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Cafe Morello |
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| A friendly face in the centre of the fine city of Norwich | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cafe Culture - January/May 2008 |
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| Savoury Menu
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Latest Blog Entry
Sunday 25th. May 2008 As I sit here I don't feel too bad about not being outside as it is cold, raining and windy. In fact pretty normal bank holiday weather!. What a great shame for everyone who has organised outside events today. I know it can't be good weather for all events and us British have to learn to be stoical in the face of our weather but it's still very disappointing for those involved in all the hard work. It is Jennette's birthday today and we were all going around to have a BBQ but that had to be cancelled. When you see her next week, don't forget to wish her many happy returns!!
Pam and I went to the Chelsea Flower
show for the first time on Saturday and we were lucky, as the sun
shone all day. I have a few pictures to give you a taste of what
was a brilliant day it was. It was really busy and quite difficult
at times to get near enough to see the show gardens, but patience
and determination pay off in the end. One picture shows how tiring
it can be, when Pam found a bed to lay on, but she soon got off
when we saw the £900 price tag!!! One thing I didn't expect was
the physical reaction to being so intensely surrounded by flowers
and pollen and, though I have never suffered from hay fever, I was
sneezing all the time and my eyes were quite sore by the
end of the day. I certainly wasn't the only one and the sounds of
sneezing could be heard all over the showground, from just about
everyone. Just click on the photos to open larger ones.
I have finally taken a picture of
'Flossy' our most recent recruit. She is doing well and learning
quickly and we are very pleased with her progress. Say Hi! to her
when you next see her.
Although the Cafe was closed
this Bank Holiday Monday we were there sorting out the window
boxes and hanging baskets and planting up the tubs. As well as
putting up the cleaned net curtains and getting prepared for
Tuesdays opening. Its these little background jobs that make the
Cafe what it is and I know you appreciate the results.
We were a little disappointed last
week when a customer left a negative comment, on a napkin, at the
table, rather than coming up and telling us. We try so hard to get
everything just right to make your visit enjoyable. Thats why, if
we are presented with a complaint ,we will do all in our power to
put it right. All we ask is that we abe given the chance. When you
think of how many meals and drinks we serve in the course of a
week its no suprise that very occasionally we may not meet our
very high standards. If that happens we just want you to tell us,
not leave an anonymous note. I'm sure it was not one of our
regulars but whoever it was, it was such a shame.
I went fishing last week at Fen Lake
Fishery, Carleton Rode and I thought you might like to see
one of the carp I caught. I can recommend the location to any
anglers reading this. Its such a well managed series of lakes,
very peaceful, surrounded by trees and the fishing is superb.
I am afraid that we have had to revise
some of our prices again. Its an inevitable consequence of
the times we are living in. Just about all our costs are rising so
quickly we have never experienced anything like it. I'm sure you
are aware of how quickly all your household bills are rising.
Its quite a scary time for everyone. We can assure you that we
will always give you good value for your money, as
well as good service and a friendly atmosphere.
Thats it for now,
Bye Y'all
Previous Entries Monday January 28th
Well another month has gone by since I
last wrote in this blog. The Cafe has certainly got a lot
quieter, but that's what we expect and is normal for this time of
year as people take stock of themselves after the Christmas and
new year's frantic pace. Also the weather has not helped with all
the rain which seems to have kept shoppers away from Norwich.
Still we don't mind too much as it gives us time to take stock too
and take it a bit easy for a while. There aren't many periods in
the year when we get a chance to do that. It also means we have a
bit more time to talk to our customers which we think is an
important part of what Cafe Morello is all about.
The soup is going well and so are the omelettes which are a new addition to our menu. We have been hit by price increases several times this year and before Christmas were forced to increase the prices of some of our menu items. Then this week we have seen large increases in the price of our milk..We try very hard to make sure that our charges are reasonable and certainly we are far less expensive than the big chains but we also have to be realistic so there may be some increases to our drinks in the near future. I was surprised to hear on the news this week that a large mocha, with extra cream in a well known coffee chain, has been estimated to contain 620 calories!!! Now who wants or needs that much in one drink. To say nothing of the price!! So come to us, we still serve an excellent product, be it coffee or tea, of many different styles and types but its' straightforward. No added secret ingredients, nothing but a quality drink at a reasonable price. We always have a choice of standard, semi or skimmed milk so if you have a preference, all you have to do is ask! On the same type of theme, there has been publicity surrounding some food sellers who bulk out their fillings ie. Tuna or Chicken breast, with bread crumbs. We have never done that, nor will we. Straight forward food, honestly prepared and served. That's what we do and we are proud of it.
