Week beginning September 1st - vegemite and cheddar scrolls

This week we bring back one of Kaffeine's all time favourite savoury items, the vegemite and mature cheddar scroll.

Arguments are held as always over whether marmite or vegemite is better, we will leave it up to you decide, but we recommend having them slightly warmed on the toaster. Delicious.

We hope you enjoy the menu this week, as we will enjoy bringing it to you.


Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)

Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)
Fruit salad (pineapple, mango, strawberries, grapes, passion fruit) 3.70 (GF, V)
Ciabatta roll with omelette, pancetta, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Ciabatta roll with courgette omelette, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Croissant with Italian roast ham, talleggio cheese, spinach & plum tomatoes 4.90
Seven seed bakery bloomer toast with home made preserves 1.90
Pumpkin seed and apricot fruit toast 2.40
Banana bread 2.40

Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissant 1.90
Pain au chocolat 2.50
Almond croissant 2.80

Baked Treats
Sweet muffin: Golden delicious apple and blackberries (V) 2.40
Savoury Scone: Vegemite and mature cheddar (V) 2.40
Friand: Damson (V, GF)   2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Almond and custard slice 2.00
Canele 2.40

Lunch

French retro baguettes 5.00
Italian roast ham with grilled peach, aioli, mature cheddar and spinach

Bufala mozzarella, red pepper pesto, plum tomato and rocket (V)

Foccacias 5.30

Pancetta with roasted courgettes, red onion, ricotta cheese and spinach
Mushroom pate with crushed mint peas, red onion and rocket (V)

Salads: 5.50/6.90

Prawns with brown rice, avocado, cucumber, pickle ginger and wasabi dressing

Lentils with cherry tomatoes, roasted red peppers, shallots, goats cheese, rocket and herbs (V)

Chantenay carrots with olives and walnuts cooked in coconut milk

Tart: 4.50 or 7.90 with salad
Salmon with capers, dill and watercress

Week beginning Tuesday 26th - Nan 'Carnage' Khan is in charge

Chef Jared is away on holidays for two weeks, so his trusty second in charge, Khan is running the kitchen. It was the legend that is Missy that came up with the name Carnage for her over two years ago. The name has stuck.

The name could not be any further from the truth. Clean, methodical, polite and happy, Khan has been with us and learning from Jared for almost four years. The next two weeks are her menus and we are very proud to offer them to you.

It's not the first time she has done the menus, far from it. Carnage has been doing our weekend menus for over two years now, where we change the salads and the tarts to reflect her own personal tastes and allow her to develop the menu and think about seasonal and market ingredients.

Having variety in the menu is great for everyone, it allows freedom of expression and continual ingredient knowledge and tasting for the chefs as well as our staff who serve it and most important, a variety for you the customer to be able to enjoy all that we have to offer on a weekly changing menu.

We hope you enjoy.



Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)

Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)
Fruit salad (pineapple, mango, strawberries, grapes, passion fruit) 3.70 (GF, V)
Ciabatta roll with omelette, pancetta, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Ciabatta roll with courgette omelette, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Croissant with Italian roast ham, talleggio cheese, spinach & plum tomatoes 4.90
Seven seed bakery bloomer toast with home made preserves 1.90
Pumpkin seed and apricot fruit toast 2.40
Banana bread 2.40

Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissant 1.90
Pain au chocolat 2.50
Almond croissant 2.80

Baked Treats
Sweet muffin: Peach and Almond (V) 2.40
Savoury Scone: Samphire pesto and mozzarella (V) 2.40
Friand: Damson (V, GF)   2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Almond and custard slice 2.00
Canele 2.40

Lunch

French retro baguettes 5.00
Ham, dijon, gruyere, red onion, gherkin, and rocket

Peri peri sauce, hummus, cucumber, tomato, red onion and watercress (V)

Foccacias 5.30

Halloumi, roasted courgette, red peppers, pesto, spinach (V)
Roasted chicken, brie, salsa verde, rocket

Salads: 5.50/6.90

Vermicelli noodles with HG Walters organic chicken, carrots, coriander, peanuts, chilli dressing

Quinoa, roasted olives, cherry tomatoes, cashew nuts, basil and rocket (VE)

Broccoli with oyster sauce

Tart: 4.50 or 7.90 with salad
Brown rice tuna bake with rouille

Week beginning August 18th - Hottentot figs, Victoria Plums and Marsh Samphire

After last weeks 5 year celebration at Kaffeine its time for a mini caffeinated come down and back to reality. Or in my case on holidays for a couple of weeks to explore the Amazon and find my inner wisdom or just read a book in a hammock?.

