Caked in Devon

The Exploding Bakery guys from Exeter are a new cake by the slice bakery and were making quite a name for themselves at the Lunch! show.  Great cakes and presentation.

Healthy Eating and Chips with Sauce

This Wasabi kiosk is parked outside Liverpool Street Station.  The world is certainly changing when we have this rather than a burger van.  The City may lead trends but more healthy eating is on our customers' agenda.

Just to make sure we don't get too carried away, a unit spotted at a stately home half marathon event that just does chips, with added sauce!

Hot Challenge

One way to market a burger and yourselves.  There have been no successful pictures on their Wall of Flames to date.  Telford has its limits!

A Sac, not a Bag

Paper T-Sacs allow you to offer loose leaf tea without the stigma of tea bags.  Benugo uses these to great effect at all its outlets.

Available from Jenier Teas.

Resurrection of the Fruit Cake

Have you noticed how few cafes now sell fruit cake?  The cost of ingredients has put it out of reach of the best selling carrot cake and sponges.

The Handmade Cake Company has come to the rescue by reintroducing a pre-cut, home-made looking, quality fruit cake to their range.  It's not cheap but they are finding customers will pay for a slice of Winston Churchill's favourite tea-time treat.

Cake Presentation - The Worst & Best - Part 2

How not to
(a museum cafe in  Leeds)

Create Food & Party Design should be proud of their cakes and display at Fulham Palace













See Part 1 at  http://greatcafes.blogspot.com/2011/05/cake-presentation-worst-and-best.html

Wacky, Weird, Eccentric & Ingenious

A self-pouring teapot from 1886.

Apparently they were hugely popular.  You raise the lid, put your finger over the hole in the top of the lid, lower the lid and presto, it pours.

One of the first patented Teasmades from 1902.   Ask your granny if you have never heard of a Teasmade - they were all the rage in the 1960s/70s and, unbelievably, a modern "uniquely British icon" version is still being made.

One of my favourites - a combination lock stopper to stop your servants nicking your whisky.





This, and some other fine eccentric gadgets, are on hire to museums and other establishments from the delightful Maurice Collins mauricecollins@msn.com who puts all hire proceeds to disability charities.    His own disabled daughter was the inspiration to start the charity Kith & Kids http://www.kithandkids.org.uk/  Heartwarming.