Tea ....on the Sea

The £52 million rebuild of the Grand Pier at Weston-super-Mare (Bristol way) is quite something. The latest in arcade gizmos, a 4D cinema, dodgems and a go kart track all under cover - 60,000 people a day are anticipated in peak season.



The Tiffany tea room at the end of the pier feels like you are at sea (when the tide is in) and is both upscale and thankfully quiet.

The owner Kerry Michael (Mr Weston-super-Mare) deserves to do well.  Catering is in-house and covers the bases http://www.grandpier.co.uk/food-drink 
Worth a look sea!

Windows and the art of communication

Go on ...bring a smile to your potential customers faces!

Seen at Tibits - itself an interesting Swiss vegetarian restaurant bar takeaway in Heddon Street, off Regent Street http://www.tibits.co.uk/e/

Kaffeine - Some neat ideas .... and superb coffee

Kaffeine is a small boutique coffee house cafe in Great Titchfield Street (north of Oxford Street) www.kaffeine.co.uk with some neat ideas, interesting pastries and superb coffee.

Coffee books by the fancy coffee machine - they love their coffee and it shows




Butchers Block condiment station - raw, practical and fits well with the inexpensive decor

Jam (with gift tag descriptor label) and sugar on each table - worthy of home and something for 'free'

Living Walls

Great idea for a Living Wall spotted at Anthropologie in Regent Street - no cafe here but lots of design ideas.  Perfect for a garden centre cafe but appropriate anywhere.  The words that come to mind are fresh, natural, informal and creative.

That Extra Sale - Crisps

Check out how ever-innovative Pret are displaying/selling their crisps - rustic looking bins in front of every multi-deck chiller. Look for your sandwich and see the crisps immediately in your line of sight. Simple, clever and will add to take up and that all important average spend.

The Return of the Doily

The Times (23.3.11) says Granny clutter is all the rage and that sales of doilies are booming. I have spent most of my catering career trying to get rid of these unnecessary and old-fashioned accoutrements but fashion has come full circle - Doilies are back!

I have been recommending tea cosies and brown betty tea pots for a while - Conran led their reintroduction at the wonderful Albion Caff - and I suppose doilies are just another retro item that will conjure up memories of yesteryear.

Cup cakes, home baking, tea cosies and now doilies - Great for the explosive growth of bakery cafes. Good for Granny.