Crepe Adventures 2013

Looking ahead to 2014 and the excitement it brings it can only be right to quickly glance back, at the very least, to the last year.

A year where we have pulled our sleeves up further than I thought possible, a year where we have continued to enjoy many crepe adventures, a year which has been our most successful yet. Dropping the cover of modesty on this rare occasion our dedication and commitment to catering shines through; with a run of references that we take great pride in that are on our website, facebook and twitter pages.

We could not have done this without your support, with special thanks to those who booked our services over the last year and those who have tried our crepes at one of the many events we have catered at.

It is now only right to look forward as we commit ourselves to future events both public and private to ensure everyone gets the true I Love Crepes experience. Cheesy! J 2014 nearly upon us,we already have doubled the number of private functions booked with us the same time last year. 2014 sees us start extra early with outside event in nearby Baginton on the 11^th January (http://www.bbc.co.uk/thingstodo/activity/stargazing-live-astronomy-event). I have my thermals ready as I look forward to attending a stargazing event inspired by the BBC show and including many local experts and enthusiasts. A great opportunity to ask those questions Brian Cox has n’t had time to answer but more importantly an opportunity to inspire young and old in our amazing universe.

Determined to work much closer to home, though not relinquishing our commitment to events further afield we also look forward to working with our local university for the first time and catering at Coventry Half Marathon in March. A great excuse for me not to run it this year!

Our fourth summer this year marks our 3^rd year of trading. I am sure there is a stat out there that highlights that 70% or more business fail within this time frame. Though you can rest assured we are not going to dwell on that.

So it leads me to wish you all the best for what the year will bring.

Live long and prosper!

Christmas Hamper

As mentioned in a previous post my intention to build a hamper from local events that we were going to attend was hampered (you like that?) with a busy first event and no time to shop. This saw the majority of other traders packing their vehicles and heading to the warmth of their homes, whilst we were still working, leaving us no time to look at the other stalls.

Embarrassed by this effort to add to the Rapeseed Oil and Chutney I had already collected I was hoping the next event we attended I would prevail. Prior to the idea of making a hamper I had already collected some fine produce from past events in the intention of being part of a Christmas present for my Dad.
  

Mediterranean chutney was one of a number of chutneys from Queens Park Jams that I have happily and quickly munched through with a stick of celery. Simple but delicious, trust me, I knew my Dad would enjoy the chutney as much as me. To add to this I truly believe Stainswick Farm rapeseed oil compares favourably to olive oil fresh from the Mediterranean hills.

A last minute addition to our diary we attended #WarwickRocks Food Film Festival. This gave me an opportunity to buy a number of spicy marinades from Tan Rosie, which would be particular suitable to my dad’s tastes. To accompany the chutney, whilst not locally produced, it was a final opportunity to buy cheese from a local business before Christmas.  Cheddar cheese made  perfect to place on crackers.

To complete the hamper after attending the Coventry Frost Fair I was lucky enough to see Not Just Jams, a Coventry business, again providing a great range of jams and chutneys. I came away from their stall having tried and enjoyed the flavours on offer, but my favourite has to be rhubarb, strawberry and plum jam. My Dad is guaranteed to love this on his toast for breakfast!

Produce:

Stainswick Oil http://www.stainswickfarm.co.uk/

Queens Park Jams  https://www.facebook.com/queensparkpreserves

Not Just Jams https://www.facebook.com/notjustjams

Tan Rosie  http://www.tanrosie.com/

Hampers can come in many forms and sizes, but with the options I have chosen I am very confident that in 4 days time my Dad will be happy to unwrap these delights.

Have a Happy Christmas from I Love Crepes!

Howdeez American Diner

Next stop for my foodie adventures was on Foleshill Road, Coventry. It wasn’t the longest of journeys, a 20 minute walk, but I knew any activity I got beforehand would help for what I had in store.

