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.

#CovTweetUp

Sacrifice is too strong a word, but after 2 years we have had to put on hold our social life, but I think I may have pushed it a little too far this time by treating Amanda for her Birthday by taking her to a Coventry networking event #CovTweetup. Forever and a day this is going to be used to win arguments… not that she needs help, we both agreed the event was a great way to boost our profile within the city.

When you think of Coventry, affluence does not first spring to mind, but I have a soft spot for this city due to family links, going to the University (you could not tell by my grammar!), my wife being from here and where I live and have set up my business.

I believe Coventry has a lot to offer productively and financially too. Believing though and having any tangible rewards are two different things, but maybe #CovTweetup was the first step into tapping into potential. This is in comparison to the last two years, which has seen us choose a lot of local suppliers wherever possible, but has just seen us work in Coventry on only a handful of occasions.

 

Having, like I expect many others, hoped that someone would take the baton and lead from the front I heard about #CovTweetUp only a few weeks ago. It was only 2 weeks later did I realised it clashed with Amanda’s Birthday! Set up by Sally Mahers of the Intelligent VA Company championing this great cause.

From afar I have been made aware of #WarwickTweetUp campaigns that bring local businesses together and empower them via the use of social media, like my worst nightmare, Twitter. Could this happen on a larger scale in Coventry? Could they help social media incompetents like me? ….

 

Now after a few days to digest #CovTweetUp’s evening event, words that spring to mind about the event include inspiration, support and optimism.

The best thing about #CovTweetUp is it’s nice to know there are like-minded people trying to get on with their business and trying to make a living from it. Those that know its more than cooking a crepe on a griddle and are aware of the work done in the background, but at the same point enjoy what they do so are happy to put that time and effort into it.

So am I a social media pro now? Well not quite, but the experts including Todd from a Digital Marketing company behind the local #WarwickTweetUp have guided me onto the right path in how to use the likes of Twitter more effectively. Followers have immediately increased and that can only be a good thing for our brand presence, whilst I’m confident my SEO (Theres one acronym to look for!) will increase if I put their words of advice to good use.

It’s impossible to conclude the importance of my attendance and summarise what #CovTweetup is about as it will hopefully be something that I as a local businessman can take from, but also give something back in return and something that will snowball. For this is why I am going to post bi-monthly updates on my blog about CovTweetup for the foreseeable future.

As a CovTweetup member/supporter I would be really interested in fellow local businessmen/ businesswomen on their thoughts. How to take it forward? How we can help each other out etc. This will also show me that some people are listening to my ramblings. J

Reflection

Our busiest summer yet, I have sadly neglected this blog. I have not run out of ideas yet, though admittedly I am coming close with any hint of journalistic talent being just that…a hint!

Mid peak season it has come to my mind how lucky we are to not only share in couples special day as they marry or other celebrations we get to see fantastic locations around the UK. This is not to gloat, a sense of realisation for oneself, but also to highlight these jems to my handful of readers.

Just this last week after snaking along many country lanes we have found ourselves in an old stately home wrapped within miles of rolling countryside and has seen us nestled beside the beautiful River Thames away from the hustle and bustle of its more infamous setting of Westminster. To top this amazing few days we return to the wonderful Castle Howard famous for Brideshead Revisted.

Out of all journeys so far, one still stands out and it’s not my wedding venue so keep that to yourself! Fort Belan. Vacating a position that overlooks a potential access point to the Liverpool port action was taken to tighten up coastal defences from the threats of America and France in the 18^th Century.

Thankfully for our visit the cannons did not need to be loaded and we could take in the surroundings before we set up work. Situated on the opening of the Menai Strait overlooking Caernarfon surroundings include the open seas, Snowdonia Park and a long sandy beach. With its charm and positioning and the ability to exclusively book the venue for your own wedding you would be amazed to find that this is a venue that can help meet a modest budget.

Everyone has their own favourites and therefore I would be pleased for people to share their favourite venues, particular those that did not cause you to re-mortgage the house.

http://www.fortbelan.co.uk/index.php?id=52  Fort Belan Link

http://www.castlehoward.co.uk/Display.aspx?iid=853 Castle Howard Link

 

Crêpes for the health conscious?

