Wednesday 31 August 2011

A Smart Box Sandwich

Spianata have classy boxes for their Roman flat bread sandwiches

Tuesday 30 August 2011

The Best Brownies in London

Paul A Young has a flagship 'chocolaterie' in Wardour Street where he sells his £3.75 chocolate brownies - Time Out rates them the best in London. Tasted good!

Monday 29 August 2011

Beetroot, Apple & Ginger

EAT's new summer drink - Beetroot, Apple & Ginger. The competition amongst the chains drives real innovation.

Sunday 28 August 2011

Puzzle Cake


Chocolate and Vanilla Puzzle Cake by Ion Patisserie at their Exmouth Market street stall.

I have never met Georgeta Decuseara, the owner and have no shares in the company but they may be worth watching out for.
Contact 07749 475478.



Cheesecake in filo pastry

Saturday 27 August 2011

Babies Welcome

It's really not that difficult to woo the mother & baby market - a table plus microwave to heat the bottled milk plus a large sign to show how much you care. Disposable bibs and spoons are a nice touch from Welcome Break.

Friday 26 August 2011

In Your Face Drinks

PAUL don't have multideck chiller units where customers can serve themselves - it presumably allows more counter display space for their great patisserie. How do you keep cold drink sales up? 'Buy with your eyes' rack of their main cold drink selection at eye level.

Thursday 25 August 2011

Tea Pot Spouts & Strainers

St John Bread & Wine in Spitalfields has some interesting tea strainers inserted in their tea pot spouts. They work.

Their eccles cakes, made fresh every day, are still the best going.

Wednesday 24 August 2011

Butter like Home



No measly, hard-to-open, wasteful, plastic butter pats.




No pretentious curls or fancy French portions here.  Conran just gets it right time after time.  He truly is a caff (and restaurant) hero.  At the Albion Caff where we almost always start our London Cafe Tours.

Tuesday 23 August 2011

Sponge Cake



Byfords in Holt, North Norfolk have such a following with their cafe and deli that they have set up their own branded range of cakes - SPONGE.
Love it.
The modern packaging and old-fashioned signage are tops.

Monday 22 August 2011

Ottolenghi's salad display - as good as their pastry presentation. Big, bold platters of glistening innovative salads at differing heights just selling themselves. Buy his books to get inspiration. Our clients are increasingly doing so and saying Ottolenghi is their benchmark. We agree.

Sunday 21 August 2011

Book and Cake


The London Review Cake Shop in Holborn is "connected to the bookshop by a passage in the History section".

No kitchen but good presentation of bought-in, made-for-them cakes.

Saturday 20 August 2011

Mini Cakes




Starbucks yet again leading the big guys cake innovation stakes with a range of three mini cakes as part of their Petites range.





See http://greatcafes.blogspot.com/2011/05/new-mini.html
and
http://greatcafes.blogspot.com/2011/04/lolly-cake.html

Friday 19 August 2011

Tea Deals on the Motorway



The cynical might say it indicates the profit margin on flavoured water and flour but at least the motorway operators are reflecting customers love for a deal - even at teatime. Plus we note that the scones are baked fresh every day. Quality plus a deal?!

Thursday 18 August 2011

Cafe, Deli (& Posh B&B)





Byfords at Holt in north Norfolk - brilliant. You enter the cafe through the deli where pasties and pastries are being made. The 'Take & Bake' unit is right to hand. Their tag line of "A Higgledy-Piggledy World of Pleasure" is spot on.

Wednesday 17 August 2011

Toasters on the Table - Part 2



Bishopsgate Kitchen by Benugo and customers were making their own toast.

See http://greatcafes.blogspot.com/2011/07/toasters-on-table.html

Tuesday 16 August 2011

Life by Chocolate Mousse

"Belgian Chocolate Mousse with a hint of orange blossom water and a shot of espresso.  A low GI pick-me-up".   Amazing how you can up the ante with such a humble dessert.  Good for Leon.

Monday 15 August 2011

Great Cafes Food Heroes

 

Really great fresh food at The Old Smithy Cafe tucked away in Beeley in the Peak District - just down the road from Chatsworth.  The trays of cooling bakery items greet you at the door and the food is worth the wait.  Smoked haddock rarebit, cake still warm from the oven and a stupendous take-away steak pie.  The owners - Neil & Sue Chatterton - deserve a medal.

Saturday 13 August 2011

Six Sorts of Scones

  1. Cheddar, Sage & Onion Scone
  2. Blue Cheese, Walnut & Sultana Scone
  3. Plain
  4. Cherry & Dark Chocolate
  5. Sultana
  6. Strawberry & White Chocolate
Gail's is good, nay excellent.

Friday 12 August 2011

Organic Ice Cream-on-Sea



Pete's organic ice cream van at Wells-next-the-Sea has taken some inspiration from a certain smoothie company to make its mark.


In the British Museum courtyard it is the genuinely vintage ice cream van that takes the money.

Thursday 11 August 2011

Not Lemonade



Leon's variation on lemonade - Strawberryade. Simple, seasonal, well marketed and just a great idea.

Wednesday 10 August 2011

Window Shopping for Pastries




Napket in Piccadilly



 Sweet in Exmouth Market




Hummingbird Bakery in Wardour Street

and not a chiller or plastic dome in sight.  Bravo.

Tuesday 9 August 2011

Retro Table Setting

Let's start with the tables (at Bishopsgate Kitchen) - made of off cuts and deliberately not finished.


Glass mugs, not fancy glasses.



Kitchen cloths; not serviettes








Bone handled knives - the ones we all threw away as they looked old and couldn't cope with the dishwasher

Monday 8 August 2011

Lampshade of Ingredients

Leon has large tins of gherkins on display and some empty ones hanging upside down - inexpensive and fun.

Sunday 7 August 2011

Great Simple Display

Konditor & Cook's Almond St. Clement Cakes - beautifully presented.

Friday 5 August 2011

How the world has changed .......for the better

Remember when we always used matches to publicise our bars and restaurants.  Now it's book seeds, not book matches.  Plants, not ciggies.  
Benugo's Bishopsgate Kitchen " We don't take bookings, but we do like herbs" book of parsley, thyme, basil & sage seeds.

Thursday 4 August 2011

Jelly & Cherries


EAT's pots of summer jelly (berry and elderflower) and British bags of cherries - seasonal, fresh, healthy and different.

Monday 1 August 2011

Sit Back at Spianata & Co


Decorative external seating at Spianata & Co in Spitalfields