In the meantime you will have the privilege of eating a menu prepared by Kaffeine's kitchen wonders Khan, Win, Silvio, Claire and Agne. 

First up we we have Victoria plums which have come into season early this year due to the amazing two thirds of this summer. They will be baked in our muffins with added creamy natural yoghurt for a pro-biotic taste. 

Because of the turn in the weather recently we will be putting a few comforts in our salads such as glazed ham with roasted potatoes and foraged sea kale (think mustard) all smothered in more mustardy goodness with a hint of sour. 

We also have pickled hottentot figs, these foraged fruits originated from South Africa and grow off ice plants in coastal areas. I'd say these fruits are more reminiscent of okra and dragon fruit and less like a fig. Slimy, salty, sweet, mushy, seedy and best not eaten raw but pickled or made into a jam. We will be serving the pickled hottentot figs with chalky goats cheese, wild watercress tops and roasted cashew nuts.

Our last highlight is a slow roasted tomato tart, the tomatoes are roasted in the oven over night concentrating and caramelising the flavours. The tomatoes are then served in a golden savoury pastry and drizzled with a green, slightly salty and succulent sauce made with foraged marsh samphire.

So please come in and enjoy our 5th year in service and ever-changing offerings.  

Jared Bryant

Lead Chef

@redjar50

Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)

Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)
Fruit salad (pineapple, mango, strawberries, grapes, passion fruit) 3.70 (GF, V)
Ciabatta roll with omelette, pancetta, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Ciabatta roll with courgette omelette, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Croissant with Italian roast ham, talleggio cheese, spinach & plum tomatoes 4.90
Seven seed bakery bloomer toast with home made preserves 1.90
Pumpkin seed and apricot fruit toast 2.40
Banana bread 2.40

Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissant 1.90
Pain au chocolat 2.50
Almond croissant 2.80

Baked Treats
Sweet muffin: Victoria plum and yoghurt (V) 2.40
Savoury Scone: Tomato, basil and cheddar (V)  2.40
Friand: Damson (V, GF)   2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Raspberry and coconut slice 2.00
Canele 2.40

Lunch

French retro baguettes 5.00
Bresaola, blue Cheshire, nectarine, basil and rocket

Tomato, pecorino, peri peri mayonnaise, avocado and spinach (V).

Foccacias 5.30

Ham, fondue, mushroom and spinach.
Crumbed aubergine, tomato sauce, mozzarella and rocket (V)

Salads: 5.50/6.90

Glazed ham, roasted new potatoes on sea kale with a sour mustard dressing (GF)

Pickled hottentot figs with goats cheese, wild watercress tops and cashew nuts (V,GF)

Roasted chantenay carrots with water celery and a fragrant dressing (VE,GF).

Tart: 4.50 or 7.90 with salad
Slow roasted tomato tart with marsh samphire sauce (V)

Week beginning August 11th - Fifth birthday celebrations and kitchen legends

This week marks the 250th menu I've written for Kaffeine, not that I've been counting. It just so happens to coincide with another celebration, our 5th anniversary. We close our doors for 2 weeks every Christmas and New Year’s, there are 52 weeks in a year, 50 multiplied by 5 equals 250. As a homage to ourselves and what we've achieved over the years we will be bringing back some of our most popular flavour combinations and menu items. 

First we have our blueberry and bran muffins. Blueberry muffins were one of my favourite foods growing up in New Zealand, there was this rural cafe close to my grandparents place in Bay of Plenty called The Pumpkin Cafe. They would toast them and serve with butter; the best part was they would use fresh blueberries and loads of of them. I started making similar muffins at Kaffeine and they sold very well. Erin, my first assistant in Kaffeine's kitchen suggested I put bran with the blueberries. Initially I thought this concept was nonsense, however I had a cooking block and decided to make them. Turned out to be our most popular seller in terms of muffins and we bring put them on the menu once a month. 

Next we have our baguette and sandwich range, this weeks 4 varieties have been our staples since we switched on our sandwich presses 5 years ago. Not necessarily ground breaking flavour combinations, however I am a firm believer of selling sandwiches the way I'd make them at home. Peter and I aren't up at night trying to find bottom-line ways to cut cost with maximum profit. We believe they should be made with the finest breads and fillings and served fresh every day. This has worked well for us as we get nominated for a British Sandwich Award almost every year since we opened.   

