appreciated.

We hope you enjoy this weeks menu, as we have enjoyed putting it together for 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
Coffee, cherry and walnut toast 2.40
Banana bread 2.40
Porridge with choices of muscovado sugar, dried fruit, chopped nuts, honey, golden syrup or compote 3.00

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

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffins: Cranberries and almond 2.40
Savoury Scone: Marmite and Cheese 2.40
Cranberry friands 2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Vegan Peanut Butter and Chocolate Biscuits 2.00

Lunch:
Soup: Champagne and camembert 4.50

French retro baguettes 5.00
Ham w sage butter, red onion, pecorino and rocket

Bufala mozzarella with tomato, aioli, basil and spinach

Foccacias 5.30

Tandoori Chicken with red onion, avocado, mature cheddar and spinach
Haloumi with roasted aubergine, tomato, pesto and rocket

Salads: 5.50/6.90

Roasted turkey with cranberries, stuffing balls, pancetta, red onion jam and baby spinach
Blood orange, grapefruit, pomegranate, radishes, feta and poppy seeds
Brussels sprouts with apple cider, hazelnuts and rosemary

Tart: 4.40 or 7.90 with salad
Purple sprouting broccoli with cheddar cheese and flaked almonds

Weekend and Monday 23rd Salads 5.50/6.90
Salmon with roasted new potatoes, sprouting broccoli, dill, tartare sauce and baby spinach
Bufala mozzerella with tomato, avocado, chimichurri sauce, pinenuts and rocket
Green beans with chilli dressing and peanuts

Week beginning December 9th - Jerry the Juicer (2009 - 2013)

'Oh Jerry...' 'Poor Jerry', 'Jerry behind please...' 'Can you wash Jerry please?' 'Jerry's been left in his own mess again'. Anyone who has worked here over the years will know who he is. I'm pretty sure it was "the legend that is Rhea' that named him back in August 2009.

I had searched and searched for a quality, small footspace juicer in the lead up to opening and at over £300, Jerry was a big investment. Originally he was placed on our front bench, but once winter kicked in and we started with soups and porridge, he had to be moved to make room. He was beautiful though, small, sleek, quiet, shiny, silver and he made great juice.

For the past four years he has ended up on what is known as 'Jerry's Plinth', basically the electrical cupboard against the back wall near the front. It's not ideal, but it was the only place for him.

We have calculated that in the last 2 years alone he has made 4,263 orange juices and almost 500 citron presses, so if we include the time before such records began, 2009 to 2011, he must have made over 10,000 drinks.

We had to retire Jerry this week. He was noisy, really noisy, a bit wobbly and broken in parts. Here he is. We have a newer model of the same type and he is, well dare I say it, even better than Jerry was. Much, much quieter and faster. The girls on service are much happier.

Jerry the Juicer - 2009 to 2013 - Kaffeine legend.

Please enjoy our menu this week, as we have enjoyed putting it together for 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
Coffee, cherry and walnut toast 2.40
Banana bread 2.40
Porridge with choices of muscovado sugar, dried fruit, chopped nuts, honey, golden syrup or compote 3.00

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

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffins: Raspberries with coconut 2.40
Savoury Scone: Pommery mustard, red onion, thyme and mature cheddar 2.40
Buckthorn friands 2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Vegan Peanut Butter and Chocolate Biscuits 2.00

Lunch:
Soup: Spiced chickpea 4.50

French retro baguettes 5.00
Roasted turkey with cranberry jam, brie, spinach and red onion
Hummus with slow roasted red peppers, grated carrots, mustard cress and rocket

Foccacias 5.30

Chorizo with avocado, guacamole, tomato and spinach
Crown Prince squash with mushrooms, blue cheese and rocket

Salads: 5.50/6.90

Roasted beef with roast beetroot and parsnips, horseradish cream and spinach
Baked cranberries, orange segments, avocado, glazed walnuts, blue cheese and watercress
Chantenay carrots with honey, thyme and pumpkin seeds

Tart: 4.40 or 7.90 with salad

Leek and mushrooms with pecorino cheese

Week beginning December 4th - Rory - Baker, builder, dancer, sandwich maker

Rory left us this week. Most people would not know Rory, as he starts at 6:15 am each morning, leaves about 3 pm and worked nearly every weekend over the past 18 months and we kept him downstairs most of the time. This was of course because he worked in the kitchen. It is always hugely comforting to a) find someone to work in the kitchen b) that they are competent and skilled c) that they get up very early every day and d) that they are a really nice person too.

Rory was another one of those. We are very lucky that we have had and still have a team of chefs who all have the same qualities. Very lucky indeed.

He has gone back to Australia hopefully to follow his dream of dancing professionally, which he is very good at too. If you get to see the Kaffeine movie coming out in January, he also plays a feature role along with his girlfriend Jess.

Rory was also very good at building. He started collecting the wooden pallets that deliveries get made on and are left on the street. He took them home and made furniture for his house. He was then commissioned to build the new crates we have outside the shop. They look very good indeed. We call them 'The Rories' and we hope they last a very long time.

He would help with general maintenance work around the shop, unblocking drains or putting things back together if required and he was a very good delivery person for all our catering orders. The banter in the kitchen, the self made videos of him making thousands of banana breads, ANZACS, portuguese tarts, brownies and blondies. A true Kaffeine legend.

We will all miss Rorza very much and we wish both him and Jess all the very best for the future back in Australia.

Well done fella....


Please enjoy our menu this week, as we have enjoyed putting it together for 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
Coffee, cherry and walnut toast 2.40
Banana bread 2.40
Porridge with choices of muscovado sugar, dried fruit, chopped nuts, honey, golden syrup or compote 3.00

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

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffins: Blueberry and bran 2.40
Savoury Scone: Sweet chilli and goats cheese 2.40
Buckthorn friands 2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Vegan Peanut Butter and Chocolate Biscuits 2.00

Lunch:
Soup: Butternut, orange and thyme 4.50

French retro baguettes 5.00
Pancetta, glazed apricots, brie, red onion and rocket
Tomato, roasted courgette, basil pesto, mozzarella, spinach

Foccacias 5.30

Ham, chilli cream cheese, tomato and spinach
Red onion marmalade, grilled halloumi, avocado, rocket

Salads: 5.50/6.90

Chicken adobo with camargue red rice and coriander
Baked cranberries, mature cheddar, roasted chest nuts, watercress, red onion and a thyme and mustard dressing
Roasted sweet potato with feta and mixed seeds

Tart: 4.40 or 7.90 with salad

Ham, manchego and rocket quiche

Week beginning November 25th - Food Safety

What is one of the most important aspects of operating a food business? To be very blunt, it is most probably making sure you do not make your customers very ill (or worse) with your food. It's quite a responsibility. It's also to ensure that for your staff and for your customers you are operating in a clean and hygienic environment. What amazed me when I first opened Kaffeine was that there is no legal requirement for staff to have food safety training, it is merely a 'recommendation'. Of course it is quite highly recommended, and you will get marked down quickly if none of your staff are trained, but it is not a legal requirement.

On our very first inspection by Westminster in 2009, we did not receive a very good score, as there were a few processes and practices we did not have in place. We worked very hard over the next year, even inviting the Westminster back for a visit and for advice and on our second unplanned visit, moved up to 4 stars. Then the process of rating changed and we received a new certificate giving us 5 out of 5. Nice. Very happy and very proud. That was in 2010.

