Self-Serve Soup Station

Welcome Break's self-serve soup station with accompanying bread items that show some original thought - Tomato Swirlys and Savoury Cheese Twists

 

Freshly Baked

Benugo in Clerkenwell with "All our products have been freshly baked this morning in our Bakery"

Basket of 4 types of sandwiches plus prominent bake off oven clearly in use

Not Just Any Doughnuts

Sourdough doughnuts, with homemade jam, at the Clerkenwell Kitchen.  I just love the new variation of an old favourite.

A far cry from Krispy Kreme's seasonal Gift Tin

Spot the Heart-Shaped Sale

Not everyone has fryers but trust Welcome Break on the motorways to spot the additional sale potential of 'Chips only 99p' stickers on every sandwich, panini and baguette and use a heart logo endorsement.

Showing Now

Old fashioned picture house signage is all the rage - internally here at the Giant Robot cafe/restaurant, Clerkenwell

and externally at the Shoreditch Grind cafe

Purple Party Parlour

Bashall Barn is a Food Visitor Centre / Farmshop / Cafe / Restaurant in the middle of nowhere (near Clitheroe in Lancashire) and has this party room for budding chefs

They make their own ice cream with fun toppings

They make beer, do weddings and hold themed evening events too!

Just the Best Breakfast

Freshly cut orange and grapefruit segments plus the prunes

Blackberry, Raspberry & Strawberry fresh fruit purees 

Quality fruit salad - grapes, raspberries, blueberries and strawberries 

Darren's homemade muesli 

Homemade Lemon Curd, Yorkshire Heather Honey & Yorkshire Honey Marmalade 

Alan Walkers handmade sausage, Wensleydale middleback bacon, roast tomato, homemade black pudding, flat cap mushrooms, Heinz baked beans, free-range egg

Darren Parkinson is the Head Chef of Shibden Mill Inn, just outside Halifax, and he should be really proud of  the breakfast (and all the other meals) he and his team produce.  First class.  Actually the best I have ever had (and I've had a few breakfasts in my time).  Not perfect - the coffee and toast could be improved - but Shibden Mill Inn's breakfast sets a standard few come close to.

Compare & Contrast

So you want to make some money mid-morning and mid-afternoon?  It's all about presenting cakes well ....or not, as the case may be.  We really do see the whole range of quality in our line of work.  Want to get your cafe to good (or from good to great)? Invest in a little advice.

Pineapple Platter

Fresh pineapple segments seen in the cafe at the British Museum - seasonal, looks good, not seen elsewhere and avoids the ubiquitous plastic pot.

Science Museum Shakes

Shake Ice Cream Bar

Good display by caterer Benugo

Great child-friendly toppings - maltesers, jaffa cakes, blueberries, peanut butter ....

Tarnished Tableau

Fun use of old silver cutlery - wall display at the French Kitchen in Holborn

Department of Coffee & Social Affairs

Almost every new cafe - this is the Department of Coffee & Social Affairs in Leather Lane - has no plaster on the walls and a cool,quirky name.  Utility is the name of the game with even the safe doubling up as a table.

Their short movie of how they started is well-made and honest http://www.departmentofcoffee.co.uk/

Kiddie Shaped Hard Sell

Fruit Shoot, the supposedly kid-friendly sugared drink, may sponsor this display but the colour, shape, lighting and display gets your (or your kid's) attention.









Benugo's straight-laced kids unit at the Science Museum, although a much healthier and better quality food offer

Three Hundred Years of Meeting Daily

The HQ and museum of St John's Ambulance in St John's Gate throws up some interesting history - the Latin may have changed but coffee endures.  

Irrelevant detail from Wikipedia: The first coffee house in England was set up in Oxford in 1652.  By 1675, England had 3,000 coffee shops.  

Tempus Fugit   Time Flies

Your Favourite Cup

Prufrock Cafe in Leather Lane, off High Holborn, has been running a 'what is your favourite cup' survey for its customers.  The current winners - pictured below - are its current stock to the staff's surprise and the owner's delight.

They have lots of good ideas, from their filter coffee section and equipment, to their magazines-on-a-table and cake display.   They offer London BRAT - Barista Resource & Training http://www.prufrockcoffee.com/prufrock-the-london-brat/

Bakers at Work

Paul's multideck chiller roller blind has just the right message

The Best Thing since Sliced Bread

   

EAT have come up with three flavours of toast:

Marmalade

Cheese & Marmite

Cinnamon & Sugar

Another clever use of the panini grill - see previous blog post 

http://greatcafes.blogspot.com/2011/04/new-take-on-toast.html

St ALi of Melbourne & Clerkenwell

St ALi is a cafe and roastery all the way from South Melbourne and now in the north of the City of London.  All sorts of goodies - living wall, great sandwiches, bags of coffee and free water in old-fashioned milk bottles.

Disciplined Deli

Benugo in Clerkenwell - highly disciplined approach to deli sandwiches with all protein pre-portioned and the favourites pre-prepared for fast service.