The Charity appeal for Present
Aid went well and we raised nearly £200. This money went to buy a
Beehive, some ducks, some pigs, a school uniform, a watering can
and some birthing kits. These will be distributed to needy people
around the world by Christian Aid. We would like to thank all who
took part and hope you will be pleased your money has gone to help
others much less fortunate than ourselves.
Our daughter, Jennie returned safely to The States with our two grand-daughters, Emma and Ava, on the 7th January. Our house is so quiet without them!!! Ava was christened on 23rd December in Bunwell Church and it was a marvellous family occasion. We took the photo below.
I was lucky in getting a late ski
deal, so went off to Verbier in Switzerland on 12th. January for a
week. It was fantastic. The snow conditions were ideal and the
area was very beautiful. It is so lovely to see the Alps covered
in snow against a perfect blue sky. I do so much enjoy my week's
skiing each year, particularly now that we just don't get snow in
our winters any more. The following pictures show me on the piste!!!
Apparently if you click on them it opens a larger image.
Talking of mild weather, it's lovely
to see the aconites in flower in the garden and now the snow drops
are coming too. I was trimming a large willow in our front garden
a couple of days ago and was surprised to see that the leaf buds
are swelling already!! It's only just shed the last of its
leaves!!! This global warming is really making a difference to the
seasons and it's happening so quickly.
Unfortunately the flowers I put in the
window boxes at the Cafe haven't got any flowers as yet but just
check out the hanging baskets! The geraniums have not stopped
flowering and have new buds, as have the fuchsias. Also I bought
some white helibors for the small border, by Looses, and they look
very pretty.
Pam, Amy and I went to Hethersett on
22nd to see the Pantomine Group perform their 39th pantomime. This
year it was Mother Goose. We thoroughly enjoyed the production
which was written and produced by Duncan Pigg who together with
his wife Jenny are regular customers of Cafe Morello. If you
get a chance to see one of these pantomimes next year, you should
grab the opportunity, it's just such good innocent fun and the
proceeds go to charity too. Since 1970 this group has raised £53,000
which has gone to good causes. Now that's a record that will take
some beating.
So that brings you up to date. Hope
you will come and see us soon.
Steven.
Friday 8th February
I
heard yesterday that this web site is getting about 300 visitors
on average, every month. Now I'm quite pleased with that, and am
suprrised as I get no feedback from the guest page as to what you
think about the site or the comments I make in this blog. Please,
if you have any comments, good or bad, I would appreciate you
sending them to me via this web page. We are anxious to improve
the 'Cafe Morello ' experience where we can.
I am sorry to have to report that we have had to increase the price of our milk based drinks due to rising costs, which we can no longer absorb. I have done research around the city in similar establishments and am confident that the 'Cafe Morello' name is still synonymous with good value. I hope you will agree.
This subject is a little delicate but
I have to mention it in exasperation!! Our electrically
operated toilet has gone wrong again and has cost another £150 to
repair. The reason? Ladies sanitary products (Tampax, etc.) being
flushed away. Well attempted would be more accurate because they
don't go anywhere!!! They remain in the masserator and get tangled around
the impellor and stop it, which then burns out the motor and then
it no longer works. I have two polite, almost pleading notices, in
the toilet, requesting that these items be put into the special
bin, solely provided for this purpose.
I shall be putting up some more direct notices in the hope that I can persuade these selfish people to comply with a perfectly reasonable request. A small Cafe, like ours, can ill afford these unnecessary expenses. We don't want to charge Starbuck or Cafe Nero Prices so we need to keep our running costs down. Please, if this item relates to you, think next time. You will be helping to keep our cafe prices reasonable and ensuring there is a working toilet for your convenience on your next visit. If anyone has any suggestions as what else can be done to prevent this happening in the future, believe me, I will be very grateful for your suggestions.
On a much more pleasant note we like
to train our staff early and this has got to be a record. This
picture is of Kate who should have been having her baby on the day
she came in to the Cafe. I think you will agree its a very good
looking bump!! , though it may be a while before the washing up
training gets completed!!
Take Care Y'all
Tuesday
February 26th
The Cafe trade continues to be quite
slow but is in line with other retail in Norwich. At least our
customers get a seat easily, most of the time! (Just avoid the 1½
hours over lunchtime and you should be fine.)
I'm glad to report that there are
buds now on the primulas in the window boxes, so they should be
in bloom before long. That's a relief! I heard on the radio
recently that it's not the temperature that governs when flowers
bloom but the length of daylight. Can that be right with all the
flowers that have bloomed so early this year?
