Cafe News ....
June 2009 .....
STEWART DAWES brings us the latest good news on the Sydney cafe restaurant & hospitality scene ...
“Without my morning coffee I'm just like a dried up piece of roast goat. - Johann Sebastian Bach.
Chez Lulu - What a Totally Crepe Venue
For those who've never sighted Mont St Michel from the beach, and marvelled at all that Monk-ified dedication ... the mystery of the gospels francified, we suggest you find the most adequate substitute and gorge yourself on the rarified Gallic gourmandy of Chez Lulu, our June "Cafe of the Month". No time for secular Anglophiles whining about the virtues of fish'n'chips, instead it's time to religiously cross the channel of your inner palate to the delicious world of Chez Lulu and his Asterisk-loving compatriots: do yourself a mighty favour and drop by Chez Lulu today - or tonight, for more, check out their editorial profile.
Tequila Sundays at Juanita's
We recently ventured out on a cold Sunday night to dine in Sydney. Pretty much never recommended as most Sydney cafes and restaurants have zero vibe on a Sunday night. The food might be okay but the atmosphere is invisible. With such a realpolitik view borne of 9 years of food reviewing, imagine how delighted we were to discover a festive vibe in full flight at Juanita's Mexican Restaurant, where they are drawing big crowds due to their $24.95 "All You Can Eat" offer on Sunday and Monday nights. They're BYO only though - so make sure you take-your-own tequila for margeuritas or slammers, or red wine to add to the delicious non-alcoholic sangrias they make. The BYO thing makes even more sense to the budget-conscious diner, so it's a double win effectively and we all need a double win at the moment. 100% recommended Sunday or Monday night out. To check out their review click here.
May 2009 .....
When your soul is truly creative, you don't want to be waiting on tables six days a week. Hence this latest message from Chris Davies, owner of At Perry Lane:
Just wanted to let everyone know that there are some exciting changes happening At Perry Lane.
We will be trading exclusively as Paddington's weekend cafe on:
Friday 8am to 5pm
Saturday 8am to 5pm
Sunday 9am to 5pm.
We are having more live music on weekends and of course we are still BYO
if you fancy a bevvy.
The space is being used throughout the week for other ventures. We have
a 'Life Drawing' Art Class that will be commencing in around 3 weeks and
also Tarot, healing and Reiki classes or appointments/ readings will take
place on a permanent basis.
We will still continue to have our Art Exhibitions & Launches with some interesting exhibits coming up shortly along with private functions and parties as usual.
We also have a theatre show and 'live mic night' in the making which will
be a hoot!
If you have any questions or queries, just give us a shout.
Cheers,
...At
Perry Lane.
Search Engine Optimisation for Restaurants, Bars, Cafes, Coffee Companies and Hospitality Suppliers
Are you scared off by SEO (search engine optimisation) companies and their possibly dodgy strategies which could plunge your website even further downwards on Google rankings? We've been doing SEO on our own sites for years and they sit at the very top of Google, Yahoo, MSN etc. Now we're offering this service out to a very few clients who seriously want to get on with improving their website's rankings. So far due to time restraints we have only taken on seven clients but all of them now sit at the top of search engines. We have just one day per week available - and the price is just $350 per day. We don't employ juniors to do this work - you will have the publisher or editor of our company doing this work for you. Must book a minimum of 2 days - we have to vet your website first to ensure we can work on it. If interested in talking to us about it, email Stewart Dawes via editor@sydneycafes.com.au
The Easter Bunny Visited Perry Lane in Paddington
15/4/09: The above photo shows that even at that notoriously dead time for cafes and restaurants, known as Easter, some places were cookin' in the crowd department.
Such was the case at our May 2009 Cafe of the Month, At Perry Lane in Paddington.
Only opened two months ago, this is a fantastic cafe run by the extremely affable Chris Davies and his delightful mum, Gillian Morris.
At Perry Lane is the sort of place which dissolves all jealousy towards the Melbourne cafe scene. With someone like Chris at the helm, you're glad to be living in Sydney, no doubt about it.
“No coffee can be good in the mouth that does not first send a sweet offering of odor to the nostrils.” - Henry Ward Beecher.
Sydney Cafe Biz Expo
21/4/2009: Café Biz is a great annual industry expo targeting café owners and their staff and people looking at entering this exciting industry. Café Biz will be held again this year at Royal Randwick Racecourse in the Randwick Pavilion. Randwick is a great location with plenty of free parking making easy access to an event close to the city.
Cafe Biz 09 is looking to be another action packed event that will show
a positive light on the growing industry even in these predicted quiet
economic times. The mood for all involved has been far from doom and gloom,
as the Australian café and coffee industry is showing strong growth
figures as consumers switch to the casual café lifestyle to be entertained.