My playground at Kaffeine has always been in our salad range, this has depended on the season and what's available at the time. And from the spring of 2012 we started incorporating foraged ingredients. Our previous manager Amy and I were invited on a foraging walk through the Hackney Marshes lead by expert Miles Irving. This completely opened our eyes with what grows around us and how much edible produce is ready and free for picking. Produce that grows naturally in un-recycled soils, soil fuelled to help fresh produce grow with extra nutrients. However our most popular salad has no foraged ingredients at all and was inspired by my ex-boyfriends mother who is Filipino. When I first met Fe she had made dinner and served me their national dish which was Adobo (a Spanish work for marinade). Made with either chicken, pork or a combination of both and served with rice and a hardboiled egg. After learning how to make it I devised a Kaffeine salad version incorporating French carmargue red rice, which at the time was an exotic ingredient for the UK. I omitted the egg and mixed the cooked marinated chicken with coriander and rocket. Creating the most moorish and addictive salad to date. This week is also barista Grace's final week and as a final request she has asked for the Adobo to feature in our menu one last time before her flight back to New Zealand. 

Then there is our tart offering which has ranged from quiche, brown rice bakes, pies, rice wraps and fish cakes. This week is my personal favourite; fish cakes with a buckthorn hollandaise and strawberry salsa. An odd combination but this is one of my proudest creations at Kaffeine and only turns up on the menu once a year as they can be labour intensive. 

Lastly there are the items that we could have bought from someone else but decided to do it ourselves. These range from all our jams (namely the carrot and lemon marmalade), our nut butters, our own almond milk, granola, brioche, sparkling cascara and many many more. 

None of this would have been possible without the amazing help and support of Kaffeine’s kitchen staff. The most notable members have been Khan and Silvio who have been working alongside me for the last 4 years and made for the best possible cooking environment. As a result we've stuck by one another for this length of time keeping Kaffeine's standard consistent and something to be proud of. Other legends of the kitchen include Win, my brother Sam, manager Claire, kiwi girl Missy, Tasmanian Jess, legendary Rhea and dancing Rory who have all left a strong mark on how the kitchen is run and the quality of our food.

So come in and wish Mr Kaffeine a happy 5th birthday, in return we will be giving out our famous brownies. 

Jared Bryant

Lead Chef

@redjar50

Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)

Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)
Fruit salad (pineapple, mango, strawberries, grapes, passion fruit) 3.70 (GF, V)
Ciabatta roll with omelette, pancetta, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Ciabatta roll with courgette omelette, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Croissant with Italian roast ham, talleggio cheese, spinach & plum tomatoes 4.90
Seven seed bakery bloomer toast with home made preserves 1.90
Pumpkin seed and apricot fruit toast 2.40
Banana bread 2.40

Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissant 1.90
Pain au chocolat 2.50
Almond croissant 2.80

Baked Treats
Sweet muffin: Blueberry and bran (V) 2.40
Savoury Scone: Courgette and feta (V) 2.40
Friand: Friand: Damson (V, GF)   2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Raspberry and coconut slice 2.00
Canele 2.40

Lunch

French retro baguettes 5.00
Ham, apple butter, gherkin, red onion, gruyere and spinach

Plum tomato, basil, aioli, buffalo mozzarella and rocket (V).

Foccacias 5.30

Smoked salmon, dill, capers, red onion aioli and rocket (F).
Mushrooms with Welsh rarebit and spinach (V)

Salads: 5.50/6.90

Chicken adobo with red camargue rice, coriander and rocket (GF)

Roasted kumara and parsnips with almonds and a orange and dill dressing (VE, GF).

Cracked wheat with ox-eye daisy leaf, tomato, and lemon (VE, GF).

Tart: 4.50 or 7.90 with salad
Fish cakes with buckhorn hollandaise and strawberry salsa

Week beginning August 4th - Edible deliciousness

Apologies for the lack of last week’s blog, the theme was another raw menu which once again turned out to be a mini hit for Kaffeine. Raw eating has become a way of life this summer, the heat wave has made raw dieting much more desirable

This week’s menu isn't entirely raw however we've done our best to incorporate as much rawness as possible. As I've said before fruit, veg, nuts and seed are at their best eaten raw with the few exceptions such as potatoes which aren't necessarily good for you cooked or raw. The other reason for raw cooking is it keeps the temperature of our kitchen down during the summer months, it can get very hot. Raw cooking lets us turn our ovens and hot plates off; knives, citrus, salt and sugar all become a natural way of cooking or curing the ingredients.