We were told that every business in Westminster was going to be visited prior to the Olympics, but we were not, and the next visit we received was in July of this year. The man was shall we say, not very detailed, in his approach. It was quite an easy inspection. He certainly did not check everything. So I was a bit let down, not only because we are proud of what we do, but also because we want to make sure we are doing it correctly, that the Food Safety has confidence in us and that they have checked everything we do to ensure the safety of our customers. Basically that they test us thoroughly and competently to ensure we have safe food practice. To do this, council look at and rate you on three areas - food hygiene and safety practices, structure including cleaning and confidence in management.

We got the results and we scored 3 out of 5. So I was not very happy, neither was Chef Jared or Manager Claire. Part of council process is that you can request a revisit and appeal against the decision, which is what we did. I wrote a very long email to them, we were re-inspected by a very thorough and professional lady. I felt very comfortable that whatever score we received in review, the inspection was the best we could possibly get. She provided some advice where necessary, asked leading questions to our key staff but not really to me, inspected all our paperwork, invoices, processes and systems.

We work very, very hard to make sure all our food processes are safe and sound. We use the Better Food Better Business diary recommended by council every day. In fact we have one for the kitchen and one for the floor. In this we keep daily records of anything out of the ordinary that may happen, from a blocked drain pipe to food not of quality from the suppliers and being sent back to staff being off ill, to structural problems. It has training records, lists of all our suppliers, recommended methods and systems and practices and 'what do we do?' lists. Each new staff member must read through and sign off all the training modules. Each manager, assistant manager and any person who works in the kitchen goes onto the food safety level 2 course at Westminster Council. Both the lead chef and I have completed level 3 supervisory modules as well.

We check and record our fridge temperatures, we check all our deliveries for any problems, we have detailed, listed, and structured daily and weekly cleaning and deep clean tasks that are signed off by the staff members responsible. We have an accident reporting book and complete first aid kit, we have a professional pest control program, professional laundry for our cloths, colour coded chopping boards and colour coded cloths for cleaning. We have a professional refrigeration maintenance company, we only use reputable, traceable suppliers who are also professionals in their trades.

We have hand wash basins with soap, hot water and  towels, we have a separate, enclosed rubbish storage area, tea towels for drying dishes and cloths for ovens, aprons for the chefs and aprons for the staff. Our food is all labelled in the fridges, covered and dated and rotated FIFO, our fridge seals are changed when they wear out, we use professional dishwash machines and have dish detergent and rinse aid for the machines. The machines are deep cleaned very week. We have blocked each and every tiny little hole that we can find where rodents may enter (the width of a pen) and we search for (and block) new holes continuously.

We sanitise our work benches regularly, use throw away cloths and go though loads of paper towels, sweep the floors all the time and mop after each service, we have colour coded mops for different areas (kitchen, floor, toilets), have a bins with lids.

It is an ongoing, continuous, absolutely important and integral part of running a food business. It is common sense, it is good business practice.

We got an envelope a few weeks ago in the post from Westminster. We gently, carefully opened it and inside was a certificate. Five out of five.

Please enjoy this weeks menu, as we have enjoyed designing it and 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
Coffee, cherry and walnut toast 2.40
Banana bread 2.40
Porridge with choices of muscovado sugar, dried fruit, chopped nuts, honey, golden syrup or compote 3.00

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

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffins: Chocolate and raspberry 2.40
Savoury Scone: Courgette and chilli cream cheese 2.40
Buckthorn friands 2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Vegan Peanut Butter and Chocolate Biscuits 2.00

Lunch:
Soup: Fish chowder with young alexanders 4.50

French retro baguettes 5.00
Bresaola, gjetost, red currants, spinach, lemon mayonnaise

Aubergine and mushrooms with thyme, dijon, gruyere and rocket

Foccacias 5.30

Ham, onion marmalade, brie, rocket

Red pepper salsa, mozarella, tomato, spinach

Salads: 5.50/6.90

Slow roasted beef with pear, black mustard and gorgonzola.
Raw beetroot with mature cheddar, dill, lady smock and watercress.
Honey roasted fennel with salad burnet yoghurt dressing

Tart: 4.40 or 7.90 with salad

Sweet corn pie with baked kumara topping

Week beginning November 18th - Just the 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
Coffee, cherry and walnut toast 2.40
Banana bread 2.40
Porridge with choices of muscovado sugar, dried fruit, chopped nuts, honey, golden syrup or compote 3.00

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

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffins: Plum and carrot 2.40
Savoury Scone: Tomato, Parmesan and oregano 2.40
Chocolate and buckthorn friands 2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Vegan Peanut Butter and Chocolate Biscuits 2.00

Lunch:
Soup: Chicken, sweet corn and acorn soup 4.50

French retro baguettes 5.00
Ham, gherkin, Dijon, Gruyere, red onion, rocket
Roasted crown prince, chilli mayonnaise, Camembert, spinach and coriander

Foccacias 5.30

Smoked salmon, aioli, dill, red onion, capers, spinach
Mixed wild mushrooms, thyme fondue, roast chestnuts, rocket

Salads: 5.50/6.90

Tandoori lamb with couscous, three corner garlic, cucumber and yoghurt dressing
Sharon fruit, gherkin, gruyere, basil, red onion, rocket, hazelnuts
Sweet piccolo parsnips roasted in juniper

Tart: 4.40 or 7.90 with salad

Four cheese with orange and black pepper jelly

Week beginning November 11th - The London Cafe Party

It is especially after a busy day, with a bit of caffeine in your stream, that your mind is racing and you start to think of all the possibilities and 'what if we did this?' scenarios. Or at 3 am when you can't sleep.

Music has always been a big part of my own life, and it is very, very important to the feel and atmosphere of Kaffeine. We make playlists that play all day on our Ipods, basically DJ sets that go with the flow of the day. Of course, house, breaks, funk, soul, hip hop and electronic music is a big part of this and we are very proud of the music that we play. It's important for the customers, but also important for the staff who work here every day and listen to it all the time. It helps to motivate, to encourage, to make them smile and possibly even dance a little bit and to make the working day even more pleasant and fun.

Current and previous staff have shown an affection for music, some more than others including former lead barista James 'Obi Wan' Broadhurst and Justin 'Cool Hand' Luchterhand who also set up playlists for the Ipod from their own collections.

So when I approached our current staff with the idea of having a party, they were shall we say, a little bit excited.

Therefore, the idea for a London Coffee party was conceived. Of course it could have been just the 13 of us at The Social tonight, dancing around our handbags, but no, we have over 150 people from the London Coffee Scene and a few friends as well, coming along.

Staff from Taylor Street Baristas, Square Mile Roasters, Workshop Coffee, Artisan Coffee, Climpsons and Sons, Terrone Coffee, Prufrock Coffee,  Dose Espresso, The Goods Yard and many others will be drinking and dancing all night long. What a great opportunity for London Coffee people to relax and have some fun.

Set Times are:
Funk, Disco and Soul
Billy 'The Kid' Tahtis from former legend cafe Taste of Bitter Love - 7 pm to 9 pm

House
Matt Craig - 9 pm to 11 pm
Matt Grey - 11 pm to 1 am

The boys may mix it up a bit and have a bit of back to back, we will see.

I very much wish that old schools staff such as Justin, James, Amy, Missy, Sam, Big Nick, Ashlea, Matthew and others were here for the party. We will think of you tonight, cos we miss you.

This is the first party of it's kind. After the success of the London Latte Art Challenge, we hope that this will be a success too and we can have many more.

Drinking, dancing, good times. What more can you ask for?

