Hi, I am in the process of setting up a cafe with a good friend. I am looking for ideas on what cakes or slices that you just couldn't resist if you walked into a cafe. Maybe it is a slice of that Marshmallow Shortcake or Louise Slice our mothers and gandmothers used to make when we were little. Also, looking for ideas for a name for our cafe. We will be serving a range of yummy cabinet food and homemade cakes, slices, friands, tarts etc. We have been trying to think of a name that brings back memories of the 1950s when every woman stayed home and baked! Thanks!!

a name reminiscent of the 50s.. Barefoot and Pregnant?

am thinking of names....... but it is a dream of mine to do just this using china tea cups, tiered plates and a great variety of (not huge servings of ) baked delights of days gone by., you could even sell lovely aprons, have a collection of old recipe books on display, old kitchen gadgets, baking tins, utensils and other kitchen memoribila on display.
Some cakes /biscuits look more appealling than others, as you say Louise Cakes, ginger Gems, Devonshire tea/scones old fashioned butterfly cakes, kisses, marshmellow cake to suggest a few.
Good luck with this venture. what town is the shop going to be?

How about 'Aunt Daisy's' for a name for your cafe. Remember housewives of the era used to listen to her housekeeping programme every morning on the radio. "Good morning everybody, good morning, good morning. It's a beautiful morning here in Wellington - the sun is shining straight up my back passage....

You could serve cakes and slices out of her recipe book.

Not sure if there would be any copyright issues with using someone's name like that but it wouldn't be hard to find out.

Regards,

Barbie Girl



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/27/2012 09:42PM by barbie girl.

Maryloo, there was an exact place like that in Greytown but it only lasted perhaps a year or two. Possibly males felt out of place, it didn't fit the coffee/cafe scene vibe and the tea and sweet things impression mustn't have worked.

Answering bauchap, I can resist all cakes and slices in cafes but if I was looking for something, I'd give thought to carrot cake.

My husband would head straight to the Louise Cake Slice or a piece of Carrot Cake, which must be moist. Myself? Well I'd probably have a really good club sandwich or a savoury scone/muffin or maybe a Ginger Gem. Freshness is the key to having returning customers and a good reputation.
Don't forget the afghans.
I think the word "Thyme" for "Time" has been done to death, so I'd forget that. It's not original but "Indulgence" comes to mind.
No matter what the name, if it's good, then the reputation should carry through.
Best of luck.

My favourite cakes to eat out are ones I can't be bothered to make at home - like iced coffee cake, French fancies, fruit cheesecake.

Names? How about Everyone's Cuppa. Or Great Bakes. Or Home at Heart. Or Cake Expectations. Or The Hearty Hearth. Or Betty's Kitchen.

Names:
Café Watusi (type of dance, early 1960s)
The Madison Café (type of dance, early 1950s)
Red Rose Café
Rosebud Café
The Blue Boy Café (famous painting)
Poppy Fields Café
Sweetie Pie Café
Honeybun Café
Café Brigitte (Bardot, 1950s actress)
Wild Strawberry Café (1950s film)
Sugarbag Café / Sugarbag Cushion Café (1950s housewives reused sugar bags to make cushions, oven cloths, aprons, etc)
Milk Crate Café / Milkman Café / Grocery Boy Café
Double Loaf Café
Kissing Crusts Café (see [www.nzine.co.nz])




Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 03/28/2012 09:17PM by J1.

There is a Madison Cafe in Ngaruawahia - I used to work there for a wee, wee while

Grandma’s Memories Café
Granny’s Old Fashioned Kitchen Café
Granny’s Country Kitchen Café
Memories Café
Cafe Nostalgia
Old Fashioned Cook’s Kitchen Café
Old Fasioned Baker’s Café
By-Gone Days Café
Mother’s Kitchen Café
The Old Fashioned Larder Café
Victoria’s (or whoever's) Larder Café
Childhood Memories Café
Penny For Your Thoughts Café
Grandma’s Baking.......Café.
The Old Fashioned Baker Café
Old Fashioned Cookie Jar Café
Grandma’s High Days and Holiday’s Cafe
Delights of Yesteryear Cafe

I've obviously gotten hooked on Grandma!!
Regards,
Dawn.