Like the Zorbas restaurant I visited last month I had seen Howdeez on many trips through Coventry, but always seemed to have an excuse for not stopping. This time no excuses were lined up as I marched straight to the American Diner and ordered a Howdeez burger bap/roll/sandwich/cob. Of course I chose an option that meant fries were an automatic selection too.

When I was making my order I was already having thoughts of dessert with a waffle top of my hit list, but wanted to make sure I had space, as it was only meant to be a light bite for lunch.

It’s not quite striking the right work/life balance, but I got the laptop on and was able to access the internet via their wireless connection. A big positive for any restaurant/café!

When the burger arrived I was not disappointed. It was not extravagant in terms of salad & sauce, but then again this is how I prefer a burger. You want to taste the food, with sauces sometimes a little overpowering, so this was perfect.

With thoughts returning to browsing the internet as I finished my last few fries, my thoughts also returned to wanting a waffle. So much for a light lunch, but hey ho. What shall I have? I know how well the Maple Sauce goes with a crêpe so had to go for Maple sauce as my sauce of choice.

This is where my comment on the food finishes as I was then told that the Maple Sauce had run out. No problem I will go for the toffee sauce. Finishing on a disappointing note having paid for a waffle I was then told a couple of minutes later that there was no mixture to make one. L I want a waffle. In all fairness the 20 minute walk only happened to be 15 minutes as I walked back, so I probably didn't really need it.

Has anyone else been here? I would be really interested on your thoughts. I think I will have to try one of their malteser milkshakes on another occasion. Have you tried one?

Christmas Shopping...The Plan!

Christmas is on it’s a way and for all the joy it brings, the shopping experience is something I could do without. Well I thought of a way to make shopping for gifts a little more bearable and help me avoid the chaotic and stressful last minute scenes and the lazy temptation of buying 3 for the price of 2 deals in Boots. I have decided to make up food hampers as presents and to help me do this I will be buying from independent businesses.

Like any good shopper and this is where I have failed before you need a plan of action. So my plan is to search the Leicester Winter Food Festival (https://www.facebook.com/pages/I-Love-Crepes/184424361603615 see our facebook page for more details) this Sunday 17^th November and then to follow this up by a trip to Coventry Cathedral Frost Fair (http://www.ilovecrepes.co.uk/events_50_3.html visit our website for details) on Saturday 7^th December. A 20 day break in-between should about give me enough time to recover from this experience!

To add to the magic of these two great events they coincide with the Leicester Christmas lights switch on and Christmas Carols being sung in the Coventry Cathedral. What better way to get you in the festive spirit.

Whilst I am sure I am not the only one with this idea, why not try it yourself? Better still if you have any ideas of what I can include please let me know? It’s a great alternative to socks and chocolate and helps the local economy, by keeping money within the local area. Better still come and say hello and have a hot apple & cinnamon crepe to warm you up on the way.

I will send out a post of what I bought next week if all goes to plan, but don’t tell my sisters!

21/11/13 Update: Well after those famous words the plan didn't quite get off to a good start, but I am not going to give up. Having a busy than expected event in Leicester, which was good news for all traders led to ourselves working whilst most traders were packing away.

Its all down to Coventry Christmas Fair on the 7th December and a new event on a schedule the Warwick Rocks Evening Market on the 6th December.

Zorbaz Restaurant

Recently I introduced you to the prospect of me taking my foodie adventures away from the plain sailing world of crepes to other local places to eat. This led to a visit to a Greek Restaurant (www.zorbaz.co.uk) on Radford Road.  

12 years since starting my love affair with Coventry, I had a spell couched surfing* as I tried to not leave the life of a student behind. Not quite as exotic sounding as traveller’s journey's around sunnier climes like Australia, but this couch surfing lark took me out of the perilous city ring road and to Radford.

I'll get to the point, Zorbaz restaurant was a restaurant we passed on a journey over to the Student Union and back.  Not quite on my bucket list, it was always somewhere that I felt I would like to go if I had a regular income. Trust me I do have bigger dreams, but my plan of going to eat locally meant I visited and most importantly ate at Zorbas restaurant.