Please enjoy this weeks menu, as we have enjoyed putting it together for 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
Coffee, cherry and walnut toast 2.40
Banana bread 2.40
Porridge with choices of muscovado sugar, dried fruit, chopped nuts, honey, golden syrup or compote 3.00

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

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffins: Cranberry and almonds 2.40
Savoury Scone: Red onion, cheddar, mustard and thyme 2.40
Chocolate and buckthorn friands 2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Iced Vo Vo's 2.00

Lunch:
Soup: Fabada - Spanish stew with chorizo, rape greens & cannelini beans 4.50

French retro baguettes 5.00
Pancetta, baked apple, brie, pommary mustard and rocket

Hummus, aubergine and carrots roasted in dukka, halloum, spinach

Foccacias 5.30

Chorizo loaf, roasted fennel, manchego, spinach

Mozzarella, tomato, puttanesca, rocket

Salads: 5.50/6.90

Glazed ham, baked plums and onion, roasted chestnuts, mature cheddar and watercress

Raw Chinese potato, celery, red chicory, candied walnuts, pickled radish with ginger and chilli fish sauce

Potatoes roasted in mustard, olives and coriander

Tart: 4.40 or 7.90 with salad

Fish and three corner garlic cakes with hollandaise and cranberry salsa

Week beginning November 4th - London Latte Art Finals and London Cafe Party

Nervous anticipation last Tuesday night as we rolled up to Square Mile roastery for the final of the London Latte Art challenge. We knew we had arrived at the right place as stereotypically, there were quite a number of fixed wheel bikes, tattoos and bearded men hanging around. Square Mile's new events room was ready, the two group Synesso was set up in the corner, and importantly, the free beer stand was just as you entered the room.

When you are talking about the legends of coffee in London, you could not get many more in the room at one time. We had the 2007 and 2009 World Barista Champions James Hoffman and Gwilym Davies, 2011/12/13 Dutch Latte Art Champion Esther Maasdam, 2010/11/13 UK Barista and 2009 Latte Art Champion John Gordon, 2013 UK Latte Art Champion Dhan Damang, 2012 UK Aeropress Champion Shaun Young and 2009/10/11 US Cup tasters Champion Ben Kaminsky amongst the crowd, and probably other champions in their field that I cannot remember or had the chance to say hello to.

Importantly, we had over 100 industry people packed into the room ready to rumble. Technical difficulties stopped us from projecting the first heats onto the white walls, but Ben and John got this going in time for the finals.

The legend that is Ross 'Brockley' Brown was compere for the evening and after a short intro from me, we were on the way.

I can't remember who was up against who in the heats, but, in what is now known as 'etchgate', the man from Prufrock, Jeremy Challender pulled out an etching into his latte art against Elyse from Talkhouse that won him though to the finals. The crowd and the judges were unsure if this was allowed, as throughout the comp we did not allow etching or animals, but as the finals were judged on 'being awesome', the judges let it through.

Timothy from Curators was against Ryoto from Prufrock for 3rd and 4th places and in a fantastic achievement, young Timothy won third place on the podium, then for the final it was Jeremy from Prufrock against James Bailey from Workshop.

We set up the now empty beer bar in the middle of the room to allow for maximum viewage and with the projection now working, we were able to see the final pours.

All heats so far had been one against one, but the final was the best of three throw down and it was James Bailey from Workshop who pushed Jeremy out of the way and said 'move aside, this prize is mine', beating him on the first two pours and taking the cash, the prizes, the trophies and the glory.

The photos from the finals are here, the photos from the rest of the heats are below.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/getnoticed/sets/72157637103201375/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/getnoticed/sets/

A huge, huge thank you to the sponsors of the prizes - Coffee Hit, Square Mile and Union Hand Roasted, a massive thank you to the judges Andrew Tolley from Taylor Street, Lena and Arianna from Union, James and Jess from SQM and for being here every week judging and taking amazing photos, Glenn Watson.

Another big thank you to all those who came to Kaffeine and Square Mile over the past five weeks and supported not only the baristas, but also the scene in London.

Now for some drinking and dancing!

Christmas Party Details.

We have sold 106 of the 150 tickets available. Seriously, get in fast if you wish to come.
Tickets are now on sale at Kaffeine and on the door on the night. All London cafe staff welcome.
November 9th at The Social, Little Portland Street, W1. 7 pm to 1 am.
You can pay in person or over the phone by credit card & we will keep them here for you to pick up.
£5 per ticket, 150 tickets only.

Please enjoy this weeks menu, as we have enjoyed putting it together for 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
Coffee, cherry and walnut toast 2.40
Banana bread 2.40
Porridge with choices of muscovado sugar, dried fruit, chopped nuts, honey, golden syrup or compote 3.00

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

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffins: Blueberry and bran 2.40
Savoury Scone: Courgette and feta 2.40
Lemon and rose friands 2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Iced Vo Vo's 2.00

Lunch:
Soup: Hungarian beef stew with pickled walnuts 4.50

French retro baguettes 5.00
Ham, cranberry compote, Camembert, red onion, rocket
Roasted courgette, crushed curried pea's with mint, feta, spinach

Foccacias 5.30

Red onion marmalade with mature cheddar, dijon, rocket

Smoked salmon, aioli, capers, red onion, dill, spinach

Salads: 5.50/6.90

Tenderstem broccoli with pancetta, hollandaise, pine nuts and slow roasted garlic

Pineapple, toasted Brazil nuts, gorgonzola, coriander and chicory

Swede roasted in peanuts with fresh cranberry dressing

Tart: 4.40 or 7.90 with salad

Salmon and watercress pie

Week beginning October 28th - London Latte Art Finals & London Cafe Party

That's it now, four heats complete. The top 8 are decided to go into the final at Square Mile Coffee and with the chance to win some amazing prizes as well as the potential for fame and glory.

We had another 40 people crammed into Kaffeine to watch what was happening and the pressure was on with our own lead barista Blazej and one of our senior baristas Grace were up against four staff from Team Prufrock, with individual entries by Benjemyn from Terrone and Nerius from Artigiano.

We were very lucky to have one of the leading people of the coffee scene, Jess McDonald as one of the judges, alongside Glenn Watson and returning this week, the wonderful Lena from Union.

Ryoto from Prufrock was up first against Grace from Kaffeine, with Ryoto going through to the quarters, then Jeremy Challender from P-Rock against Benjymyn, with Jeremy winning through, Kaori from P-Rock then up against Blazej 'Blaze' Stempin and again the Prufrock team got through and finally we had Gareth repping Prufrock against Nerius and he made it four Prufrock staff members into the quarters.

You could perhaps say that the crew from the number one cafe in London were not very tactical about the competition as it was now four of them competing for the last two places, but maybe they are being tactical after all and we just don't know it yet.

Jeremy against Ryoto and Gareth against Kaori, with Jeremy and Kaori being judged as the winners of heat four.

So the top 8?
Krysty, Timothy, Catherine and Thomas from Curators
Elyse from Talkhouse
James Bailey from Workshop
Jeremy and Kaori from Prufrock

Next week it starts at 7:30 pm at SQM roastery. Be there to support your favourites, cheer and/jeer as the milk is spilled, the hands shake and the pressure mounts.

Here is the link to the photos that Glenn Watson has been taking so far.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/getnoticed/sets/

A huge, huge thank you to the sponsors of the prizes - Coffee Hit, Square Mile and Union Hand Roasted, a massive thank you to the judges Andrew Tolley from Taylor Street, Lena and Arianna from Union, James and Jess from SQM and for being here every week and taking amazing photos, Glenn Watson.