Crêpes healthy? No, no, no! They are calories galore! Well no unless you place your finger on the trigger for 5 seconds as you squirt cream lavishly on.  

Our plain crêpes would be no more than 150 calories and we all need calories to do the all important things in life, like watch TV, play on the computer, even to eat further food as you need calories to digest.

So apart from the fact they are extremely delicious I am going to sing the virtues of the main ingredients and conveniently sidestep the sweet, sweet fillings that include marshmallows and toffee sauce.

Eggs: Its had a somewhat bad press, but the egg is a great source for complete protein and vitamins A, B, C, D. From assisting vision to supporting replenishment of your bones these vitamins play an important role in your health.

It gets its bad press due to the media jumping on the bandwagon that cholesterol found within the eggs can influence blood cholesterol levels and therefore heart disease risk. True it has cholesterol within, however, it is understood now that an increase in cholesterol level is down to range of lifestyle variables and genetic predisposition with a sensitivity to saturated fat seen as a key to the cholesterol creeping up. Infact the body struggles to absorb cholesterol consumed from natural sources found within foods.

*Fact of the day alert* Whilst I am defending the consumption of eggs, lets defend cholesterol as well, essential for life, the body in fact produces its own cholesterol!

Flour: The flour we use for the savoury crêpes (galettes) is described as wholegrain meaning it has not had all the good stuff removed. Taking longer to digest, the increased level of fibre is good for filling you up and controlling blood sugar levels, which helps to stabilise energy levels, weight management and also your risk to diabetes.

Milk: Like eggs milk contains a range of vitamins and minerals including a great percentage of your recommended daily allowance (RDA) of calcium. True it contains fat, but not really as high as perceived with the full fat milk containing at most 5% of RDA per 100ml. Fat and protein found within milk and eggs also slows digestion down, so as long as you are not drizzling lots of syrup on your crêpes then a crêpe can be a treat enjoyed by diabetics as part of a balanced diet.

Let’s just ignore the doom mongerers the paramedics are not needed just yet and as a well-known confectionary company says be treat wise!

English Quirks & Community Spirit

There are many positives to what we do otherwise, we would not forgo our Summer weekends whilst we admittedly enviously hear of our friends socialising in a beer garden.

Ignoring the downside of missing out on the occasional beer to quench our thirst and the opportunity to air my legs and wear my favourite boardies in the sunshine we get an amazing insight into English life, community spirit and its quirks.

Over the last 2 years we have met many volunteers that have taken the time to arrange fetes from Scarecrow Festivals, Canal Festivals to Food and Drink Festivals. Add to this gatherings based around vintage cars to plane’s taxiing along a runway we have attended a host of diverse events that are organised by small committees of people with the ambition of raising money for a number of worthwhile causes.

 

For anyone who has tried to organise a birthday party it can be appreciated how much an effort and time people put into an event that is there to cater and entertain not just friends and family, but the wider public. Not to forget usually alongside their normal 9 to 5 job.

Admittedly ignorant to these wonderful events, my motivations in the past to attend have been low as I perceived these events as suitable only for my Dad. Is it the passing of time that is seeing me turn into my Dad or do these events have something now to offer? Before anyone says, yes I am turning into my Dad, but these events also offer fantastic family entertainment that is great value and sometimes even free and best of all on your doorstep.

Fireworks, dance acts, carnival parades,  magicians to the adrenaline junkie performance of stunt motorcyclists doing impossible jumps and turns there are hidden surprises just waiting for you to find!

Keep an eye out on our facebook page for some of the local events we attend and you will be pleasantly suprised and of course come up and say hello and try one of our deliciously cooked crêpes made fresh on the spot.

Weddings: So many choices!

There is never going to be a winner when it comes to choosing which route to take for your wedding and it is all going to come down to personal preference of the bride and groom…well at least the bride.

From having a wedding at the local church or within the stadium of your football team, choosing the location is the first of many dilemmas.

Music, there are so many choices and the end result is certainly down to personal taste. You choose acoustic, but what instrument do you plump for? What about the gentle harmony from the cello or a harp as you walk down the aisle?

I wonder if the phone has stopped ringing for the Mexican singers after their appearance in the Doritos advert. Could you picture this for your wedding? If so, I am going to be chasing my cut!

