Week beginning Tuesday May 27th

Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)

Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)
Fruit salad (pineapple, mango, strawberries, grapes, passion fruit) 3.70 (GF, V)
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

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

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffin: Summer berries and white chocolate (V) 2.40
Savoury Scone: Apple, mustard, thyme, cheddar (V) 2.40
Apricot friands 2.40 (V, GF)
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Melting moments biscuits 2.00
Canele 2.40

Lunch

French retro baguettes 5.00
Roasted red peppers, courgette, butternut with pesto and camembert (V)

Ham, bubblegum berries, gorgonzola, basil and rocket

Foccacias 5.30

Pancetta, mushroom, grapefruit soft cheese, rosemary and spinach
Tomato, avocado, periperi mayonnaise, mature cheddar and rocket (V)

Salads: 5.50/6.90

Grilled marinated tofu with soba noodles, edamame, carrots, spring onion and lemongrass (VE, GF)

Roasted sweet potato with sea beet flowering tops and satay dressing (VE, GF)

Baked round courgette salad with rosey garlic flowers, pineapple and wild rocket dressing (VE, GF)

Tart: 4.40 or 7.90 with salad
Spring vegetable gratin with fat hen (foraged herb), grilled apricots and pistachio (VE, GF)

Week beginning May 19th - It's been a proud week

Last week was pretty busy, not just in the shop itself but all over the place. On Monday on my day off I caught up with Kaffeine legend Karolina Malinowska for lunch and we went to Workshop in Clerkenwell, then on Tuesday I had minor surgery to my elbow to remove a cyst, leaving me with four stitches, then on Wednesday I worked the floor and we got hammered busy, it was a great day, but I did my old trick of not eating properly and that has it's consequences.

I have discovered that by doing this, at about 2 am in the morning my body says 'help, need energy' and so releases all this sugar into my system and you end up wide awake for the next four hours, till the alarm goes off or the children wake up at 5:30 am. So on Thursday I was a bit tired.

But on Thursday I went to the Cafe Culture show, where I was honoured to be on the speaking panel with Hugh Gilmartin, formerly of the Coffee Boys, along with four others. We were talking about how to provide great coffee when it is not your core business and I was there to relate the stories about Marylebone Cricket Club and how we provide espresso and filter at major match days.

I remember going to see the Coffee Boys talk at Cafe Culture back in 2008, and they said to the crowd then that of all the cafes you must go visit, be sure to go visit Flat White. I promised myself that one day, they would say that about my business, and on Thursday not only did they do that exact thing, but I was even on the speaking panel!

Then back to the shop to change into my Black Tie, pick up the children, take them back to Walthamstow, meet Mrs K who took them home and then I was back into town to meet Chef Jared as we were off to the British Sandwich Awards.

Over 650 people at the four and a half star Lancaster Hotel for a four course/half a bottle of wine, band and entertainment and even Aldo Zilli as compere and awards presenter. We were shortlisted in the category of Best Independent Cafe Bar Retailer and received a Gold Award, coming in second.

This is twice we have won an award from the BSA, as we also won a Gold Award in 2011.

Very, very proud of all the staff and the hard work and effort they put in to even be able to be considered for this award, and especially proud to be able to take Chef Jared along too, as he has done so much for the reputation of Kaffeine with our menu development.

Home by midnight, up at 5:30 am again, and off to work where we met with the Director of the London Living Wage Foundation who came to see us in action. Again, this is some thing I am very proud of, that we can and do pay our staff a fair and decent wage per hour and that we are recognised for that. I was able to tell the story about the days when I used to work for £5.85 per hour back in 2005 and how I have come across so many hard working people who only get paid the basic minimum and how I feel this is not fair. We are the only cafe in the U.K. who does this, and the Director told me that their mission now is to get more and more hospitality businesses involved as well.

Then, in the middle of all this, Jay Rayner walks in and orders a double espresso, which he told us reminded him very much of blueberries in it's profile. He stated that he is doing a piece on the London Coffee scene and could he talk to some of our customers, which he did, and then he spent five minutes with our lead barista Bianca talking about our processes and documentations including extraction yields, our dialling in sheets and our preferred brew recipes.

Finally, on Friday night I received a photo of the Melbourne Coffee Expo, where five of our former staff (Amy, Missy, Luke, James and Nick) had met up as two of them were competing in the Australian Brewers Cup (well done James and Nick by the way).

Talk about feeling like a Dad, seeing your 'family' all together on the other side of the world, it was another, very proud moment indeed.

So bit exhausted, very, very proud and very, very happy. That's London life for you.

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

Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)

Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)
Fruit salad (pineapple, mango, strawberries, grapes, passion fruit) 3.70 (GF, V)
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

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

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffin: Apricot and almond 2.40
Savoury Scone: Insalata caprese (tomato, mozzarella and basil) 2.40
Buckthorn and white chocolate friands 2.40 (GF)
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Melting moments biscuits 2.00
Canele 2.40

Lunch

French retro baguettes 5.00
Hummus, carrot, cucumber, olives and rocket (V)

Ham, gherkin, Dijon, Gruyere, red onion, spinach

Foccacias 5.30

Smoked salmon, aioli, capers, dill, red onion and rocket
Crumbed aubergine, tomato sauce, mozzarella, spinach (V)

Salads: 5.50/6.90

Roasted H&G Walters’s organic duck with mango, cucumber, shredded carrot, Asian herbs and oregon grape dressing

Asparagus and foraged sea aster, parmesan, lemon, basil and mustard (V)

Raw rainbow radish and honesty seed pods with spring onion, chives and parsley (GF)

Tart: 4.40 or 7.90 with salad
HG Walters Organic Chicken pie in a pistachio pastry

Week beginning May 12th - Competition time

We don't mind a bit of competition. It's healthy and good for you, in fact it's good for everyone, the staff, the business and especially the customer.