Another big thank you to all those who came to Kaffeine over the past four weeks and supported not only the baristas, but also the scene in London. We hope to see you at the final and also at the party.

Christmas Party Details.

We have sold 96 of the 250 tickets available already. Seriously, get in fast if you wish to come.
Tickets are now on sale at Kaffeine. All London cafe staff welcome.
November 9th at The Social, Little Portland Street, W1. 7 pm to 1 am.
Also available at the final at Square Mile, you can pay in person or over the phone by credit card and we will keep them here for you to pick up.
£5 per ticket, 250 tickets only, no door sales/pick ups on the night.

Prizes, glory, drinking and dancing. What more could you wish for?

Please enjoy this weeks menu, as we have enjoyed putting it together for 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
Coffee, cherry and walnut toast 2.40
Banana bread 2.40
Porridge with choices of muscovado sugar, dried fruit, chopped nuts, honey, golden syrup or compote 3.00

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

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffins: Ginger and Pear 2.40
Savoury Scone: Pumpkin and cheddar 2.40
Lemon and rose friands 2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Iced Vo Vo's 2.00

Lunch:
Soup: Chicken and wild rice 4.50

French retro baguettes 5.00
Ham, gherkin, dijon, gruyere, rocket, red onion

Tuna, rouille, capers, spinach

Foccacias 5.30

Bresaola, baked plums, spiced hazelnut puree, brie, spinachRoasted aubergine, goats cheese, Thai basil, rocket, sweet chilli

Salads: 5.50/6.90

Roast beef and beetroot, hazelnuts, coffee mascarpone, watercress
Fresh kohlrabi, fennel, carrot, pickled pumpkin, mixed seeds, goats curdRunner beans and rape greens with cashew dressing

Tart: 4.40 or 7.90 with salad

Leek, mustard and gruyere

Week beginning October 21st - London Latte Art Smackdown and Christmas Party

Three heats down now in the London Latte Art Smackdown and last week we had another 40 people crammed into Kaffeine to cheer and jeer the baristas. This week we had the owner of Square Mile coffee and 2007 World Barista Champion James Hoffman judging, joined by Glenn Watson and Arianna from Union Coffee.

It was the most intense week so far, with a dark horse from a farm shop outside Bath travelling down for the event, young Matt, who beat Kit from Dose in the first round, but then got knocked out by Elyse from Talkhouse in the second. Elyse was one of the two who made it through to the final.

Shaun Young, who placed 7th in the UK Champs this year and is formerly of Kaffeine was up against James Bailey from Workshop in the first round. Unfortunately, even though Shaun has made many thousands of coffees on our Synesso machine, he did not progress to round 2.

Another Talkhouse barista, Miguel, took on Barry from Dose in the first round, but he was knocked out and Barry took on James to get into the final. The judges had their hardest decision of the contest so far and finally allowed Mr Bailey to get through to represent Workshop on the 29th.

We also had a latte art free pour demonstration by the UK latte art champ, Dhan Damang, who will be judging at the final, as well as a special, secret visitor for the event, Mr Ben Kaminsky.

Here is the link to the photos that Glenn Watson has been taking so far.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/getnoticed/sets/72157636600086883/

This weeks competitors.
Ken, Jeremy, Andrew and Gareth from Prufrock
Grace and Blazej 'Blaze' Stempin from Kaffeine
Benjymin from Terrone
Westhus from Artigiano

If you want to come among and support or just watch, you are more than welcome. All the heats are now full, but if you turn up on the night and wish to compete and there are drop outs, we will get you in. We have free food and cheap beer.

Judges this week include John Gordon from Square Mile Coffee, Glenn Watson and Lena from Union. 

Christmas Party Details.

We have sold 86 of the 250 tickets available already. Seriously, get in fast if you wish to come.
Tickets are now on sale at Kaffeine. All London cafe staff welcome.
November 9th at The Social, Little Portland Street, W1. 7 pm to 1 am.
Also available at the latte art heats and the final at Square Mile, you can pay in person or over the phone by credit card and we will keep them here for you to pick up.
£5 per ticket, 250 tickets only, no door sales/pick ups on the night.

Prizes, glory, drinking and dancing. What more could you wish for?

Please enjoy this weeks menu, as we have enjoyed putting it together for 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
Coffee, cherry and walnut toast 2.40
Banana bread 2.40
Porridge with choices of muscovado sugar, dried fruit, chopped nuts, honey, golden syrup or compote 3.00

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

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffins: Whitebeam berries and almond 2.40
Savoury Scone: Sweet chilli and cream cheese 2.40
Lemon and rose friands 2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Iced Vo Vo's 2.00

Lunch:
Soup: Tomato stew with rape greens and white beans 4.50

French retro baguettes 5.00
Szechuan chicken with roast pumpkin, pickled red cabbage and horseradish mayonnaise
Cooked apples and red onion, mature cheddar, Dijon mayonnaise, spinach

Foccacias 5.30

Ham, sauté mushrooms, cheese fondue, spinach
Tomato, mozarella, spicy red pepper dressing, rocket

Salads: 5.50/6.90

Ginger and cinnamon braised pork with puréed cherimoya, green lentils and garlic dressing
Poached quince with red chicory, blue vain cheese, walnuts and pennywort
Sweet potato with curried dressing and coriander

Tart: 4.40 or 7.90 with salad

Cauliflower with sea blite seeds

Week beginning October 14th - London Latte Art Smackdown and Christmas Party

Two heats down now in the London Latte Art Smackdown and this week we had about 40 people crammed into Kaffeine to watch the second heat. It was a brilliant night, short, sharp and to the point. With three of the most qualified judges in industry in Andrew Tolley, Lena from Union and Glenn formerlty of SCAE, it was a hard fought and very tight contest.

Once again though, it was two of the baristas from Curators who have made it into the final, Catherine (formerly of Kaffeine) and Thomas. Congratulations to both.

Next weeks competitors.
Benjamin from Terrone
Elyse and Miguel from Talkhouse
Kit and Barry from Dose
Shaun from Beanstalk (formerly of Kaffeine and 7th in the UK championships)
Matt all the way from Bath but we are not sure which cafe!

If you want to come among and support or just watch, you are more than welcome. All the heats are now full, but if you turn up on the night and wish to compete and there are drop outs, we will get you in. We have free food and cheap beer.

Judges this week include James Hoffman from Square Mile Coffee, Glenn Watson and Arianna from Union. 

Christmas Party Details.

We have sold 50 of the 250 tickets available already. Seriously, get in fast if you wish to come.
Tickets are now on sale at Kaffeine. All London cafe staff welcome.
November 9th at The Social, Little Portland Street, W1. 7 pm to 1 am.
Also available at the latte art heats and the final at Square Mile, you can pay in person or over the phone by credit card and we will keep them here for you to pick up.
£5 per ticket, 250 tickets only, no door sales/pick ups on the night.

Prizes, glory, drinking and dancing. What more could you wish for?

