Golden Fork Awards 2010

Cafe Haven wins...

1st for Best Brunch

2nd for Best Coffee Shop

2nd for Best Sandwich

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

An astonishing achievement and one we are very proud of indeed. Look out for a profile on the cafe in Vue in the next few weeks (I'm sure I'll tweet about it!). For a full list of all the winners: http://ht.ly/1KSjt

Bear with us as my good friend, Scott Cairns, wrestles with updating our website to have a little more clarity.

Can't wait to receive our fork...I do get an actual solid gold fork, right?

For Eva

Yeah, I'm terrible at blogging - always something else supposedly more important to be done and before I know it, the blog finds itself gathering dust on my office shelf.

So, dearest Eva, since you asked so nicely and Mr Matheo is currently having his afternoon nap, I'll splurge something on the page. It also means I can avoid tallying receipts and sorting out the cafe recycling!

Lots of news from past, present and future....

The last couple of months at the cafe have been overwhelming. More and more exposure from the media meaning more and more people coming to check out the cafe. Blogs, Edmonton Journal articles and word-of-mouth via Facebook and Twitter has made the business thrive. The brunch boomed on the back of a review from Edmonton Journal and I'm not joking when I say that a whole day of Sunday's sales this time last year is now achieved in the first hour of business!

We're getting more involved in sourcing local product and Original Fare has been a really interesting experience for us - very positive. We are involved in the Alberta pulse/ seed promotion week in May as well as the Wild Boar BBQ (via Slow Food Edmonton). Then there will be another Tomato Fare in Strathcona, which was real fun last year. We are also working with farmers directly: Viking Colony Farms for our chicken and eggs for example. It's not enough - I want to source local produce this summer too. Our regular supplier, Northern Light Produce Network, is pretty good at doing local when the season permits but it all comes down to the success of crops that year. And pricing of course.

A new menu of sandwiches, salads and bites will launch next week. They are result of a number of weeks work. I'm looking forward to the free-range chicken, strawberry and melted brie with mint on foccacia! Julie & Jenna - you are both so creative! And I think one sandwich is the culmination of three people's ideas! Watch this space for more about the new menu.

Coffee news. I've just read God in a Cup that had me all excited about coffee (yet again). Honestly, you would never believe just how much there is to coffee. I've been fighting with the Fetco again as I search for the sweet spot. Technically speaking, the coffee is in the zone - according to the refractometer I have borrowed from Transcend - but there is this edge I can't shake off it. I'm talking miniscule details but it still irks me. So my solution? Scott Rao has a new book out purely discussing brewing techniques. I'm going to be devouring that for sure.

Family news: Julie, Matheo & I all went off to South Africa to enjoy my sister's beautiful wedding in Cape Town. It was such a beautiful wedding: set on a cliff overlooking the ocean with a violin quartet playing and mountains behind us. Wow. We did some incredible things while we were there like cage diving with Great White Sharks! Nothing like having someone dangling 3 tuna heads just in front of you and getting 4m sharks in a frenzy. Scary, magical and slightly stupid all at the same time!

The staff did an amazing job when we were away. Courtney was fantastic - 2.5 weeks of sole managing a store that normally takes two of us. She is simply double-awesome. One unfortunate incident involved the oven and potatoes. The oven was switched to self-clean at the end of the day on Sunday but no one checked to see if anything was in there. The end result was a 3am phone call to our cabin in the middle of an elephant safari, "Hello Mr Harvey. Yes, the fire department has just cut through the lock on the door. Yes, that's right the cafe is thick with smoke." Slightly traumatised, we made our 36-hour journey home (thankfully our 6-month old was amazing well behaved on the flight). The cafe was fine - the smell went away quick enough.

So, we're looking forward to the rest of the year. we'll keep developing the music night and the story-telling slam and see what else comes our way. The patio will open up soon enough and we are working with a couple of green houses to make it look all pretty.

All in all, things are just swell!

Survival of the unfittest

I'm rubbing my eyes a little too much at the moment because it seems we're on course to have our best month to date at Cafe Haven. This is somewhat peverse: it's January! Who has money in January? I guess caffeine craving Sherwood Parkians (and I'm thankful for it).

I'm confused, although with my new and very shiny dad-brain, that doesn't take much.

So, this month has been less watching the bank balance followed by prayers every night and more about getting on top of dishes. Julie and I decided on scaling back the amount of hours our employees work in the week and gave ourselves full time work again at the cafe. Oh my once beautiful soft hands.....

It's worked because the numbers in the bank say so but it's physically hurt us. We're new parents getting used to 3am feedings and pooey diapers. That's left us snoring at the grinders or occasionally burning someone's bagel. I swore I would do something about my lack of stamina this year. Working at the cafe wasn't supposed to be the solution. And it's not exactly stress-free.

