Moaning, the Media & Michelin Stars
Truth be told, I have been known to moan about the poor standard of restaurant coffee. And as an industry, I believe we all do!
Based on the length of time I’ve been wallowing in this demitasse of dissappointment, I have been excruciatingly slow in articulating my feelings to those who are positioned to really make the difference – namely restaurant owners themselves and the press who seem ill-equipped to credibly comment.
Following the rather dissappointing press coverage of the recent 2010 Avonmore Irish Barista Championships and some very recent, lackluster, local media reports on coffee in general, I decided it was high time to stop moaning and start writing.
So I posted, or rather ranted, my thoughts on a local food and wine blog, ForkNCork. My post was a little long winded and considerably emotive, but most readers will have got the gist of what I was trying to say.
I suspect that my comments may have annoyed / offended a few people both in the industry and press, given that the replies posted on ForkNCork were few and far between.
Having waxed lyrical about the availability of world class coffee leaders here in Ireland (and believe me, we have them) and the quality of our local roasters, I certainly feel like a gauntlet has been thrown down to those in the press to learn more and those in the trade to at least consider the quality of their coffee offer.
So let’s just say that having said my peace, my conscience is now clear.
Now, there is some good news!
There is one Irish restaurant – and one forward-thinking chef out there – willing to take on board my stinging criticisms.
This past weekend has seen first seeds planted. So, drum roll please… Ross Lewis’ Chapter One is the first Michelin Starred restaurant in Ireland and the UK to offer a Single Estate, Pour Over Service.
From this point on, the coffee served at Chapter One’s Chef’s Table will be ground to order (in the Baratza Maestro Plus) and brewed at the table using Hario’s range of V60 brewers, the Buono Kettle and Coffee Angel’s own Hario Flight Deck.
Coffee Angel will source and supply all coffee. We will be looking for the best coffee fit for the restaurant menu and focusing on quality, traceability and seasonality. We are not above looking to other roasters if we can’t supply what is needed and Steve Leighton of HasBean fame has kindly offered to supply his precious Fazenda Floresta as the first Single Estate on offer. Staff will be briefed on the coffee prior to service and provide guests with detailed tasting notes, flavour descriptors and origin information during the brewing process.
We will be taking it slowly at first, but do hope to roll out the service to the main restaurant’s Tasting Menu – given customer and staff feedback from the Chef’s Table, and that a few technical / logistical solutions can be found to ensure quality and service are not compromised on the restaurant floor.
Coffee Angel will soon be supplying all the coffee at Chapter One – including the front bar – and working closely with the team to ensure that the coffee standards are truly Michelin Star.
I wouldn’t recommend my rather confrontational approach to others, but I do think we as an industry do need to assert ourselves outside of the comfy ‘coffee shop love-in’ we all enjoy and tackle the wider catering community head on. I do believe this is our best chance of improving the overall standard.
I am delighted that I have at the very least found a restaurant prepared to listen. Now it’s up to me to deliver.
Ps. Further images of the Hario Flight Deck can be found here.
Comments
Exciting and great to be involved Karl, well done for keeping going where others may have given up.
Top job one restaurant at a time means one more offering good coffee
this very day ive said something similar, not as elequently, reading your post i think i have jumped ahead of myself in bemoaning how brewed coffee wouldnt work in the set up we as a company (clements) have. for it to work the customer needs to be educated and that education has to start with people who will pay for quality and trust those who are supplying it. i think you have made a very big first step with Chapter One and hopefully it will trickle down to my level some day.
Congratulations on it by the way
Mick
Steve. You rock when others may chose to roll… ’tis a victory shared.
I’d love to discuss this with you further as i do think that the potential is there to make a go of it… just look at the Intelly video here as evidence that it definitely can work in high-volume retail environments like Clements. You just need the coffee, support (this is a big one) and staffing passion to see it through. The bottom line will surely follow.
seen the intelly video today, the idea i was kicking about on friday was a pour over day, where all the toys are on show and all the coffee geeks in the company are rounded up to ensure the passion is being pushed onto the customer, simialar to the brew haha but a bit more focused on making people realise its worth paying that bit extra