Please enjoy this weeks menu, as we have enjoyed putting it together for 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
Coffee, cherry and walnut toast 2.40
Banana bread 2.40
Porridge with choices of muscovado sugar, dried fruit, chopped nuts, honey, golden syrup or compote 3.00

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

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffins: Apple, caraway and juniper 2.40
Savoury Scone: Broccoli and gorgonzola 2.40
Lemon and rose friands 2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Iced Vo Vo's 2.00

Lunch:
Soup: Spiced sweet potato 4.50
French retro baguettes 5.00
Smoked salmon, lime cream cheese, cucumber, rocket, thai basil.
Roasted red peppers, courgette, red onion, spinach and pesto

Foccacias 5.30

Ham, roasted chestnuts, mature cheddar, dijon mustard and rocket
Saute mushrooms, red onion jam, camembert, spinach

Salads: 5.50/6.90
Chicken adobo with camargue red rice and coriander
Saute rainbow chard with cumin roasted potatoes and pancetta
Purple sprouting broccoli with fromaggio sauce

Tart: 4.40 or 7.90 with salad
Semi dried mixed tomatoes with oregano pasto

Week beginning September 30th - London Latte Art Smackdown - Prizes and Judges

Very exciting news this week. The London latte Art Smackdown heats kick off this Tuesday and we have had very generous support and encouragement from some of the top coffee people in London with offers of judging and prizes.

Coffee Hit, Union Hand Roasted, Square Mile and Gorilla Tampers have all donated prizes for first, second and third and all proceeds from the £5 entry fee goes into the prize pool as well. 

The first heat is this week and three more heats will take place every week thereafter, with the final to be held at Square Mile at the end of the month. Eight baristas per heat, top 2 go to the final.

A massive thank you to all the sponsors and judges for being so kind and generous.

Union Hand Roasted
1st Place 1 x 12month ‘Roastmaster’ subscription
2nd Place 1 x 6 month ‘Roastmaster’ subscription
3rd Place 1 x 6 month ‘Roastmaster’ subscription

Square Mile Coffee
1st, 2nd and 3rd place trophies.

1st Place - 12 month espresso or filter subscription.
They will also be invited in to roast some coffee themselves, under Jess's supervision and that roast will be gifted to their cafe.
2nd Place - 12 month espresso or filter subscription
3rd Place - six month espresso or filter subscription

Gorilla tampers are going to sponsor a one off tamper to first place.

Coffee Hit
1st Place - Comandante Hand Grinder, Clever Coffee Dripper, Filter Papers & La Marzocco T Shirt
2nd Place - Bonavita Temperature Controlled Kettle & La Marzocco T Shirt
3rd Place - Clever Coffee Dripper, Filter Papers & La Marzocco T Shirt

Judges include Glenn Watson SCAE (every night) and weekly judges are Andrew Tolley from Taylor Street Baristas, John Gordon, James Hoffman and Jess MacDonald from Square Mile along with Arianna Pozzan and Halina Klos from Union.

This is not just an opportunity for the baristas of London, it is a great opportunity for all of us to be able to get together and talk, drink, have fun.

If you wish to compete, or know someone who does, please call us direct or come into store to secure your place.

Remember too the London Cafe Christmas Party on the 9th November. Limited number of 250 tickets for this will go on sale at Kaffeine this week. 

Prizes, Glory, Drinking and Dancing. Happy days....

Please enjoy the menu this week, as we have enjoyed putting it together for 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
Coffee, cherry and walnut toast 2.40
Banana bread 2.40

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

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffins: Nectarine and coconut 2.40
Savoury Scone: Red onion marmalade with goats curd 2.40
Blackberry friands 2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Iced Vo Vo's 2.00

French retro baguettes 5.00
Roasted courgette and red onion, curried crushed peas, yoghurt garlic sauce and rocket
Tuna with fresh tartar sauce, cucumber and watercress.

Foccacias 5.30

Roasted aubergine, sweet chilli, goat’s cheese, Thai basil and rocket
Ham, pear baked with crushed black peppercorns, mature cheddar and spinach

Salads: 5.50/6.90
Paella salad with chicken, prawns and squid
Roasted crown prince squash, beetroot, parsnips, pumpkin seeds with a basil and tansy dressing
Raw Brussels sprouts with parmesan, apple, mustard-cress and buckthorn dressing

Tart: 4.40 or 7.90 with salad
Wild mushroom, gruyere and tarragon

Week beginning September 23rd - The London Latte Art Smackdown & London Cafe Party

I have been thinking abut this for quite some time, and when I spoke to my staff about it, they were (are), very excited by the idea.

I personally feel very fortunate to remember what you may say was the early beginnings of coffee community in London, primarily driven by Square Mile, from 2006 onwards.

My current staff talk about those days because they heard about them in Poland or Australia or NZ and wished they were here. Like old crusty ravers sitting in a corner reminiscing about the 'good old days', we now talk about them with a fond 'oh, do you remember when?'

Square Mile in particular used to hold espresso tasting nights on a Wednesday at their original roastery, then came the legendary Ultimate Barista Fighter competitions. These events really brought together, influenced, encouraged and inspired a whole load of people to keep furthering their careers in the coffee industry in London and the U.K.

The harsh reality is, those days are over and are but a warm fuzzy memory. These two events are not to recreate those old events, these two events are a simple effort to bring together the coffee community of London as it is now, and to celebrate what we have all achieved so far, for the young coffee people to have a party, and for the old coffee people to sit in the corner and reminisce and do Dad dancing or pull a few latte art moves.

The simple premise is -

London Latte Art Smackdown Knockout:
Four Heats to be held at Kaffeine every Tuesday night in October from 7:30 pm
8 baristas per night can compete
£5 entry per barista, paid in advance at Kaffeine only. 

The barista can choose the night to compete, or we choose for them
Top 2 from each heat will go through to....
The final.
To be held at Square Mile Roastery on Tuesday 29th October
Prizes donated already by SQM, Union and Coffee Hit for 1st, 2nd and 3rd. 

Entry fee also goes to prize pool.
Obviously at Kaffeine we can only fit 30 or so people per night at a push, so please don't bring everyone.

We thought at the same time, we should also have a party. Not connected to the Latte Art, no real reason or concept except to just have a few drinks and a dance as an industry. But because it is close to Christmas, we thought we may as well call it a Christmas Party. So this is what we are doing.

London Cafe Christmas Party
Saturday November 9th
The Social, Little Portland Street, W1
8 pm to 1 am
250 tickets only available in advance at Kaffeine
£5 entry
House in the basement, 80's on the ground floor

It is hard enough running an independent business and not having the support or connections that other, much larger companies do. Hopefully these two events will be the beginning to bring together the independent industry of London and to start to inspire and motivate a whole new generation.

Enquiries can be directed to us via email.

In the meantime, please enjoy the menu for this week, as we have enjoyed bringing it to you.

Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.50

Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.50
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 1.70
Coffee, cherry and walnut toast 2.30
Banana bread 2.40

Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissants 1.80
Pain au chocolat 2.40
Almond croissants 2.80

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffins: Blueberries and oats 2.40
Savoury Scone: Smoked salmon, capers and wild chervil cheese 2.40
Blackberry friands 2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 1.80
Chocolate chip cookies 1.80

French retro baguettes 4.90
Mature cheddar, pickled vegetables, ham, rocket
Tomato, mozarella, basil, aioli and spinach

Foccacias 5.00

Speck, tomato, avocado, pickled radish mayonnaise and spinach

Roasted squash and red onions with herb ricotta and rocket

Salads: 5.50/6.50
Baby lobster, sea buckthorn berries, hedgebed, creamed pea dressing

Roasted piccolo parsnips and chantenay carrots with saute cavalo nero and wet walnuts

Brussels sprouts with rosemary, hazelnuts, russet apples and cooked in apple cider

Tart: 4.40 or 7.50 with salad
Four cheese quiche with roasted cherry tomatoes

Week beginning September 16th - The Art of Peripheral Vision

When I was 21 years old, I moved from an outer suburban pub to a 100 seat cocktail bar adjoining a brand new 300 seat restaurant in the inner suburbs in Melbourne. It was my first real city job. I started as a barman, and the bar manager's name was Eddie. He admitted many years later that he was not that impressed with me on my first few days, but all the same, after a month he had removed his assistant manager and promoted me to the position.

