Best Workplace

A piece of research into good workplaces highlighted that things like gyms and massages being available made the biggest difference to workplace enjoyment.
This is an important issue for YamDaisy Cafes. No, I don't mean putting a gym into every YamDaisy Cafe! But I am thinking about the things that really make a difference in the workplace.
The whole idea of the YamDaisy Cafes running as a franchise is to give a whole system of back up to the individual Chef/Managers.

Just a couple of things: Gyms and massages! The YamDaisy franchise could do a deal with a local gym so that chefs have access to gym and massages. I think this would be a good thing when the job is very physical and no doubt stressful.

Another thing I keep thinking about is the isolation of working in a small cafe. There is a lot that could be done with internet groups, but more is needed. The franchise could organise training opportunities. As well as learning or sharing skills, the YamDaisy chefs would have a chance to get to know each other and share experiences.

This would open up another strand of employment: 'Emergency' Chefs who are able to go in and take over the Cafe while the chef is away. This is important to give the flexibility of training and so that a chef can take time off for family or in case of illness, and even a vacation. Someone can have fun working out how this would work: maybe it can be built into the insurance. Anyway, it would take away that load that so many chefs have that they have to keep going no matter what is happening to their family or their health.

The YamDaisy idea has a social justice aim. The idea is to improve lives, and we don't want chefs burning out under the strain of a poorly organised, stressful position. A lot will be asked of YamDaisy Chefs, and so it is important that all that can be done to best support them is done, and is done well.

YamDaisy Cafe and the Question of Cake!

This wonderful cake, made with whole pieces of dried and apricots, pears and other fruits, is so healthy it is hard to believe it tastes good. My sister discovered it many years ago when my mum was following the Pritikin diet which didn't allow any added sugar or fat. The sweetness and richness come from the fruit ~ bananas are used in the cakey bit that holds the fruit together.
As we were sharing this cake, my sister commented that it would be a good one for the YamDaisy cafe, and that inspired this post, because I am still working out what place cakes and biscuits should play in the YamDaisy Cafes.

Delicious, Everyday, Affordable food. 

That is the mantra (and extends to 'seasonal. local, made from scratch' ). It is the 'everyday' bit that brings up questions about cake. There is 'everyday' food, and there is 'sometimes' food. Which category does cake go in?

Do you have that 'little bit of something' with your cuppa everyday?

This is Chocolate Beetroot Cake, it is luscious and moist with a deep, wonderful flavour. Then there is Carrot Cake, Banana and Walnut Cakes... Should the YamDaisy Cafe make a specialty of fruit anf vegetable cakes?
Here is a whole book of them! (Thanks for the link Jutta)

Support Local Cafes

I call the YamDaisy Cafe a cafe, but it is different to most cafes with their display of mouth watering pastries and the industrial coffee machine sitting on the counter.
The YamDaisy Cafe isn't meant to be in competition with the local cafes, we want their support.
If someone wants a coffee and cake, that is the place to go.

So should the YamDaisy Cafe have coffee and cake at all?

Celebrations
This pretty one contains beetroot and almonds!
 It is a birthday cake.

Surely the YamDaisy Cafe can make a Birthday Cake for a valued customer! I already wrote a post about this here: http://background-joy.blogspot.com/2010/03/birthdays-and-yamdaisy-cafe.html

Off Display

One thing I have considered is that any cakes and biscuits in the YamDaisy Cafe should not be displayed. It can be like a mum's kitchen where they are kept in a tin and brought out when needed.

What do you think?

(Wondering what these YamDaisy Cafes are all about? Here is the website!)

Simone's YamDaisy Menu Part 2

The first part of Simone's wonderful menu is here

Simone's YamDaisy Menu

SOUP: Thai Pumpkin Soup with white Sourdough bread
MAIN 1:Chickpea Stew with Jasmine Rice and Coriander
MAIN 2: Roasted Vegetables and Braised Pork Belly
FRUIT BASED DESSERT: Apple and Rhubarb Crumble and Creamy Yoghurt

Roasted Vegetables and Braised Pork Belly

I talked a little in the last post about coaxing this menu out of Simone when she was in the middle of moving house. Well, as I begin talking about her second main, you will see how this has come back and bitten me. She said roast vegetables, and was thinking about what to have with them... by then my conscience was pricking me and since I had just roasted a couple of chicken legs I jumped in and suggested roast chicken. "Fine" said Simone.

It was a little bit after this that she told me that she was a vegetarian, and so she would never have chosen a chicken to go along with her roast. Sorry again Simone!

And it was when I started thinking about this post I realised that I keep popping chicken in these menus because I want to cater for meat eaters and, being a vegetarian myself for so long, I am really ignorant about meat ~ except I am cooking chicken sometimes and learning about it. However, after my experiment cooking chicken legs I have to admit I have no idea how I would serve bits of them with the roast veggies.

I thought to myself that since Simone didn't choose the chicken, maybe I could change it for some other meat, and just grabbed braised belly of pork out of the ether! When I went searching for what it is actually is ~ it sounded a bit more complicated than I expected, and I realised I was just getting deeper and deeper into things I am totally ignorant about! O dear!

I had to have a conversation with my friend Lin about whether it was something that could be considered for a YamDaisy menu, and really, how big a bit would end up on the plate?
Lin calmed me down and I can picture now a plate with a lovely bright array of veggies and a succulent square of pork, and maybe a nice smear of apple sauce. Yummy?

I just love to make roast veggies, crispy with caramelised edges and all their colours were bright and glistening. I love making a big tray of these because they make such wonderful left overs! It is easy to be creative with the mix, but this is how I did this lot:

Put the oven to high heat.
Pop in a baking tray that will fit your veggies in one layer, or as close to that as possible.
In a big bowl, peel and chop your veggies. I used potato, parsnip, carrot and pumpkin. I made them only a few centimetres square (not that anything was that regular) so that they had lots of surface area and so they would cook quickly
Then I added some thinly sliced onion and chopped red pepper to add extra flavour.
On top of these I drizzled some olive oil, soy sauce, a bit of golden syrup, and lots of dried oregano.
I mixed this all up so that every piece of vegetable was just coated with the oily mix.
Next get the very hot pan out of the oven and tip the bowl full of vegetables in it. It makes a great hiss and crackle!
Shake or push the veggies a little so that they cover the pan evenly, and pop it back in the oven.
After almost half an hour I gave the veggies a mix, turning them over as much as possible, and after another 10 minutes they were ready.

And are you surprised to find I didn't actually cook the braised pork belly myself? But I looked very carefully for a recipe that looked delicious and possible for the YamDaisy menu. Here is what I found: Braised Pork Belly

Apple and Rhubarb Crumble and Creamy Yoghurt

The YamDaisy Cafe philosophy is all about 'Made from Scratch!' For anyone who takes the shortcut of using tinned pie apples for their apple crumble, the difference in a YamDaisy version will be a revelation! Apples are in season at the moment, and the bright, sweet, flavour of fresh stewed apples makes it most understandable that this is such a popular dessert. Adding rhubarb adds another level of flavour and colour!

Simone's topping for apple crumble has the butter rubbed into flour, and then the additions of allspice, almond meal, and oats, with the sugar. Drained Greek yoghurt makes a thick creamy counterpoint.

It is really cold and grey and wet in Melbourne at the moment. Winter has set in. How wonderful to have a menu so full of warmth and colour! I think everyone walking past the Cafe would have to come in and eat! This is a menu that will nourish body and soul!