Our hardy smokers continued to enjoy
the fresh air of the yard even through all that really cold
weather. They are such fresh air freaks, aren't they? As the
weather gets warmer more and more of our customers chose to sit
outside and that's a nice feature of our cafe, that we have the
yard where what sunshine there is can be enjoyed, away from the
crowds.
We were pleased last week when the
Evening News of 22nd February did an article on 'The Cafes
taking on the global chains'. Reporter, Rowan Mantell
previewed the independent coffee shops/tea rooms of Norwich and
Cafe Morello was featured. It's always nice to get some wider
recognition as, so often, it's the larger chains that get all
the publicity. Though to be honest, just lately they have been
getting quite a lot of bad press with their 620 calorie drinks
and excess salt in their sandwiches. But it's all good if it
encourages people to come and try us for a change.
Pam is getting excited about her
coming visit to our daughter and grandchildren in South
Carolina, USA. She is looking forward to the warmer weather too
as its about 80 degrees over there at the moment.
I have been busy in the garden. We
have just had a 75 foot Normandy Poplar taken down and a sickly
willow from our front garden so there has been a lot of wood to
clear and I have been playing Lumberjack for the last few days and
chopping it all into nice piles to dry. It will be nice and
ready for next year's fires.
So there is not much news. NO one is
talking to me on the guest page so, as always, I just trust I am
not talking to myself.
Take Care
Bye Y'all
8th. April 2008
It's been over a month since I last
wrote in this blog. In
that time quite a lot has happened:
Pam and I went on a week's trip to
Rome in February, which turned into an interesting experience on
two different levels. On the positive side all the sites were
really interesting and we saw all the main ones, such as The
Piazza Navonna, the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, the Colosseum and
the Forum, the Trevi fountain and last and most impressive of all,
St. Peter's and the Vatican museum. We had an hotel which was 5
minutes walk from the Vatican and in fact was so central we could
walk to all the main sites as the weather was good for the whole
time. The problem we did encounter though was the cost of food and
drink. This was extortionate and is the worst we have ever
encountered. It was far more expensive even than Venice.
The local transport is clean efficient and very reasonable and easy to use, but be extremely careful about using taxis, they also are really expensive. It seemed that the Rome restaurants and Cafes had a ruthless mentality to 'rip off' the tourists at every opportunity, which was a great shame because it did overshadow the holiday. However, all the main historical sites were not expensive and were all good value for money and fascinating. It was brilliant to see all those places we had only ever read about.
Pam has been to America for a month to
visit our daughter and Grandchildren, and returned. She had a very
busy time, but did find time to do some scrapbooking, which is
very big in America and she has come home with new skills and some
very impressive pages from our holiday to Rome.
While she was away over Easter I
took our little caravan to Stiffkey in North Norfolk and had a
smashing time, despite the weather! |The dog and I had some great
walks and did some beach combing after the violent storms. I took
some pictures of some of the objects I found washed up which
included thousands of Starfish, some had 9 legs and I don't recall
ever seeing these when I was a lad. I wonder where they have come
from? I also saw two dead porpoises, 5 lobsters, lots of fish,
including herring and some fishing weights which I collected as I
fancy taking up the sport again. Amy came to see her old dad
one day and she had to buy a hat and gloves for the occasion. Here
is a fashion photo, for the record. There's also some pix of the
finds and some landscapes. Just click on each to open a larger
image.
Last time I wrote I took a picture of
Katie and her bump. Well, Evie Elizabeth arrived safely, weighing
in at 10lb 7 oz and is a pretty little baby I think you'll agree.
As for the Cafe, Trade was brisk over
the Easter Half Term and seems now to be picking up after the
February doldrums. When the weather is fine, its warm enough
for many of our customers to chose to sit outside, which relieves
the pressure on tables inside. Its still very busy over the main
lunchtime period so if you can avoid that time then you will
generally have no problem finding a table. If you do hit one of
our really busy times then you will have to be patient. You can
see the size of our kitchen and prep area and although our staff
are brilliant even miracles take a while to perform in such a
small space.!!
We have had a change of staff
and Josie has left after 5 months to concentrate on her A levels
and we wish her good luck and thank her for her time with us. So
we now have Flossy (Florence) who has commenced her training with
us and has made a good start and we all hope she will be with us
for some time to come. So make her welcome when you see her as I
know she will appreciate your interest.
The Flowers in the window boxes did
finally flower just in time for Easter and now look a picture. I
think they are the best show I have ever managed at this time of
year and am very pleased with them. So take time to admire them
the next time you come up the yard.
