75% Sales Increase

Haskins Garden Centre, Southampton invested £2.3 million in a new 460-seat cafe a year ago and sales have increased by 75%.  Catering sales account for almost one quarter of total garden centre turnover.

Treacle Toffee Apple Muffins.

 Apricot Scones

Lemon Meringue Muffins

Tart Comment

The best comment (compliment, naturally!) about the Great Cafes blog added to this post by the weekend wins the ring.  If you are shy about commenting, a photo I can use on the Guest Spot will qualify.  A Great Cafes Christmas present for rebellious teens unearthed by my teenage daughter from an outfit called Punky Allsorts.

Kitchen Garden Food

The Pig in the (New) Forest proclaims its rooms and kitchen garden food.  The Kitchen Garden really delivers - see our Pinterest board http://pinterest.com/turpinsmale/the-pig-kitchen-garden-december-2012/ to see just some of what was growing in early December.

Ollie the Head Kitchen Gardener is full of passion for his subject - we will hear more of this young man and the whole subject of real restaurant kitchen gardening.  Out of town cafes and restaurants serious about their food should be taking note of what is going on here.

Innovation and experimentation is much in evidence.  The Crosne Chinese Artichoke was new to us with its excellent crunchy water chestnut taste.

Coffee as it should be

It's not just enough to have great coffee; you need a good machine to make it.  The trend to publicise both coffee supplier and machine manufacturer is seen at Gail's - already famous for their bread and pastries.

Arresting Menu

Beach Blanket Babylon catches the eye with its street-side framed menu plus oranges, scales and pumpkin

Prepared for Rain

The ace restaurateurs Jeremy King & Chris Corbin have been busy opening Delaunay, Zedel and Colbert - they have a great eye for detail as seen by their wet umbrella bagging machine at Zedel's cafe.

Street Box

Street food is all the rage and POD now do their version of street food inspired boxes using wholemeal flatbread as the base ingredient.