Wednesday, 8 May 2013

Deliciously Dorset

 Fabulous Leakers Bakery in Bridport with its Jurassic Foot bread and Cheese, Chilli and Beer bread.
 Cheese & Cider Bread
 Jurassic Slice wholemeal bar cake with caramel, choc chunks, apricots and dates
 Deliciously Dorset on the Jurassic coast

Tuesday, 7 May 2013

Found, Restored and Back Again

Elemental's store in Spitalfields has all the re-used, vintage furniture you never thought you would see again.

Monday, 6 May 2013

Touch of Class

Fortnum & Mason's cup of coffee comes with miniature cornetto in a special stand.
Square, embossed sugar lumps individually wrapped.

Friday, 3 May 2013

Cup of Char

 Entrepreneurial Emily Holmes has set up her Good & Proper Tea Co wagon.
Fancy Marco Uber water boiler allows exact temperature control.

Thursday, 2 May 2013

Crispy Muffin

 Astons' English Muffins (coated in semolina) and giant Palmiers as seen at the London Coffee Festival

Wednesday, 1 May 2013

Queues Please

Howler at the Vatican Museum where boxed salads are in customer accessible shelves and queues are long. See more at http://pinterest.com/turpinsmale/cafe-howlers/

Tuesday, 30 April 2013

Cork the Bill

 Neat bill holder at ASK pizza restaurant

Monday, 29 April 2013

Out Now

Allegra's 2013 London Coffee Guide - "the definitive guide to the best independent coffee venues in London."

Saturday, 27 April 2013

Bottles are Back

Guest Spot
Small retro milk bottle caught colleague Charles' eye at the Great North Hotel's bar off Kings Cross station. The somewhat conventional cup, saucer and teapot was noted.

Friday, 26 April 2013

Roast Your Own

The London Coffee Festival at the old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane was buzzing.  This small and portable coffee bean roasting machine (cost circa £10k) caught the eye.
Will we see more cafes differentiate themselves by flooding the senses with freshly-roast coffee?
 If you fancy roasting your own beans at home this micro-roaster might be for you.


Thursday, 25 April 2013

Let Us Eat

 Nutella crepe bar at the Vatican Museum, Rome

Wednesday, 24 April 2013

Salad Days

  • Hoisin Duck No Bread £3.75 and 144 calories
  • Sesame Chicken & Noodle Salad £4.85 and 329 calories
  • Smoked Salmon & Sweet Pickle Salad £4.50 and 481 calories
  • Greens & Grains No Bread £3.75 and 293 calories 


Tuesday, 23 April 2013

Pies on Sticks


We had cakes on sticks several years ago - http://greatcafes.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/cakes-on-sticks.html - now it's pies on sticks.  Carol Hilker's new book Pie Pops has the low down.

Monday, 22 April 2013

Ice Cream Cup Cakes

Greggs' ice cream cup cakes

Saturday, 20 April 2013

Blaming Your Tools

Guest Spot
Ever wondered how the Italians prepare courgettes with a hole?!  You try stuffing a zucchini without the right implement.  This corer is the only way to do the job. Thanks Maurizio for finding one.

Thursday, 18 April 2013

Clear Message

Clearly a fruit juice cafe (in Rome).

Wednesday, 17 April 2013

When in Rome


Wine from the vat
 Courgette flowers and artichokes in season (April)

Tuesday, 16 April 2013

Apple Pie plus Chips

Apple pie muffin with chocolate chips at Rome's airport.

Monday, 15 April 2013

Clever Touches

The Ludlow Food Centre has a new cafe, the Ludlow Kitchen, with some fun finishing touches.  The Scrabble 'Reserved' sign is inspired.   My colleague Charles Manners is rightly proud of his non-executive connection.

Friday, 12 April 2013

Eat Beautiful

 Itsu have just announced a 20-site expansion in London, up from the current 38 locations  They are certainly one to watch with Pret's Julian Metcalfe in the driving seat.
 In-store flowers and story!
 Eat Beautiful is the message with lots of low-fat, low-carb, low-calorie recipes.

Thursday, 11 April 2013

The 94p Latte

A short break in Rome wakes me up to the Italian tradition and price of their morning coffee on the move.  €1.10 (under a quid) for a cappuccino or latte.  Fair enough it is drunk standing up and it is served fast and furious.  Quite what Italians make of our £2.50 (€3) take-out coffees I do not know.  Even the Vatican Museum cafe offered excellent value.

Wednesday, 10 April 2013

Lemon Curd Slice

 EAT tries out lemon curd slices

Tuesday, 9 April 2013

Balthazar Beauties

 Quiche
 Salads
Cakes and perfect looking scones

Monday, 8 April 2013

No Nuts

 You can guarantee nut-free traybakes by buying in items from It's Nut Free http://itsnutfree.com/



Saturday, 6 April 2013

Cup of Chandelier

Guest Spot
Sue McCracken, the National Trust for Scotland's passionate catering boss, sends in a fun chandelier posted on a friend's Facebook page - inspiration comes from many directions nowadays.

Friday, 5 April 2013

Award Winning Insomnia

Insomnia are one of the biggest coffee/cafe brands in Ireland with 60 units and they have just started franchising.  They seem to have cracked the tea drinkers as well.  Real leaf tea in biodegradable pouches - several UK chains could learn a lesson or two.