This is a real positive and Café Biz is getting behind the industry
again with Café Biz 09 being innovative with the expo format.
This years Café Biz 09 will be a good reflection of where the industry
is heading with lots of new products and services on display in the Randwick
Pavilion on the 3rd and 4th of May. Café Biz has been the starting
point for many Café owners who have attended the event over the
last seven years to educate and motivate themselves and their staff.
There will be a terrific line up of free workshops in all areas of the
café business to help the café owner make more profit out
of these complex businesses. This year may be a tough one for some so it’s
the perfect time to start working on your business. Café Biz organizers
KISS Marketing have brought in many industry experts who will be looking
at subjects like marketing, finance and cost controls workshops.
The coffee side of Café Biz is also well represented with world
class barista Champions such as world number two David Makin who will be
conducting a Barista Course for those who want to be the best in their
craft. We also have the pleasure of the presence of coffee educator Jill
Adams from the William Angliss Coffee School in Melbourne who will be conducting
a coffee sensory course.
Café Biz will again host some of the industries most prestigious
coffee and beverage competitions such as the Da Vinci Trans Tasman Barista
Championships which consists of a competition between Australia’s
best barista’s up against the finest from New Zealand. Another fun
event is the Pura Latte Art competition which will bring out the best latte
artists in the nation who are all competing for the two thousand dollar
prize pool. This competition has been the proving place for all three Australian
bred World Latte Art Champions. This years Coffee Chain Challenge will
be staged in the Café Biz arena hosting teams from all of the large
coffee chains around Australia. The coffee chain is an event that puts
into play a typical busy café scenario where teams of baristas need
to work together to produce consistent coffee, judged on taste and presentation.
Other beverage competitions that will be hosted at this years Café Biz
are the Tea Infusion Challenge and the Café Cocktail Competition.
These new events are starting to create interest for a new age of competitors
raising the profile of these profitable café revenue areas.
This year there is over 100 new products and services on display including
a home coffee machine area which has been set up for the launch of KISS
Marketing’s new release of The Home Coffee Machine Review.
All of the event highlights can be viewed at the Café Biz website. www.cafebiz.net
Nonna's Bringing Home The Bacon
21/4/2009: Consumers these days are increasingly interested in quality products that use Australian "real ingredients” for flavour, nutrition and value for money.
Nonna’s Gourmet Sausages & Deli has just announced it has become the official NSW distributor of award-winning Bok’s Bacon, Tasmania’s leading dry-cured bacon and smallgoods manufacturer.
“These unique products complement our existing range of gourmet sausages,” said Nonna’s Sales Director, Andrew Lupton. “Plus, on a more personal note, dry-cured bacon is what I remember growing up with as a child and it is not something you often see any more”.
Boks Bacon Managing Director Marcus Boks said he was excited to have
Nonna’s
on board. “When I met with Andrew I could feel a synergy between
our companies,” Marcus said. “I felt Nonna’s was a
company I would like to be associated with and look forward to our future
relationship
and mutual growth.”
Boks bacon is a unique product in the smallgoods world. Almost all commercial
bacon is brine cured and hot smoke cooked, but not Boks. It is dry-cured
and cold-smoked in a traditional woodfire smoker with Tassie oak for
a real smoke flavour.
Organic Leatherwood honey from Cradle Mountain in Tasmania’s highlands is also used on one bacon variety for a sweeter unsmoked flavour.
Boks uses no added water during the process – in fact the Boks curing process means that the product LOSES 25% in weight and in doing so, intensifies in flavour. Quite a contrast to modern methods of production, where manufacturers bulk their product with chemical saturated water which in turn ends up in the frying pan as a grey puddle.
And finally, Boks uses Gooralie free-range pork - Queensland’s only RSPCA accredited free-range piggery and producer of the finest pork available for our use.
Nonna’s and Boks have combined to deliver Australians a range of
authentic, quality Australian smallgoods that blend traditional flavour
with ‘real ingredients” and natural goodness.
Nonna’s products are available throughout Sydney and various points
across NSW and at leading retailers including Harris Farm, IGAs, butcherman.com.au
and Norton Street Grocer Bondi.
Information on the full range of Nonna’s products is available at www.gourmetsausages.com.au
Sydney Restaurants Lauded Internationally Again
21/4/2009 Sydney Morning Herald: Tetsuya's restaurant in Sydney is the 17th finest in the world.
In a clean sweep for Sydney, Quay restaurant - the SMH Good Food Guide's restaurant of the year - made its debut on the list coming in at number 46. But chef Peter Gilmore was not at Freemason's Hall in London, as he had been taken to hospital with a suspected kidney stone.