What do you do when you are not an expert in Greek cuisine? Go for the mezze; a range of small options that allow you to try a larger variety of foods rather than the traditional 3 course meal.

My love of humus meant it was an automatic choice from the mezze options and I played it safe again with feta cheese and salad. Keftadakia, a Greek take on meat balls that was simple, but deliciously coated with a tomato sauce. Saganaki was Amanda’s unhealthy choice of deep fried Greek cheese. If Amanda was allowed to give into temptation then that was my excuse to go for Loukanika, which is a Greek type of sausage similar in nature to the Spanish chorizo with a light peppery spice to it.

Other treats were the stuffed vine leaves. Vine leaves that are wrapped around rice and melt in your mouth. Out of all the foods we had these are the ones I would recommend the most.

There is a downside to the Mezze, if you want to call it a downside, is that you are full by the time it comes to the desserts.

So my 3 tips:

1. Go to Zorbas.

2. Choose the Mezze. You can’t fail!

3. Do not eat for 12 hours prior to your meal.

 

* I think I better clarify couch surfing. Not a Wikipedia definition, but it meant that I was able to continue the University lifestyle a year after I had finished my degree by staying around my friends and sleeping on their sofa.  

Foodie Adventures

The recent #CovTweetUp (see my penultimate post) highlighted to me the sheer number of businesses in the local area. This was not demonstrated better by being staged at international standard facilities of the Ricoh Stadium and being organised by a number of marketing and social media experts all based in the local area.  

A lover of food and as a caterer meeting Ajay of Lebanese restaurant (http://www.aqua-food-mood.co.uk) also highlighted one of an array of foods available on our doorstep. This made me think of the various restaurants in Coventry. I could quickly roll off restaurants serving food from around the world: American, Chinese, Moroccan alongside many pubs and restaurants serving more traditional British dishes, but how many had I actually been to?

Being inspired by #CovTweetUp I've been encouraged to try out more local restaurants and sidestep the local chippy once in a while...however, delicious they are.   A mission that could make me as famous as Mary Portas… if only anyone read this. I am going to go to one new restaurant, pub, cafe or deli from Coventry once a week. WAIT!!! Scrap that! Once a month. I don’t get much pocket money you know.

A man of many talents, being a food critic is not one of them, but I'm going to report back on some of my foodie adventures. At this point I will add that I am not going to highlight any poor ones, just sidestep them when I next think about eating out.

My next post will be on a Greek restaurant I visited.

ILC Update

“Not enough time in the day”. What an overused saying, so it’s not going to hurt if I say it this once as I have sadly neglected this blog the past month.

So, a catch up from our last few weeks as we get up-to-date and as a warning I may name-drop once or twice. Apologies in advance. J

This last month has seen us travel around the UK with our record number of weddings from the glamorous Corinthia Hotel in London to a small village in Thruxton, Hampshire; A fabulous setting within rolling countryside where a lovely couple got married. On this day I even discovered that someone actually reads these posts. Thank you Tessa and congratulations once again.

As well as these two weddings we have been up to Yorkshire, had a couple of trips to Fawsley Hall and more. Plus in-between all these weddings we were at the Stratford Upon Avon Food Festival and here is the ultimate name drop. No not David Beckham but Paul Hollywood aka The Silver Fox! Not that I was fortunate enough to see him, but apparently he is shorter than expected as Amanda passed him and nervously mumbled hello earlier in the day. For what only lasted 2 seconds, she managed to talk about ALL afternoon!

The year is not even close to passing and we are now having to turn our attention to the next year, with promo’s and some exciting times ahead planned for I Love Crepes (Watch this space). Thankfully we can energise ourselves with an endless supply of crepes. This job sure has its perks, though since we started I have had to up the miles I run to keep in shape.

I would now just like to take the time to thank you for reading my posts and your support of I Love Crepes.