Here are some of this week’s highlights, first up is a black-eye pea salad. The peas have been soaked overnight and then cooked until just tender, this is the only bit of cooking we will be preforming on any of our salads this week. Once cooked the black-eyes are tossed with raw vegetables, parmesan and dressed in a tomato like salsa and garnished with croutons. 

Our second salad is the return of a classic, several regulars and a couple of post Kaffeine staff members (mainly Karolina) have asked for this to feature again. It is basically a balance of sweet, salty, fragrant and bitterness; while having a clean and cooling after taste. 

The last salad is raw and vegan and includes a few super food and foraged ingredients. Ranging from sea blite which grows in coastal areas, this sea veg is succulent and salty. The sea blite will be mixed with watercress which has 25 times the vitamin C as oranges, pomegranate which is full of antioxidant vitamins and pumpkin seeds which are concentrated in zinc. 

Lastly something that isn't raw but will be served cold is our scotched beef terrine with foraged green elderberries. Made several days in advance to allow time to set and help develop the flavour. Sadly this terrine is not vegetarian friendly as it will also be wrapped in thinly sliced streaky bacon. As an accompaniment to the terrine we will be garnishing it with a chutney made from foraged rowan berries. These berries have come out in an abundance this year, once cooked they taste of ashy marmalade, perfect for beef and pork. 

Come in and explore our offering this week. We're not just a coffee shop but a creator of edible deliciousness.

Jared Bryant
Lead Chef
Kaffeine
@redjar50

Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)

Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)
Fruit salad (pineapple, mango, strawberries, grapes, passion fruit) 3.70 (GF, V)
Ciabatta roll with omelette, pancetta, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Ciabatta roll with courgette omelette, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Croissant with Italian roast ham, talleggio cheese, spinach & plum tomatoes 4.90
Seven seed bakery bloomer toast with home made preserves 1.90
Pumpkin seed and apricot fruit toast 2.40
Banana bread 2.40

Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissant 1.90
Pain au chocolat 2.50
Almond croissant 2.80

Baked Treats
Sweet muffin: Blackberry and apple (V) 2.40
Savoury Scone: Asparagus, mustard and cheddar (V) 2.40
Friand: Melilot and lemon (V, GF)  2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Raspberry and coconut slice 2.00
Canele 2.40

Lunch

French retro baguettes 5.00
Smoked salmon, lime soft cheese, cucumber, Thai basil and rocket.

White peach, blue vein cheese, cucumber, red onion and and spinach. (V)

Foccacias 5.30

Ham, smoked mozzarella, tomato, basil and spinach
Haloumi, sweet chilli sauce, butternut and rocket. (V)

Salads: 5.50/6.90

Black-eyed peas with shredded carrots, red onion, cavolo nero, parmesan, in a tomato dressing with croutons. (V)

Honey dew melon, fennel, toasted fennel seeds, coriander, chicory, pancetta and Sambuca and prune dressing. (VE, GF)

Olives, sea blite, pumpkin seeds, capers, pomegranate, shallots, watercress with a raspberry vinegar dressing (VE, GF)

Tart: 4.50 or 7.90 with salad
Scotched beef and green elderberry terrine with rowan berry chutney

Week beginning July 28th - Raw food menu (too hot to cook)

Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)

Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)
Fruit salad (pineapple, mango, strawberries, grapes, passion fruit) 3.70 (GF, V)
Ciabatta roll with omelette, pancetta, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Ciabatta roll with courgette omelette, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Croissant with Italian roast ham, talleggio cheese, spinach & plum tomatoes 4.90
Seven seed bakery bloomer toast with home made preserves 1.90
Pumpkin seed and apricot fruit toast 2.40
Banana bread 2.40

Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissant 1.90
Pain au chocolat 2.50
Almond croissant 2.80

Baked Treats
Sweet muffin: Nectarine and coconut (V) 2.40
Savoury Scone: Salsa verde and brie (V) 2.40
Friand: Melilot and lemon (V, GF)  2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Raspberry and coconut slice 2.00
Canele 2.40

Lunch

French retro baguettes 5.00
Ham, golden kiwi, dijon, Camembert and Spinach

Tomato, mozzarella, basil, avocado, aioli and rocket 

Foccacias 5.30

Smoked salmon, red onion, dill, capers, aioli and rocket
Saute mushrooms with gruyere fondue, tarragon and spinach

Salads: 5.50/6.90

Raw beetroot with mature cheddar, watercress, walnuts, sea blite and bresaola (GF)..