Pier restaurant, Rose Bay, made Sydney's trifecta, appearing for the first time, at number 94 on the secondary, 51 to 100 placings.
Melbourne was unrepresented as last year's entrant, Vue du Monde, fell of the list.
But the S Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants list further confirms Spain's position at the top of the culinary tree.
El Bulli outside Barcelona in Spain reigns supreme for a second successive year as the World's best restaurant. Owner chef Ferran Adria was in London to hear the announcement.
It will mean yet more pressure for a seat at the restaurant which opens for only six months a year with 7000 diners lucky enough to score a place. It's said about two million people apply for a seat every year.
Organised by UK trade magazine Restaurant, the top 50 award contenders are nominated by 837 judges who include chefs, restaurateurs and industry commentators. Each judge has five nominations with a maximum of three from their own region.
The Top Ten are:
1. El Bulli, Spain.
2. The Fat Duck, UK
3. Noma, Denmark
4. Mugaritz, Spain
5. El Celler de Can Roca, Spain
6. Per Se, US
7. Bras, France
8. Arzak, Spain
9. Pierre Gagnaire, France
10. Alinea, US
“ I bought a decaffeinated coffee table, you can’t even see a difference.” - Author unknown.
.
"It was a pleasant cafe, warm and clean and friendly, and I hung up my old water-proof on the coat rack to dry and put my worn and weathered felt hat on the rack above the bench and ordered a cafe au lait. The waiter brought it and I took out a notebook from the pocket of the coat and a pencil and started to write." - Ernest Hemingway.
A Contemporary Secular Religion
To old friends, having coffee allows the space to revisit memories and rekindle fun times shared over the years. And yet there's so much more to this social trend of sitting around funky little cafes with pretty little people absorbing groovy inoffensive little background tunes (cafe music - what a scintillating genre) ...
For on Sunday mornings, instead of being bored stiff in churches, athiests and agnostics from Australia to Argentina prefer to engage in a non-commital form of confession.
In cafes everywhere, societal sinners can confess their "sins" of the week. A mild offence taken here, a raised eyebrow there. Coffee gets the mind going and the lips moving. Out comes the gossip and the soul is cleansed.
In pairs their mutual casual prayers invoke the Goddess Caffeina, cloaked in cappucchino foam she spreads a latte-light across the globe, healing friendships and guiding devotees to a caffeine-addicted nirvana where old mates can strip off their social baggage and dance naked in each other's minds, if only between 10am and midday on a Sunday morn.
“After all, coffee is bitter, a flavor from the forbidden and dangerous realm.” - Diane Ackerman.
“It's the non-relationship drink of choice. It's not a date, it's a caffeinated beverage. Okay, sure, it's hot and bitter like a relationship that way, but ... like ..." - Buffy the Vampire Slayer/ Allison Hannigan as Willow.
Coffee has been known to prevent drowsiness and depression - and can act as a temporary muscle relaxant and give provisional relief from arthritic pain. It cleans the system as it contains soluble fibres and acts as a mild laxative. Some studies show it is beneficial in slowing down certain types of cancer such as skin and breast cancer. It's a well known fact that coffee contains antioxidants that are good for the body, some say even the mist emanating from a hot cup has these antioxidants "the equivalent of which are found in oranges".
“Caffeine isn’t a drug, it’s a vitamin” - Author Unknown.
Long term consumption of coffee slows down dementia with more apparent long-term better memory manifested more on women than men. Although there is a tendency to lose certain bone minerals through the diuretic process that coffee drinking is known to amplify.
“Now you'll find out why Ms Sherwood shows up for breakfast, Tom. It's not love, it's my coffee machine.” - The Talented Mr Ripley - Dickie.
Claims have been made that mild to moderate caffeine consumption can increase sensual receptiveness and is more conspicuous on women than on men. It might be a good idea to trade that wine glass and beer bottle for a deliciously sultry coffee mug then, lads - at least on the morning after the night before.
“I think if I were a woman I’d wear coffee as perfume.” - John Van Druten.
Aside from having a very distinguishing and recognisable scent that one can almost taste, the lingering memory of how that hot liquid slowly goes down and spreads its ardor ... enveloping the body with its fierce heat ... is enough to make one find a more comfortable position to enjoy the most of its intensity. It’s like liquid Prozac only more accessible and works a trifle faster.
As with anything else, excessive intake of coffee can prove harmful if not fatal. Yet would take very conspicuous amounts for coffee to be unfavorable. After the body has had its quota of caffeine, it will just secrete out the extra caffeine you've taken in. Voltaire was reputed to have been consuming 50 or more cups of coffee a day. He certainly loved that swirling mist from his bitter and fiery cup of love.