Over the next 5 years in particular, Eddie and I worked together in a number of restaurants and bars, and after travelling to the UK in 1995, when I came back in 98 I managed his own restaurant in Toorak in Melbourne for three years. I proposed to my wife at the closing party we had for the restaurant in front of 150 people and Eddie was a key speaker at our wedding.

Eddie taught me many, many things, and he is and has been a wonderful influence on my life and my hospitality career. We also had a huge, huge amount of fun together.

One very important thing he taught me was all about peripheral vision and the necessity of this quality in Hospitality. That is, the ability to see everything, while focussing on one thing.

- To know that a customer is about to walk in the door while you are serving a table.
- To see a piece of food on the floor (and pick it up)
- To know that a table needs something while you are making coffee for another
- To see the cobweb hanging from the roof while making a drink
- To notice the light bulb gone, or the fork under the table, or the napkin on the seat
(There are so many more, I will leave it up to you)

Effectively, to be able to see things out of the corner of your eye and be able to act upon it, thereby making your service more efficient and the customers experience all that more special.

In a book I highly recommend, Nicholas Lander's 'The Art of the Restauranteur', kindly given to me by two of our favourite customers at Christmas, he interviewed Danny Meyer and noticed that not only Danny, but most of the restaurateurs he interviewed all had this quality. They all sat facing the restaurant area when being interviewed and all of them had this 'roving eye' and were always scanning what was going on.

You could try this yourself. Drop a slice of lemon on the floor in a restaurant and see how long it takes to be noticed by the staff. Then drop a two pound coin.

I recently wrote about the 'one percents' and the effect this has on your business. I also spoke recently to a very intelligent and great coffee person about 1%'s and how quickly they can add up to make for an overall bad experience. I firmly believe, and Eddie taught me this a very long time ago, that the art of peripheral vision, and acting upon it, will greatly reduce these 1%'s, helping you to achieve your goal of 100%.

http://kaffeinelondon.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/week-beginning-august-19th-one-percents.html

Ed, this and many others are for you and because of you. Respect and big love.

Please enjoy this weeks menu, as we will enjoy bringing it to you.


Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.50

Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.50
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 1.70
Coffee, cherry and walnut toast 2.30
Banana bread 2.40

Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissants 1.80
Pain au chocolat 2.40
Almond croissants 2.80

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffins: Blackcurrant and pear 2.40
Savoury Scone: Apple, mature cheddar and dijon 2.40
Blackberry friands 2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 1.80
Chocolate chip cookies 1.80

French retro baguettes 4.90
Pancetta, avocado, tomato, aioli and rocket
Smoked salmon, lime cream cheese, cucumber, thai basil, spinach

Foccacias 5.00

Roast chicken, salsa verde, brie and rocket
Grilled courgette, red peppers, red onion, feta, olive tepenade, spinach

Salads: 5.50/6.50
Roasted chicken with pickled rainbow radish, blanched common purslane stems, boiled baby potatoes, rocket and jalapeno dressing
Turkish brown figs, profiteroles filled with goats cheese, basil, walnuts and a raspberry vinaigrette
Purple sprouting broccoli with garlic and tansy dressing

Tart: 4.40 or 7.50 with salad
Pumpkin, mustard and gruyere

Week beginning September 2nd - Just the menu this week

This week I have not too much to write about, (suggestions are always welcome), so we will leave you in relative peace and quiet and let you enjoy the menu on it's own. It is of course, a very good one.

Please enjoy this weeks menu, as we have enjoyed bringing it to you.

Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.50

Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.50
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 1.70
Coffee, cherry and walnut toast 2.30
Banana bread 2.40

Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissants 1.80
Pain au chocolat 2.40
Almond croissants 2.80

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffins: Peaches and cream 2.40
Savoury Scone: Rowan berry, thyme and parmesan 2.40
Blackberry friands 2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 1.80
Chocolate chip cookies 1.80
Lamingtons 2.50

French retro baguettes 4.90
Smoked salmon with lime cheese, thai basil, cucumber, rocket
Baked discovery apples and red onion with aioli, mature cheddar, spinach

Foccacias 5.00

Ham, rose-hip dressing, ginger, wensleydale, spinach
Mushroom with a creamed corn fondue sauce and rocket

Salads: 5.50/6.50
Figs, fennel, pancetta, manchego, basil with a honey and fortified wine dressing
Polenta and parmesan balls with roasted carrot, watercress, oregano, birds foot trefoil and damson dressing
Edamame in a wasabi and lime dressing

Tart: 4.40 or 7.50 with salad
Celeriac and sea aster bake with rouille

Week beginning August 26th - The EK 43 grinder debate

So there is a bit of talk in the industry about a new method of grinding beans for use on an espresso machine using the EK 43 grinder and in consequence of that, a few blog posts.

I have seen this grinder in action at the 3FE store in Dublin recently as did two of my key staff when they went to visit last weekend. However the three of us have yet to use one, or be able to assess it fully. But the coffees we tasted were delicious.

What I have seen are the blog posts put out by four of the most well regarded people in this industry in this part of the world, if not the whole world. It makes for fascinating and involved reading, and also shows the lengths that people are going to for coffee and the experience.

These are the blogs that I have read. I suggest you read them in the listed order. I recommend you need a good comfortable chair, a great coffee (or strong drink) and about an hour. And after that, possibly another strong drink.

http://www.prufrockcoffee.com/2013/08/the-kaminsky-report/

http://colinharmon.wordpress.com/

http://bar1sta.com/?p=164

http://www.jimseven.com/2013/08/21/alright-lets-talk-about-ek43s-then/

I am not going to write a blog post on the benefits or otherwise of this grinder. I'm not smart enough to write like these guys do, but I do know my current business model and with the limited information I have at hand, I can only see that these grinders would not work for me in our situation for the simple fact that it could take about 2 hours every day to dose out our daily pre portions and the efficiency on the bar that we pride ourselves on would suffer.

Anyway, if you are a coffee geek and wish to have a fascinating, in depth read, please enjoy and I suggest you follow these gentlemen's blogs anyway for further great reading.

If all you are looking for is great hospitality, coffee and food, then here is our menu for next week. With Lamingtons. Yum oh. Please enjoy.



Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.50

Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.50
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 1.70
Coffee, cherry and walnut toast 2.30
Banana bread 2.40

Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissants 1.80
Pain au chocolat 2.40
Almond croissants 2.80

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffins: Apricot and almond 2.40
Savoury Scone: Courgette and feta 2.40
Chocolate and hyssop friands 2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 1.80
Chocolate chip cookies 1.80
Lamingtons 2.50

French retro baguettes 4.90
Pancetta, avocado, tomato, aioli, rocket
Tomato, mozzarella, basil, chimichurri, spinach

Foccacias 5.00

Smoked Salmon, dill, red onion, capers, aioli, spinach
Ham, gherkin, pickle, Dijon, mature cheddar, rocket

Salads: 5.50/6.50
Venison meat balls with green lentils, black rice, coriander, buttered coriander seeded red onions, fragrant tomato dressing and wood sorrel.
Grilled haloumi, wild watercress, roasted red onions, and rose-hip dressing
Green beans with chilli, peanuts, fish sauce and coriander

Tart: 4.40 or 7.50 with salad
Goats cheese, roasted chicory and rowan berry

Week beginning August 19th - The one percents

Over your lifetime, you will probably remember certain pieces of advice given to you or handed down by parents, managers, friends, loved ones. These pieces of advice or words of wisdom you can either reject or employ and they will help to shape you into the person you are today.

