Week beginning June 23rd - The Roux at Landau experience

We could not be more lucky really, or fortunate. What an opportunity.  One of our customers is the Head Chef at the Michel and Albert Roux restaurant at the 5 star Langham Hotel on Portland Place, just around the corner from Kaffeine, called Roux at Landau.

http://rouxatthelandau.com/

Chris often comes in on his split shifts, drinks long blacks and is usually seen reading over a new recipe book. He also sometimes comes in the head barman Alex from the Artesian bar at the Langham, which has now been named Best Bar in the World two years in a row.

http://www.artesian-bar.co.uk/

They are both true gentlemen and I personally very much enjoy talking to them and looking after them.

When I was teaching and training hospitality students in Australia, we often used to take the students to five star hotels to show them around on a tour, often back of house. Sometimes we were able to arrange work experience for them. We wanted to inspire them, to show them a different world and to be able to put into understanding what they were learning in the class room. You never knew, one of those students may end up one day running that hotel.

I asked Chris one day if this may be possible, to be able to take our staff on a tour of one of London's greatest and grandest Hotels, to be able to inspire them further, to show them a different world.

He instead offered something different, and even better. This was for each of our four chefs to be able to do a one day work experience within his kitchen alongside his chefs. We have four chefs working for us here, Jared, Khan, Silvio and Win and while Chef Jared has worked in a la carte high end places before, the others have not. Importantly, they all work very, very hard for us and are committed and dedicated employees. I am very proud of them and very appreciative. It was also very important to me to be able to try to say a little thank you to our kitchen brigade, for the early hours and dedication they show to the business and to allow them some time outside of our kitchen, a different experience.

So one day per week, over the past four weeks, each of our chefs has had the opportunity to work in not just one of London's most famous and high end kitchens, but one of the world's, under the tutelage of one of the worlds best chefs.

To have this opportunity and to learn and see how such a kitchen operates is a very, very fortunate experience indeed, and I am very thankful to Chris for organising it all and for making our chefs feel so welcome within his brigade.

We hope you enjoy this weeks menu, as we will enjoy bringing it to you. It may not be high end fine dining, but we still put in a great amount of effort to make it the best cafe food in the U.K.


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: Strawberries, melilot and cream (V) 2.40
Savoury Scone:  Cheddar and pickle  (V) 2.40
Friand: Apricot and Regents Park Elderflower (V, GF) 2.40
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
Cured beef, hot English mustard, caramelised red onion, mature cheddar and spinach

Asparagus with crushed minted peas, feta, gin mayonnaise and spinach (V)

Foccacias 5.30

Ham, pickled cherries, soft bath blue cheese and rocket
Crumbed aubergine, spicy tomato dressing, mozzarella and spinach (V)

Salads: 5.50/6.90

Pimm's gravlax, cucumber, mint, British strawberries, lime, watercress and sea kale peas (F, R)

Raw garden peas, spring onion, radish, parsley with pineapple weed mayonnaise (V, R)

New potatoes, capers and sea rocket (VE)

Tart: 5.50 or 7.90 with salad
Giant scotched gooseberries with ground lamb