“Actually, this seems to be the basic need of the human heart in nearly every great crisis - a good hot cup of coffee.” - Alexander King.
“The powers of a man's mind are directly proportioned to the quantity of coffee he drinks.” - Sir James Mackintosh.
The Dark Express
How do I drink thee? Let me count the ways ...
BRYN TILLY savours the dark soul of that infamous bean ...
"Coffeepot give us peace,
Coffeepot let children grow,
let our wealth swell,
please protect us from evils,
give us rain and grass"
- Ethiopian Prayer
It has many guises - espresso, cappuccino, mochaccino, café latte, macchiato, ristretto, doppio, flat white, etc - that bitter sweet pleasure which is a way of life for so many of us. Yet coffee remains the most popular drug in the world, with 85% of Americans alone using significant amounts of caffeine on a daily basis.
It's the most sought after commodity after oil, which certainly says something about the power and influence of this dark-hued fluid. You may not drink coffee, but you can appreciate just how popular it is. Craving that morning espresso, you may not be so aware of its deep social influence. Sure, the active ingredient caffeine is found in other beverages, such as tea and soft drinks, but there's only one true pure form: coffee. Coffee has been a formidable force in history, and is probably one of the most addictive substances the world has ever known.
In recent years it has become a significant social lubricant. It's almost impossible not to be exposed to its aroma, the taste of it infiltrating everything from ice cream to nouveau cuisine. And caffeine is the only addictive psychoactive substance that is freely available almost everywhere, unregulated, sold without a licence, available in tablet and capsule form, linked to smart drinks, and added to soft drinks aimed at children.
Art of Darkness
In our coffee-driven urban society we take a lot for granted. And for the most part we are served well. Most cafes know how to make a reasonable coffee.
But there is an art to making an espresso and all its variations. Even that simple long black demands respect for the espresso machine, and attention to the packing of the ground coffee beans. Without that 'rats tail' spiralling into the demitasse, your coffee is going to be sub-standard. And in this hyper-demanding urban sophisticate social realm of tonic! tonic! tonic!, the perfect coffee is of the utmost importance.
One mustn't underestimate the disdain that spills forth from unhappy café customers who have been served a too milky latte or an under-frothed cappuccino. Call it coffee café contempt! Without the right brew an over-stressed executive or a disgruntled student may have his or her day fall apart around them. Simply because the coffee made has NOT hit the spot!
The 'Sauce' of Dissent
On the table in front of you it may appear innocuous, but coffee has been responsible for a lot of social upheaval. It was banned for years in Europe for causing the aristocrats and political yes-men much grief. Why exactly was it banned? Because of its ability to make people think. Challenge the status quo. Spark ideas of political revolt. And none of this was happening in the bars. In the bars they were getting drunk on absinthe and playing silly buggers, while in the coffee houses they were getting fired up, wired,plotting, scheming, ready for action!
A Repugnant History
The world's first coffee lovers were Oromos, a society who lived around 1500 to 3000 years ago in the African kingdom of Kefa. Kefa is perhaps the root of the word coffee, or maybe qahwa, which roughly translates as "to make something repugnant". Originally referring to wine, which made food repugnant, it was then applied to coffee, which made sleep repugnant.
The first mention of a coffee beverage suggests it was brewed from coffee leaves. Kati, or Kotea, is an Ethiopian concoction made of roasting coffee leaves. Amertassa is an earlier version made from freshly picked green leaves and then left to dry in the shade. These two are strong candidates for being the first cup of coffee.
The French, the Dutch and the Ethiopians each styled themselves as the heavies in making coffee the world's most popular drug. But it was the Turks who controlled the port of Mocha (coffee Mecca) during its heyday. And how's this for one of their proverbs:
"Coffee should be black as hell,
strong as death and sweet as love"
As for the beans with which we are more familiar in the western world, there are two basic kinds. The succulent Arabica from East Africa prefers higher elevation, while the fierce Robusta from Zaire grows pretty much everywhere. The social influence of coffee soon spread from the Middle East into Europe and beyond.
Coffee houses were established first in Mecca and Constantinople (1500 and earlier), then into England (Oxford and London 1555 and 1652), across the Channel (Amsterdam and Paris 'mid-1600s and later), to America (Boston and New York late 1600s) and eventually back into the heart of Europe (Berlin 1721).
But it wasn't long before the small cafes were stripped of their coffee-making facilities. Coffee was considered the devil's cup, more insidious than alcohol, and certainly more potent in its socially destructive powers. Which of course only put it in higher demand - just as "Prohibition" caused a surge in alcohol trade.