Certain hospitality managers have impacted on me over my career and words of wisdom have indeed stuck and I still stick by them and in fact pass them on to others. Here are a few that I always remember.

Don't come to me with a problem, come to me with a solution
Always start with the end in mind
It's the focus on the 1%'s that will help you to get to 100%

The last one was by a manager called Jamie at the Rosstown Hotel in Carnegie, Melbourne where I worked first as a bottle shop assistant then as an Assistant Manager for about six months back in 2002. In my mind he was one of the best managers I ever worked with, the way he ran the 200 seat bistro was inspirational

http://www.rosstown.com.au/

I will always remember this piece of advice and I use it continuously because it is so true as it relates to the small details that make an experience perfect, which is what we should be aiming for.

It is very easy to build the bricks and mortar of a hospitality business (well, sort of) so let's say that's 50%, then you staff it, 30%, then you add machinery and ingredients, 15%, then you add decor 5%. These are the major components (these figures are very much pie in the sky, but I hope you get my meaning)

Your end goal is to be as perfect as possible within your constraints and once you are up and running with everything, then your major % ages should remain static. i.e the building at 50% will generally always be there, your suppliers are in place and your staff are working, you have machinery and ingredients all working effectively so therefore your majority % ages are in place.

So now it is the 1%'s that make you up to 100% are the next things to focus on. The smaller details. I find that these smaller details are also the ones that can and do change more often.

How are the flowers arranged?
What soap do you use in the bathrooms?
Are all the light globes working?
Is the floor clean and tidy and clear of anything that should not be on the floor?
How are the sugar bowls arranged?
How clean are your windows?
How is your storage area organised?
How is the music sound levels and appropriateness?
How is the lighting?

The list can go on and on, but the premise is the same. Of course I also say these with caution, as focussing too much can be overdoing it and drive you crazy.

We try very hard at Kaffeine to focus on these small details to make your experience as close to 100% as possible. We think the effort pays off, we hope you do too. And if Jamie, or anyone who knows Jamie is reading this, thank you for the advice, I much appreciate it.

Please enjoy the menu for this week because we have enjoyed bringing it to you


Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.50

Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.50
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 1.70
Coffee, cherry and walnut toast 2.30
Banana bread 2.40

Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissants 1.80
Pain au chocolat 2.40
Almond croissants 2.80

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffins: Plum and elderberry 2.40
Savoury Scone: Tomato, mozzarella and basil 2.40
Chocolate and hyssop friands 2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 1.80
Chocolate chip cookies 1.80

French retro baguettes 4.90
Ham, elderberry jam, mature cheddar, roasted red onions, spinach
Roasted aubergine with thai basil, goats cheese, sweet chilli and rocket

Foccacias 5.00

Sliced meat loaf with red kidney beans, jalapeno cheese, roast peppers and rocket
Burnt pineapple, gorgonzola, coriander, pickled red onion and spinach

Salads: 5.50/6.50
Roasted grouse with roasted celeriac, beetroot, carrots and drizzled in rowan berry dressing.
Kiwi, pecorino, red chicory, honey blossom
Padron peppers with waterpepper dressing

Tart: 4.40 or 7.50 with salad
Roast vegetable in gruyere pastry with saffron sour cream and garnished with wood sorrel

Week beginning August 11th - 4 Years Old - From Nursery to Big School

So 4 years ago, we were launched. Yes, this Wednesday 4 years ago was the first real day of operations for us. We invited all of Mrs K's work mates down from their office for lunch as a trial and we opened for the day, with Chef Jared and a good buddy Katya in the kitchen, Catherine on the espresso and myself and 'the legend that is Rhea' on the floor.

This year, our daughter Layla starts going to big kids school, after going to nursery for the past two years. She is still in Nursery as such, but it is five days a week in the local primary school. Very exciting for her and for us.

The life of Kaffeine feels a bit the same. You have your initial starting period where everything is new and totally exciting and you are testing the world, then you become a bit more comfortable with everything but are still young enough to make a silly mistake every now and then. More than that, it feels like you grown into something more real, more mature and more settled. But you still have a long way to go to make it in the world.

A while ago, someone wrote a review of Kaffeine saying many nice things, including in reference to the many other cafes in London these days that 'Kaffeine is old school but still cool'. We were only three at the time. I hope they still say that in twenty years.

Another very regular customer, when I apologised for the slight delay on his coffee one day because we were really busy said 'I'm glad you're busy, because if you weren't, you probably would not be here'. What a lovely compliment, I hope he says the same in twenty years too.

I have many, many people to thank for all the hard work over the past four years, a big shout must go out to Chef Jared who has been here from the start. Respect and thank you and also to all the staff who currently work here and all the ones who have worked here is the past. It is very hard work being here, hard but very enjoyable. Well done everyone.

A very big thank you to all the industry people who also support us and help us, from our suppliers to our friends in industry who we can turn to for advice.

A huge thank you for all the thousands of customers who have supported us and continue to support us. For us, this is what we are in business for, to provide a true definition of a hospitality business and we hope that we fulfil the below definition for you, it is why we come to work in the morning.


hos·pi·tal·i·ty
/ˌhäspiˈtalitē/

Noun

The friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers.

We will have brownies to give away all week to help us, and you, to celebrate. Hope to see you in store. Please enjoy.


Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.50

Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.50
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 1.70
Coffee, cherry and walnut toast 2.30
Banana bread 2.40

Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissants 1.80
Pain au chocolat 2.40
Almond croissants 2.80

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffins: Blackberry and apple 2.40
Savoury Scone: Crushed peas and feta 2.40
Chocolate and passion fruit friands 2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 1.80
Chocolate chip cookies 1.80

French retro baguettes 4.90
Pancetta, tomato, avocado, Gruyère, aioli and rocket

cooked apples and red onion, mature cheddar, Dijon mayo, spinach

Foccacias 5.00

Ham, Gorgonzola spread, strawberries, spinach

Tomato, mozzarella, rocket, chimichurri

Salads: 5.50/6.50
Roasted lamb and red peppers with runner beans, broad beans, spring greens and green elderberry wild marjoram flower dressing

Flat nectarines and red chillies poached in melilot syrup, single Gloucester with baby spinach

Tagliatelle with sautéed morels, garlic and sea blite

Tart: 4.40 or 7.50 with salad
Fat hen and fresh cheese

Week beginning August 5th - The Great Kaffeine Bake Off - Try this at home

Back in February, we had what we called the great Kaffeine sticker off. Those who know us may know our stickers and how iconic they have become in the area of Fitzrovia.

We have to do quite a few per day, so we had a competition to see who could go the fastest. We love a competition here.

http://kaffeinelondon.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/week-beginning-february-25th-great.html

Not ones to be outdone, the kitchen staff decided to get in on the act and have recently held what they have called the great Kaffeine Bake Off. Understandably, they are very proud of what they do, and I am proud of them, so when  Chef Rory started timing how long it takes to bake his ANZACS, we though it best to record it for posterity.