And then there have been some interesting moments in January: The drain on the dishwasher unhooked and created Cafe Haven Creek under our neighbour's carpet. With some absolute genius luck they're planning to change their carpet to tiles next week so don't care! Then our extremely high-end Black & Decker (ahem) food processor gave up on us after literally thousands of seconds of use, shock horror! "DON'T BUY RESIDENTIAL!" I can hear chefs all around Edmonton screaming. Does Cuisinart count? No? Oh well....

This small death was followed by a waffle-maker homicide. Rumour has it a Saturday staff member went - as we say in the UK - 'ape shit on it'. R.I.P. Mr Waring. Thankfully, the speedy staff of Hendrix Condon Barr had a replacement shipped from the east in time for this weekend's peanut butter waffles. Impressed indeed.

The staff have been incredibly consistent this month, giving us very few hurdles or stresses to deal with. And that's a real blessing. Actually, there is a really good feeling about the current bunch - a nice gelling of personalities. And that is so important.

And lastly, the cinnamon buns. Edmonton Journal's Liane Faulder does a spot on CBC every other Friday to talk about foodie things. Best cinnamon buns was this week's (29th Jan) topic and we were mentioned! I have to admit, it is one of the few things we don't make at the cafe. A local husband and wife team are the ones who bang out these great desserts, using old church and family recipes. Congratulations Vivian.

Watch out for news on our Original Fare membership!! Very exciting times ahead.

“STORY SLAM IN THE PARK”

LAUNCH - 7:30 pm, Tuesday, February 9, 2010

At Café Haven, 9 Sioux Road, Sherwood Park, 780-417-5523

Contact: Katharine Weinmann, 780-467-9541

or go to Café Haven’s website: www.cafehaven.ca

Based on models in Vancouver, New York and Edmonton, Story Slam makes its debut in Sherwood Park on February 9th. Cafe Haven's Michael and Julie Harvey, and long- time Sherwood Park resident and Story Slam enthusiast Katharine Weinmann invite you to take a risk, be bold, and have an experience you’ll always remember. Visit your dreams, explore your past, stir your creativity, question your existence, write a story and get on stage to share it with an eager, appreciative audience in a welcoming, yet competitive environment. We gather on the 2nd Tuesday of every month to celebrate stories – fact, fiction or a combination.

Arrive early. Share a meal, tip a cup and join our newest community of storywriters and readers. We'll hear stories about childhood, middle and old age; lifetime yearnings and wisdom gleanings; parenthood, sisterhood and brotherhood; triumphs and failures; dreams and nightmares; what ifs, and what might be's.

In short, Story Slam in the Park is:

WHO: 10 storywriters, a story-loving audience and 5 audience judges

WHAT: 5 minute, original stories read/performed before an audience (Strict point penalty for rambling. Gong at 7 minutes). “Pass the hat” for contributions - $5 suggested - the evening’s winner takes all

WHEN: LAUNCH - Tuesday, February 9, 2010 & the 2nd Tuesday of every month Sign up at 6:30 p.m. Stage opens at 7:30 p.m.

WHERE: Cafe Haven, 9 Sioux Road, Sherwood Park

Check out their website at www.cafehaven.ca for their menu and directions.

Katharine has regularly enjoyed Edmonton’s event, hosted by Susan Hagan and the Blue Chair Café. Appreciating the depth of creativity and the breadth of community represented both by those who step up to read, and who come to listen, she felt captivated and inspired to bring Story Slam to Sherwood Park. “Story Slam in the Park invites a community’s best - its vibrancy, eclecticism, pragmatism, and capacity to dream big… We’re a cross section of age, ethnicity, politics, work and life experience, and viewpoints.”

As a life coach, process artist and group facilitator whose work centres on community building and future creating, Weinmann recognized Story Slam as a simple, yet effective and highly entertaining way to do this.

An open letter to the staff of Cafe Haven and those who supported the 'Keep Edmonton Original' pledge

Dear Cafe Haven staff and loyal & loving customers,

Julie and I are completely stunned by the efforts of our staff and the generosity of customers.

It is a simply brilliant idea that must have been incredibly challenging to put together: for our staff to drum up $500 from paying customers, who already show such dedicated loyalty to the cafe, so that Cafe Haven can have membership to the influential 'Keep Edmonton Original' association, is truly an outstanding act that goes well beyond the call of duty. But what has really touched us, is the time and effort by the staff to do something so thoughtful. And how positively the customers responded to such a request.

When Jenna, the staff member who orchestrated the entire thing, presented us with a huge Christmas card announcing our membership to the association and messages from staff old and new as well of customers' support, it made us both well up. If any of you have watched Jimmy Stewart's It's a Wonderful Life, well, that last scene at the end of the movie, that was how Julie and I felt. It really did.