Apricots and puff ball mushroom cold preserved in pineapple weed vinegar with pecorino and rocket (V)

Tart: 4.50 or 7.90 with salad
Kohlrabi layered with coppa arrosto ham, olive goats curd, plum tomato and basil (GF).


Weekend Menu 19/07, 26/07, 02/08
Salads 5.50/6.90
Prawns with cucumber, asparaguys, tomatoes, avocado salsa and baby spinach
Watermelon with mangho and feat, pecans, mint, coriander and rocket
Green beans with peanuts, coriander and a chilli dressing

Tart 4.50 or 7.90 with salad
Quiche with Italian roast ham, spinach and mature cheddar

Week beginning July 21 - Nostalgia week

This week’s menu is drawn from some of the more popular and best dishes of the last few years, as this week is the eve of when I started at Kaffeine 5 years ago. I started working here 2 weeks before the doors opened; this time allowed me to organise the kitchen (the kitchen resembled a construction site), order equipment and work out what exactly we can achieve with limited resources from the beginning. The kitchen consisted of 2 bench-top fridges, a dodgy swaying shelf and a domesticated oven from Argos.

From the beginning I wanted to make as much as possible from scratch. I’d worked in a few cafes before who tend to buy in pre-made products for retail or uses in menu items. This kind of cooking is uninspiring and soul destroying. I would turn up to Kaffeine at 6 in the morning, Mon-Sat (Sunday was closed) and make our muffins, friands and biscuits, followed by breakfast items, then later work on the second half of the day, lunch. 

The food display has always been the kitchens canvas to fill with visually enticing food, as it’s the first thing you notice when you walk past the shop front. After the first few weeks at Kaffeine I realised we could change our menu every week to suit the season and produce available. This turned out to be a big hit for us. I even remember after about 6 months I decided to keep the same menu on for 2 weeks in a row. Customers felt let down and cheated, they came in on a Monday expecting to find a new feast in our canvas display. I was surprised by this reaction; in the hospitality industry customers tend to return because they have their eating routine which involves a constant dish. This was not the case for Kaffeine. We still have our staples such as banana bread and bircher, but people come in just as much for our regular offerings, as much as they do for the ever changing weekly menu.

Nothing much has changed in how we create our food since 2009, we are just better equipped and have had a lot more practise. Even the kitchen team has pretty much been the same since 2010/11.  As I was saying this weeks menu comprised of some of the ‘Best Of' items that have graced our canvas display. Please come in and get nostalgic with our famous retro offerings. 

Jared Bryant

Lead Chef

Kaffeine

@redjar50

Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)

Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)
Fruit salad (pineapple, mango, strawberries, grapes, passion fruit) 3.70 (GF, V)
Ciabatta roll with omelette, pancetta, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Ciabatta roll with courgette omelette, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Croissant with Italian roast ham, talleggio cheese, spinach & plum tomatoes 4.90
Seven seed bakery bloomer toast with home made preserves 1.90
Pumpkin seed and apricot fruit toast 2.40
Banana bread 2.40

Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissant 1.90
Pain au chocolat 2.50
Almond croissant 2.80

Baked Treats
Sweet muffin: Plum and almond (V) 2.40
Savoury Scone: Pickled red onion, mustard and cheddar (V) 2.40
Friand: Melilot and lemon (V, GF)  2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Raspberry and coconut slice 2.00
Canele 2.40

Lunch

French retro baguettes 5.00
Ham, avocado, tomato, gruyere, aioli and spinach

Grilled courgette, crushed minted peas, feta and rocket

Foccacias 5.30

Smoked salmon with salsa verde, brie and rocket.
Mozzarella, tomato, basil, smoked paprika mayonnaise and spinach. (V)

Salads: 5.50/6.90

Chicken adobo with camargue red rice and coriander (GF, DF)

Chicory with pineapple, Gorgonzola, Brazil nuts and basil (V, GF)

Roasted sweet potato, carrots, peppers, red onion and courgettes with fresh peas, black mustard flowers and green elderberry dressing. (VE, GF)

Tart: 4.50 or 7.90 with salad
Prawn and sea blite in peanut pastry and garnished with lemon and chilli marmalade


Weekend Menu 19/07, 26/07, 02/08
Salads 5.50/6.90
Prawns with cucumber, asparaguys, tomatoes, avocado salsa and baby spinach
Watermelon with mangho and feat, pecans, mint, coriander and rocket
Green beans with peanuts, coriander and a chilli dressing

Tart 4.50 or 7.90 with salad
Quiche with Italian roast ham, spinach and mature cheddar