So is coffee really that dangerous?
Symptoms likely to occur after consumption in excess of 250 mg (2-3 cups): restlessness, nervousness, excitement, insomnia, flushed face, diuresis, gastrointestinal disturbance, muscle twitching, rambling flow of thought and speech, cardiac arrhythmia, periods of inexhaustibility and psychomotor agitation.
For hardcore caffeine lovers, try a Turbo Coke - a shot of espresso in a tall glass over ice topped up with Coca-Cola. Now that's gotta get you goin'!
Things You Probably Didn't Know About Coffee:
- In an espresso (1.5 to 2 oz) there is 100 mg of caffeine. In an instant coffee there can be 50 to 130 mg, and in a drip or percolated coffee there is anything from 75 to 180 mg.
- Acute toxicity leading to death from coffee can occur at levels as low as 50 mg/kg, equivalent to 3.5 grams for a 60 kg person. That's about 35 straight cups of coffee.
- The famous writer and philosopher Voltaire used to consume 50 cups of coffee a day.
- A few years ago a twelve-step program was set up by a group called Caffeine Anonymous in Portland, Oregon, to help junkies kick the habit.
- Workers be warned. That fourth cup of coffee late in the day is not the pick-me-up you think it is. A study has found that drinking more than three-and-a-half cups of coffee a day hurts productivity levels and does not make people more aware - it causes concentration lapses and stress.
More Caffeine Crazed Info ...
- Coffee is the second largest commodity in world trade.
- The human body will absorb 300mg of caffeine. Additional amounts are excreted and provide no stimulation.
- Coffee is the most popular drink in the world at over 400 billion cups each year.
- Coffee drinkers have more frequent sex than non-coffee drinkers and enjoy it more.
- Swedish people drink more coffee than any other nation. Average 11 cups a day.
- On average, a coffee tree produces 1-2 lbs of coffee beans per year.
- 2.4 billion pounds of coffee are sold per year in the United States.
- One pound of coffee represents 4000 handpicked beans.
- The first Parisian cafe opened in 1689 to serve coffee.
- In the year 1763 there were over 200 coffee shops in Venice.
- Raw coffee beans, soaked in water and spices, are chewed like candy in parts of Africa.
- The Japanese have been known to bathe in coffee grounds fermented with pineapple pulp, for reducing wrinkles and improving their skin.
- Coffee sacks are usually made of hemp and it takes over 600,000 beans to fill a coffee sack.
Bryn Tilly is a writer, DJ and culture vulture. For more of his articles check out www.freshmag.com.au or email him via bryntilly@yahoo.com ... and for more info on coffee click here. For Sydney coffee suppliers click here.
The Best of Sydney Coffee
Mano Espresso Bar - Glebe is not All about Grunge
At Mano Espresso they serve Campos Coffee, specifically Campos Superior Blend, made by their qualified and highly skilled baristas. They also have a selection of T2 teas and Chai, as well as freshly squeezed juices. Mano Espresso have recently been awarded four beans in their review in The Coffee Guide Sydney 2009. Certainly in a very short time our experience is that they're already among the best espresso bars in Sydney. Their menu consists of a range of gourmet light meals - toasted pides, soups and their famous spanakopita, and their new addition - delicious steak sandwiches made fresh to order. They also have a range of friands, cakes and muffins to indulge your sweet tooth. For more info, browse their website and feel free to send them your feedback via their contact us page.
Incas Caffe - the best of Italy right here in Sydvegas
Incas Caffè is a boutique Italian coffee boasting all the qualities a good Italian coffee should have. Since being introduced into Australian cafes only a few years ago, it's fast becoming the brand of choice with coffee connoisseurs. The combination of a rich blend and strong aroma, guarantees a perfect coffee each time. Incas Caffè supply commercial coffee machines, grinders, accessories, POS and complete barista training. To discuss your needs or for more information, contact the office on (02) 9614 0040, email us via sales@incascaffe.com.au or visit us online at www.incascaffe.com.au
Numero Uno Coffee & Barista Training
100% Rainforest-Alliance certified coffee from Numero Uno is a combination of three things - coffee, people and passion. They are in business because they love it - and provide a complete experience that educates, inspires and empowers their customers - while offering superb blends such as their Aria Blend, their Il Vizio Blend and their intensely rich Picasso Blend. Numero Uno supply full barista training with any espresso machines including any domestic range of coffee equipment on-site or at their barista training studio. For more info call Sam or Gina on (02) 8399 0111, email them via sales@numerouno.com.au or check out their website: www.numerouno.com.au