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/28/2012 08:27AM by Dawn.

Mary's kitchen. Most popular name of the 1950'2. I hope you have a great accountant, cafes can get some great depreciation but you need a smart one.

As for me, a caramel slice with a THICK layer, that didn't look cheap. Some caramel looks lumpy or likes it came from a icky mix.

I am a sucker for apple slice, but I realise that is my quirk.




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Great way to use up tomatoes (and darn handy)

Eat well, live well, dress well.

hi what i really enjoy going into a cafe is a thick custard square with the old fashion custard, not the tasteless stuff they use these days

I think just about anything will do well, as long as you use good quality ingredients without skimping on them and don't overcook your baking - so many baked goods in cafe's are dry, dry, dry.

If you are going to make the typical Kiwi favourites - you have to make sure you do an exceptional job with them. I will make a special trip to a cafe out of town because I know their baked goods are a notch above the rest. You have to make sure you stand out from the crowd.
People appreciate having some favourites that they know will always be there, but they also appreciate having something different too - so daily or weekly "specials" always go down well.
Good luck with your venture.

Some savoury items would be good. Many of us do not like "sweet" and often there is nothing for me to eat at cafes although I desperately want something.

I agree with Stephanie D. I'd like to see layered vegetable slices, savoury muffins that are more about the savoury part than the flour part, thin base pizza wedges with savoury (pref. vegetarian - peppers, mushroom, onions, tomato, etc) topping and only a little cheese. Really, I'm looking for a smallish wedge of something loaded with vegetables and tasting delicious, that can be warmed if desired. If they want to add some chickpeas or something, that's fine. I'm not vegetarian although until dinnertime I usually am. Cafés seem full of meat, flour products, cheese and/or sweet. I'm looking for vegetable colour - lots of green and red, moistness, refreshing, tasty food made with flair and modernity that doesn't rely on fat, sugar and flour. Limp panini with a token green bit and meat and cheese poking out are a horror story to me.

More than one gluten free option would be great, and having staff that know what gluten free means. I had an experience recently when I asked a staff member to tell me what in the cabinet was gluten free. I got a response along the lines of 'oh you can't eat that one because it's got rice in it', then after my stunned response she admitted that she didn't know what gluten free meant. Fine for the general public, but not fine in a food service business. Also, I bought a lovely salad one weekend from a local cafe and the staff member assured me that all the salads were gluten free. I went back two days later to get the same salad, and was told that it wasn't gluten free (it had worcestershire sauce in the dressing). I was incredibly annoyed that the first person had told me that something was gluten free when it wasn't, but there wasn't anything I could do about it by then.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/30/2012 10:44AM by Jane CH.

Jane CH Wrote:
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> More than one gluten free option would be great,
> and having staff that know what gluten free means.

I agree. For a number of reasons I choose not to eat grains, and I would be delighted to find somewhere for lunch that had food I could eat. It's not that hard - a frittata, a tortilla, a scotch egg, meatballs, meat loaf are all easy to make and not expensive - but instead everything seems to be bulked out with pastry, bread, and other cheap fillers.

I can never resist ginger crunch. Yummy.

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I vote for more savoury stuff too like cheese puffs or savoury biscotti. Personally I adore European baked goods as they are a bit different and I'm not likely to make them at home e.g. rum babas, Dutch spice cakes, speculaas, baklava, macarons, opera cake. I also love Asian sweet things like Indonesian steamed cakes, Malaysian layer cake, pandan pancakes with coconut. I find that the old NZ favourites are a bit commonplace and everyone's doing them.