Some of you may have noticed Amy
has not been around as often lately and that's because she has
been suffering with sciatica having trapped a nerve some weeks ago
and though she tried to carry on, it finally got the better of her
and she has had to have some time off and has been getting some
treatment with an Osteopath. At the time of writing I'm glad to
report that she seems to have turned the corner and be back on the
road to fitness.
So that's kind of brought you all up
to date. I hope I don't leave it so long next time and hope you
enjoyed reading this and seeing the pictures.
Bye Y'all
Steven
Sunday 4th May Well, we are now into May so, at last can we expect some warmer weather!! Thursday we had hailstorms!!! Plays havoc with the spring flowers. But, when the sun does come out it has a bit more warmth to it so we are finding more of our customers are choosing to sit outside amongst the flowers.
There are a lot of Thank yous this blog which is rather nice.
The primlulas are continuing to put on a good show and I have the pleasant task of dead heading them now which is another excuse to get out into the sunshine. We had an unexpected surprise last week, when one of our customers, Jackie, from Sprowston, donated to us three lovely pots. I thought I would plant one up with a Hosta and the other with a nice bright Geranium so that's another little job I shall have to tackle soon. So thank you Jackie, they will be put to good use and we can all take pleasure from the extra colour they will bring to the yard. Our summer hanging baskets are with 'Vic', who is now planting them up and will nurture them for us until it is time to put them out. In the meantime take a moment to look at the ones that have been there since last summer and amazingly the original fuschia is back in flower as are two of the geraniums all of which have made it thru the winter. I haven't the heart to take them down yet . so think I will leave them up till the others are ready.
Amy sadly cannot return to work full time as yet as her back problem has still not improved sufficiently. She does pop in during the week to keep an eye on what we are up to and we all hope it won't be long before she is back to full fitness. She thanks all the customers who have sent her their good wishes.
We had a nice turn of events last week when one of our customers, we discovered, owns a farm close to our home in South Norfolk and they sell 'free range' eggs. So we now have a new supplier and can boost that all the eggs we use in the cafe are free range. We have started to use them this week and have immediately noticed the darker colour of our omelettes and the chicken mayonnaise. (Thanks to Claire and Trevor, of Saddleback Farm, Tivetshall). We are sure our customers will appreciate this change and it is another positive reason for supporting our small independent, family business.
They say, 'it's an ill wind......' and this was true last week when Marks and Spencers had a small fire in their basement. It caused a major problem with their electrics, which in consequence meant they had to close their restaurant. Well.... where were all those thirsty customers supposed to go? They were forced to search round the area for another source for their tea or caffeine fix. The lucky ones found us!! So we gained a few more customers last week and ,hopefully, some of them will come back. So to M&S I say 'sorry for your accident but Thank you!
As you all know we get very busy lunchtimes but from 2 pm onwards we are virtually empty. So to try an encourage a few customers to come to us for afternoon tea, we have decided to put on a special offer. So, if you come to us between 2.30pm and 4pm for the sum of £2.95 you can have a piece of cake or one of our Gateaux and a cup of tea or coffee. This has attracted one or two new faces to us and we hope to run this for a little while to see if it will prove popular.
Our latest, Saturday, staff addition, Flossie, is doing well and continuing her training, so look out for her on your next visit. I will get a photo soon and post it here so you will recognise her.
We have had a bit of a problem with the visitors page on this site. It appears at least one of you has tried to post a message but we did not receive this. I can only apologise and Steward, 'the web site man' is trying to identify and fix the problem.
That's it for now, so take care of yourselves, we hope to see you soon,
Bye Y'all Friday May 9th
Hi all,
One of our more regular customers at
present is this gentleman, Hussam from Ismailia, Egypt. He likes
our cafe because he says it reminds him of the cafes at home. Very
friendly places where everyone talks to everyone else. I have
heard before that customers think we are like French or Italian
Cafes but never Egyption!. Perhaps its a fact that all good
relaxed Cafe's have the same type of atmosphere. It's good to know
that our efforts to make our customers feel at home are working so
well. Hassam is a graduate student in Mathematics at the UEA
and his wife Yosra is awaiting his return to her, at home, in
Egypt. I have taken this photo of him so Yosra can see where he is
spending some of his spare time.
Summer arrived this week and it is so
good to see more customers outside than inside. Perhaps this is a
sign of what is to come for the rest of the summer? Lets hope so.
Bye Y'all
Steven
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Cafe Morello: 2-3 Orford Yard, Red Lion Street (opposite Debenhams), Norwich, NR1 3TB. Telephone 01603 764441 |
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