Our baked goods such as our brownies, ANZACS, banana bread and portuguese tarts are also iconic in the area, and we also go through quite a few per day.

The rules were that you got all your ingredients and equipment ready and the timer went off when you got the goods in the oven and of course, the taste test at the end.

We must remember that Chef Jared has not really baked anything in his section for over three years, and he properly smashed out the chocolate brownies, as a true legend should. No, there is no prize for overall, just the kudos that comes with being the fastest baker in the West.

	Absolute ‘Khan’ Carnage	Silvios ‘The Boss’	Don’t Measure ‘Rory’	Cut- Throat Jared
Banana Bread 5 loaves	11 min 53 sec		11 min 45 sec	14 min 55 sec
Portuguese Tarts 24 tarts		11 min 52	8 min 43 sec	11 min 22 sec
ANZACS 24 biscuits		12 min 12 sec		13 min 29 sec
Brownies  1 tray	8 min 49 sec		11 min 44 sec	8 min 41 sec

We hope you enjoy this week menu, as we have enjoyed bringing it to you as quickly as possible.



Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.50

Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.50
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 1.70
Coffee, cherry and walnut toast 2.30
Banana bread 2.40

Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissants 1.80
Pain au chocolat 2.40
Almond croissants 2.80

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffins: Blueberry and bran 2.40
Savoury Scone: Ricotta and herb 2.40
Chocolate and passion fruit friands 2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 1.80
Chocolate chip cookies 1.80

French retro baguettes 4.90
Prawn and mango salsa with avocado and rocket
Roasted peppers, courgette, red onion, spicy pesto, gruyere, spinach

Foccacias 5.00

Ham, roasted greengage, mature cheddar, spinach
Heritage tomato, talleggio, oregano, rocket and red onion

Salads: 5.50/6.50
Chorizo, fresh tomatoes, rainbow chard with dittander blossom and pickles ramson dressing
Golden kiwi, toasted hogweed seeds, castelmagno cheese, pickled red cabbage, wild honey and orange dressin
Shredded fennel with lemon, basil and baby capers

Tart: 4.40 or 7.50 with salad
Venison infused with juniper branches and wild cherry

Week beginning July 29th - Emergency, emergency

Two of our regular and very lovely customers, who are residents to the area, were in recently and sitting on what is known as table five. This table is in line with the espresso machine and is perfect for doing what I intended it to do, allowing the customer (if they wish) to watch the staff in action at the same height. From this table you can sit with your back to the wall, watch the flow of customers entering, deciding on food, paying and collecting their coffee and then leaving or taking a seat.

You can also watch the baristas pouring the milk, doing the dishes and interacting, the floor staff taking orders and using the till and the general ebb and flow of a busy cafe where, when you are being smashed at 9 am, serving a customer every 10 seconds or so and all staff know their place and their jobs and there is a connection, a knowing, a feeling and an understanding amongst all staff of what needs to be done, how to do it and how to do it efficiently, professionally, without any fuss or often any words and most importantly, as a team and it all works and it is beautiful.

One of these customers is a doctor, and he commented after the 30 minutes that they were sitting watching, how well the team all work together under such pressure, in fact he related us to being as professional as any other medical team he had ever seen. Quite a compliment, we were very flattered, as this is what we strive for and is one of the joys of hospitality.

But what happens when something goes wrong? This, I believe, is the true test of any great team, leader and staff. When you are in the middle of a flow and something breaks and with a minimum of fuss, all is fixed and you are back on track again. How do you train staff for this? How do you train yourself? Most of the time it is over several problems that the same thing might happen and you get used to it. Possibly it comes down to training your managers as part of their induction. What is important is that as much as possible, no-one panics and the problem is fixed as soon as possible.

Here is a list of things that could go wrong at any one time in a cafe:

The power goes out completely in the whole street
The power goes out just to your store
The power goes off to the espresso machine only
The water goes off completely in the whole street
The espresso machine loses steam pressure
The espresso machine 'turns itself off'
The grinder stops working
The espresso machine pump stops working
The Reverse Osmosis water system stops working
The pump on the RO unit nstops working
Water comes flooding out of the pipes under the espresso machine
Water comes flooding out from underneath the dishwasher
The dishwasher stops working
The sink tap breaks
The till (we use an Ipad with an app as a software program) stops working or crashes
The chef in the kitchen below comes upstairs and says 'ah, there's brown water coming through the ceiling' (this will be coffee water and is not so bad)
The sewer pipes block and overflows (this is bad)


Last week I wrote about the cricket. On the Sunday, two of our baristas, Claire and Jess, did 300 espresso drinks in 150 minutes. They kept up, but the grinder did not. It simply overheated and said 'that's it, I've had enough, I'm stopping'. So Claire, as dockets are flying out of the printer, purged the last of the decaf in the decaf grinder, swapped the hopper over directly from the espresso grinder and kept going. It took about 30 seconds and the customers in the line watched with amazement. I did not even know till after the rush. 'So yeah Peter, the grinder stopped working but I fixed it.'

Once, we had a gentleman on an interview for a barista. Nick was 6 foot 8, so he made an impression when he arrived. He made it past the 1st stage interview to the 'let's get you on the machine stage'. I handed him over to James 'Obi Wan' Broadhurst, our lead barista and Nick's first touch was the grinder, which promptly stopped working. James jumped in and within a minute had the espresso changed over to the decaf and we were off again. Imagine your first touch in an interview you break something! It was a funny story later after he got the job.

Occasionally the pipes under the machine clog up and water will flood out of the drip tray. For this we have to stop everything, take the right hand side off the machine and usually clean the pipes out. James was the master at this, it could be done so quickly and efficiently no-one even noticed. Last week this did not work and we had to pull out the milk fridge, take off the entire drain hose and unblock it in the sink. We were out of action for about ten minutes.

When the till goes down, it is straight onto manual dockets, hand written, that we keep in a drawer downstairs. If the espresso machine loses power, there are a list of checks to do first.
Check if it's actually on
Check the switch at the power board
Check the fuses
Call Square Mile Coffee (we used to call them first - 'OMG the machine has stopped!', 'Is it on?' 'Oh, no, sorry')

It makes it all fun, and getting things fixed straight away is great, a wonderful satisfaction that you fixed it yourself. Eventually, you know to stop panicking and work methodically and with a thought process that is logical and simple and clear. And no-one even notices. Well, at least we hope not.

We hope you enjoy the weeks menu, as we have enjoyed putting it together for you.


Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.50

Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.50
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 1.70
Coffee, cherry and walnut toast 2.30
Banana bread 2.40

Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissants 1.80
Pain au chocolat 2.40
Almond croissants 2.80

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffins: Apricot and almond 2.40
Savoury Scone: Puttanesca 2.40
Chocolate and passion fruit friands 2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 1.80
Chocolate chip cookies 1.80

French retro baguettes 4.90
Ham, melilot mayonnaise, golden kiwi, gruyere, rocket
Mozzarella, aioli, plum tomato, spinach

Foccacias 5.00

Chorizo, roasted red onion, courgette, brie, pesto and spinach
Roasted aubergine, sweet chilli, thai basil, goats cheese and rocket

Salads: 5.50/6.50
Hot smoked salmon, mouli, carrot, red onion, celery, cabbage, sea rocket
Roasted candy striped beetroot with dill and horseradish soured cream, and wild pea flowers.
Peach, golden samphire, fennel, toasted almond with red wine vinegar dressing

Tart: 4.40 or 7.50 with salad
Chicken and wild cherry on pumpernickel pastry