It could be competing to beat our own sales or coffee records, or other cafes opening nearby who copy most of the things that we do, or just other great hospitality businesses in the area, or the general raising of standards across the entire U.K. hospitality industry that pushes us to continuously improve and be better and better and better at everything we do, or an actual competition where we are assessed and have the possibility of being nationally recognised.

It makes us look at what we do already and to ask the questions, are we doing all we can, what can we do better, how can we improve?

This Thursday night, Chef Jared and I will be going to the British Sandwich Awards, a black tie dinner at the 4 star Lancaster Hotel with a three course meal, band, comedian, and half a bottle of wine each. When you think of the sandwich industry across the whole country, it really is a massive business. Over 500 people will be at the awards, though we usually get put on the table in the back, like the troublesome cousins at a wedding.

We came equal first in 2011, fourth place in 2012 and of course hope this year to be in the running to win.

We are shortlisted in the Best Cafe Sandwich Bar Awards and are up against:

• Greggs, Merryhill Shopping Centre
• Costa, Piccadilly
• Caffe Pausa, Dunelm Mill, Basingstoke
• M & S Flavours Café, Cheshire Oaks
• Pret Café, Newbury
• Thorntons Café, Junction 28, M1
• Harris and Hoole, Cannon Street, London
• A Great Little Place, Autism Ventures, Southport

This week we also entered the British Beverage Standards Association awards in the categories of best espresso, best flat white and best tea as well as entering again the annual Cafe Society awards where we will be in the category of Best Independent Cafe.

Both of these awards are mystery judged, that is someone comes in and assesses us, without our knowledge, anytime from end of May to end of July.

We have previously received Gold Awards in the Cafe Society Awards (2011, 2012 and 2013) and in 2011 I was personally awarded the Cafe Society award itself, for influence on the industry. This is the first year we have entered the Beverage Standards Awards though.

When I was 22 years old,  I worked as the cocktail barman at a four star Hotel in Melbourne and the GM Dickie Singh was very keen to enter as many competitions as he could. He supported it, encouraged it, he saw the value in it. We entered service awards, kitchen awards and I entered and came third in a Suntory cocktail competition, about the first thing I had ever been successful at.

But it was great, because it pushed the entire Hotel to be better and better, and when you/we were recognised, or won, the feeling around the Hotel was amazing.

I was never very good at sport or academically as a youngster. But myself and my staff love having the opportunity to compete and therefore continuously improve in business, in a very competitive industry, in one of the greatest cities in the world. We are looking forward to it.

Bring it on.

We hope you will enjoy our menu this week, as we will enjoy bringing it to you.


Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)

Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)
Fruit salad (pineapple, mango, strawberries, grapes, passion fruit) 3.70 (GF, V)
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

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

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffin: Peach and raspberry 2.40
Savoury Scone: Curried peas and soft cheese 2.40
Buckthorn and white chocolate friands 2.40 (GF)
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Melting moments biscuits 2.00

Lunch

French retro baguettes 5.00
Ham with glazed nectarines, camembert, red onion, basil and rocket
Roasted butternut, saute mushrooms, tarragon, dijon, cheddar and spinach (V)

Foccacias 5.30

Pancetta, avocado, tomato, mango mayonaise and spinach
Broad bean pate with roasted red onions, oregano, spicy feta spread and rocket (V)

Salads: 5.50/6.90

Hot smoked salmon with pickled rainbow radish, candied almonds and a paprika yoghurt dressing (GF)

Bubblegum berries with gorgonzola, polenta balls, toasted sesame seeds and coconut with a kahlua dressing (V)

Roasted sweet potatoes with saute rainbow chard and tapenade dressing (GF)

Tart: 4.40 or 7.90 with salad
Open tart with mornay Devon Crab and passionfruit dressing

Week beginning Tuesday May 6th - Just the menu this week, nothing to report

This week we have nothing really to report, except that we hope you enjoy the menu as much as we will enjoy bringing it to you.

Have a great week, and let's hope the tube strike does not go ahead.

Thanks for listening.

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

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

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffin: Blueberry and bran 2.40
Savoury Scone: Courgette and feta 2.40
Buckthorn and white chocolate 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

French retro baguettes 5.00
Smoked salmon with lime cheese, cucumber, thai basil and rocket
Asparagus, camembert, pesto, red onion and spinach

Foccacias 5.30

Ham, tomato mayonnaise, baked courgette, mozzarella and spinach
Sauté mushrooms and leeks, tarragon, pecorino fondue, rocket

Salads: 5.50/6.90

Crushed fresh peas with crispy ham, mint, fried salsify buds and gooseberries

Slow baked heritage tomatoes with marinated fennel and rock samphire

Jersey royals tossed in a spiced and fragrant dressing

Tart: 4.40 or 7.90 with salad
Chicken and scented mayweed