Then there is food and with it so much choice! Can you beat the traditional sit down meal? Competition comes from the hog roast and BBQ, 2 possibilities that probably 10 years ago would have been seen as a bit ‘out there’ as the choice for the wedding breakfast.

Chip butties and of course crêpes, a visual catering option, are two relatively unique options that will see your wedding stand out from the crowd. These options could be seen as the new traditional in 10 years time!

For the wedding dress, would you be tempted for a quirky number? I am not going to say anymore, but direct you to this link of wedding outfits:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/4827602/Wacky-weddings-from-the-Obi-one-to-Yabba-dab-I-do-Revisit-our-top-fancy-dress-nuptials.html

Going Live

Equipment bought…check, crêpes formula mastered…check, name and branding….check! So with all this organised we now had to jump the final hurdle and actually work infront of the hopefully paying public.

Fast forward to our first event, which was a low key fete at the John White Community College, Coventry April 16^th 2011 and we were live in action. We took about £40. “This time next year Rodney we will be millionaires”. Just covering the pitch fee, it is a good job Amanda was happy receiving crêpes as a reward for her support!

A strange experience, this was the first time I had received money (apart from birthdays and pocket money) since I flogged some football ‘shinies’ (stickers) when I was a kid. A strange experience at first receiving money from strangers, I have quickly got used to this:-).

Since that first day we have continued to evolve and so without giving too much away to any crêpes wannabes the first Summer was a successful and great learning experience. Allowing I Love Crêpes to understand who our customers are and to therefore tailor our services to what people want! This continues to be reinforced by our commitment to deliver a professional, tasty and personal service.

With lots of hard work behind the scenes, setting up a business has been a fulfilling experience and one that we believe we will get further fulfilment from in return for the dedication we put in.

And to answer your question 2 years on we still love crêpes!

Research the tasty part.

So it turns out having an idea is the easy part, research and commitment need to follow swiftly to get the idea off the ground or before someone else moves the idea forward and gets the potential rewards.

Far from it being some laboratory setting, the initial stage of product research was simply in our kitchen with a frying pan. Trying to flip it, pancake like, I missed the ceiling by an inch for the crêpe to land in a heap but at least in the frying pan. With a good helping of Nutella and then closing my eyes it did taste good though.

We quickly found a winning formula, but the true test would be if it worked on a crêpe griddle and not just on a frying pan.

Research was the relatively easy thing to do; it’s this commitment lark that was the difficult part. Difficult being I needed to part with some cash! A commercial griddle was required and it took me a week to work up the courage to buy one.

Once I bought the griddle with a little trial and error we slowly taught ourselves how to use it. Far from being a blue chip company with thousands of pounds to spend we took our research to the next and highest level. Strict procedures were followed as the crêpes were put through the true rigours of the neighbourhood watch club, our neighbours. They walloped them down within seconds, which I am told is a good sign, though later they put us right when we developed the savoury mixture. Old people can be blunt! I am sure this is how the likes of Samsung work. You can see the IT geeks of Samsung popping around to their Grandparents with their latest gadget looking for approval.

Inspiration the easy part!

I Love Crêpes, opened 2 years to this very day. The inspiration was Malta (where you see a café selling crepes on every corner) far away from France where you would expect anyone to get the idea.

The seeds were sown when Amanda now my Wife, who openly admits to having a sweet tooth, could not get enough of these delights away on holiday. Despite my reluctance to part with my cash I was enjoying them too. My light bulb moment arrived or was it just a grumble in my stomach? If it’s good enough for us and the Maltese and other people from around the continent, then surely these are going to be liked back home in the UK.

From what I was aware there was not many crepêries or cafés selling crêpes on our high streets so there could be a gap in a market. Sitting in the sun, with a scrap of paper and pen I started to do a rough calculation of ingredient costs and the mark up required to make a profit. I also had to consider whether this would be value for money for the average person back home, the answer was yes!

Well that was the easy part... I now had to do my dragon dens style pitch to get Amanda on board, after all she was going to have sacrifice her weekends for me. But the endless supply of Nutella was enough to persuade anyone!

To be continued…

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