It has without doubt, been the toughest few months the cafe has ever faced. Jenna and Courtney, with their extra responsibilities, have had more than their fair share of putting up with a couple of stressed owners - in fact, most of the staff have.

I'll be honest and say that our hearts were flagging and our heads were beginning to sag at the thought of another tough year ahead of us. It is regretable that we forget just how much customers enjoy the cafe; that we forget that people see us as more than just a coffee shop but a place in the community. We've become numb from all the problems rather than reflect on our successes.

But what the staff delivered through our customers' generosity has restored our faith and our desire to make this cafe a success. It really is a very special Christmas present - and one we shall never forget.

So thank you, thank you, staff of Cafe Haven and to all those customers who got involved with the pledge! Have yourselves a very Merry Christmas. We look forward to seeing you in 2010!

The Harveys

This letter is written in light of the fantastic efforts by Cafe Haven staff, having raised money through our loyal and loving customers, to pay for a membership to "Keep Edmonton Original", a profile-raising association for independent local businesses. This was orchestrated by staff member, Jenna Sieben.

wasting money

waste not want not - as probably any self-respecting mother from the 20th century would say. Business owners are without question the kings of one thing: reducing cost and avoiding waste. It KILLS a business owner to watch an employee, either through poor training or ignorance, use excess; throw away good product; make unnecessary errors; drop things; break things; lose things...

"Isn't that factored into your costs of business? Isn't that covered with your pricing?". To a degree, yes, but not everything. Watching compostable ToGo paper cups spill on the floor and be contaminated is heartbreaking when you are already paying 100% more than the regular cafe and the national franchises. The same with coffee beans being spilt everywhere: at double the price, you are losing double the profit. Cups smash, wine glasses shatter and plates chip. Franchises have you sipping out of paper whether you want to or not. That's a huge drain on the environment and unnecessary for those customers staying in. We have a policy of making our customer pay for ToGo cups with a 10c increase on price. This goes to a green charity once a year. The flipside is that anyone who comes in with a travel mug (Thank you!), gets 10c off. Simple.

But back to my gripe about waste: It's a problem everyone has, and minimising these mistakes with clear policy, training and constant reminding are the only solutions for survival and reigning in waste.

Other stuff on my mind...

This week has been an incredibly hard week for Julie and I with poor staff attendance (uncommon at haven). It's getting tougher as we enter Christmas: private parties/ catering functions and sections of the cafe booked up for events - all begin to create complications in the running of the business. Good problems of course and much needed money into the business at a time when Julie & I have been struggling to keep the wage bill down. The end of this month shall be interesting for sure.

A nice surprise today came in the form of Andrew Legg (ex-Transcend Coffee employee) who will hopefully be performing a one-man show of the Christmas Carol on 20th December at our cafe. He's also performing it at Axis, which I encourage you to attend if you're more of a city-bound person. It will give us the Christmas feel I'm looking for at haven. It will also remind me exactly what Christmas is all about (it's easy to forget).

the stuff of staff

Being a boss can be great as well as horrible. A lot of it, I think, comes down to your judgement of who to employ. As employers, my wife and I have made our fair share of mistakes but thankfully you learn and get better at targeting traits of good workers.

The problem in the cafe world is that most staff don't hang around too long. Starbucks, for instance, have a joyous turnover of 300%. That's one very fast spinning revolving door.

At haven, we certainly seem to be developing a core of staff that have one quality that every business yearns for: the staff care. It really makes a huge difference to the day-to-day running. This does not mean that you can get laxidaisical in providing clear instruction and sound operational procedures. But it does mean that when things do go wrong it is more likely to be a mis-communication than due to a lack of care. Mis-communication you can rectify. Lack of care is a one-way track out of the business.

It's so important for our cafe because we have a large check list of closing duties that we start at around 4pm....that's five hours before the doors actually close. The duties are not exactly fun but they are incredibly important: the list spans some four pages and requires an awful amount of cleaning. Why? Because as an open-plan cafe you cannot get away with anything be left for more than a day (and in the restaurant world that happens a lot). Our customers can sit at a table and view our kitchen. With this kind of scrutiny you must (and should) run a tight ship. It's testament to the staff that the health and food handling inspector is a regular customer.

So, how do you ensure the staff do the work? Our solution is a simple one: roll your sleeves up and show them yourself. Lead by example. If the boss does it then everyone does it. Nothing worse than a manager showing off his extensive collection of keys to the store safe and various cupboards, refusing to work up a sweat because they are "above that now".

But getting good staff is mostly about leading horses to water and all that. At the end of the day, you need to find staff with good solid character and a conscience. And I'm very proud to say that at Cafe Haven we have that by the bucket full.

Colourful characters can also be problematic. Like coming to work to find your staple in the middle of a plate of jello. Terrific.