Another Very Busy Week

Well I have not updated for a while – sorry – but there is so much going on that I don’t know where to start so I will give you brief highlights.

Andrea and Elaine want to say thank you to everyone who came to the stall at the food show in Parkers piece last weekend – they were so pleased with the response and hopefully you will all come to the shop for lots more of the same. Did you see me parked by the marquee on the Saturday?

We have been to London again this week tasting more top foods and we are going again next week to see some more suppliers – nothing but the best for you lucky Cambridge folk. I drove over Tower Bridge – how exciting!!

Even more exciting is Andrea negotiating with 2 suppliers at the moment for some really amazing and exclusive products not only to Cambridge but the UK – well nearly. Nothing has been finalised yet but I can tell you that for now it will be olive oil, olives and honey but if all goes well could be much more and all from small and very hard working passionate small holders in Italy who believe like Andrea and Elaine in real and properly produced food.

On the shop front, frustratingly still not ready to open. This week the final piece of the counters was finally delivered and installed but we are still waiting for the gelato freezer to be fixed and for the shelving to be finished but will hopefully all be done for the end of next week.

It will still probably be a few weeks after that as it takes so much time to source so many products from so many people – be much easier just to pop to the cash and carry!! However Andrea and Elaine are determined that the shop will not be open until it is how they dreamt it no matter how many sleepless nights Andrea is having over the delays.

Bye for now and more soon – I promise

Cheeky

Finally My New Clothes

Hello me again and I am very happy to say that I got my new clothes today – finally!! and a wash too!!

It has been such a busy week and I have so much to tell you but I am very tired so I will try and tell you in a few days but you should know that you will now be able to recognise me in Cambridge and that Andrea and Elaine will be showing off some of their lovely food at the Food and Garden Show in Parkers piece on Saturday and Sunday. Daisy will be there to on Sunday.

They will have some lovely hand made pasta for you to buy to take home to or to eat straight away with a very simple tomato sauce. There will also be some Prosciutto di Parma, Parmiggiano for you to buy and some other salamis cheeses and olives and also some tasters for you to try and which you can buy once the shop opens which should be in a few weeks.

By the way I will be at the show too – I will be parked behind the food marquee so please come and have a look at my new clothes and of course go and see Andrea and Elaine at the stall.

See you soon

Cheeky

Another Few Days

Hello

Well has been a slightly better few days. The replacement deli equipment from Italy which Andrea and Elaine have been patiently waiting for for the last 3 weeks may arrive here next week. The hot water is still not working but should now be sorted out next week. The ice cream sorry gelato counter is not working but someone is coming out to look at it soon.

I am not sure I had told you all this before but basically these have been part of the delays to the opening.

Today Andrea was a bit less stressed as he met up with an old friend of his , Carl , who he used to work with years ago and they had lost touch but he came up to see the shop today. I got to drive him for a bit as Andrea had to move me as I can only park for 2 hours at a time. I think he liked me because he was taking photos of me to show his 2 daughters.

Andrea was all excited explaining to his old friend all about the shop and how he got into it. Carl was amazed at the transformation of the shop as Andrea showed him photos before all the work was done. He was also really interested in the pancetta which Andrea is curing and the whole process. Unfortunately it was not quite ready to eat but he is coming back in a month or so but knowing how much Andrea likes his cured meats I do not think there will be any left!!

Andrea and Elaine have also been trying to fit in ordering some products for the Garden and Food Festival at Parkers Piece next weekend where they will have a stall. So far you will be able to buy and try some great parmiggiano , prosciutto di Parma , fresh potato gnocchi and some great garlic olives.

Finally for today I am very happy because if you remember last time I was telling you about a great new range of Sicilian products which they found at the show on Sunday and how they are very excited about stocking it. Well it turns out that the owners have one of my sisters and her name is Agnes and I hope one day to meet her.

Bye for now and more updates soon

Cheeky

I've been to London

Hello

OK I promise I am going to try and write very day but shorter amounts as after all I suppose that is what blogs should be but we are just so busy – even me.

I have been to London twice in the last week. On Sunday I actually drove into London – I have never done that before. It was very exciting though. I took Andrea, Elaine and Daisy, the girl who is going to work in the shop and that I told you about last time. They were going to a food show to see if they could unearth any new suppliers and also to say hello to ones they already have and taste all the new products they were launching – we do like to be up to date!! That way you can have all the best goodies possible.

Andrea and Elaine are very excited about a new supplier they found that were just launching a very exclusive and tasty artisan range of products from Sicily. Look out for what they say is an amazing lemon preserve made using sicilian lemons which are supposed to be the best.

Also they found a new product from a supplier they already knew which is a lovely type of ham made from a pig native to Sardegna and that is a hybrid of wild boar and domestic pig and produces an exquisite ham. Look out for this.

The most exciting day for them though was Friday. This is when they went to Borough Market in London. They love it. This trip was just to see a few of their suppliers again as they have had these lined up for over a year but had not seen them for a while.

Andrea gets so excited in Borough Market and Elaine finds it very funny as she says he turns into Rick Stein as soon as he steps into the market as he constantly goes on about how there should be a Borough Market in every town and why can’t we get that kind of produce everywhere. It is very funny but I suppose he has a point.

Not too worry though because you lucky Cambridge people will get some of it soon and if Andrea and Elaine have their way then you will get plenty more because they are trying to get more suppliers to supply them even if as Andrea says he has to go and get it himself.

Apart from these couple of exciting days things at the shop are going very slowly and there are a few problems but they are working very hard to sort them out and get open as soon as possible but probably will not be until the end of the month at the earliest now.

OK I am off now but will get back to you more regularly but shorter so you can get all the up dates as they happen.

For the record I have still not been washed and still do not have my writing but it’s OK because I know they are doing their best.

Bye for now

Cheeky

A Very Busy Week

Hello – Sorry for not writing sooner but it has been a very busy couple of weeks at Massaro’s. By the way that is going to be the name of Andrea and Elaine’s new shop. I should stop just calling it a shop as its proper title is artisan deli and espresso bar!!

There is not actually much of an espresso bar but it is one of their dreams to have authentic espresso bars but this shop is a bit too small really and they have so much wonderful things for you to buy that they have had to squeeze lots into a small space. They have spent lots of money to get it as big and as a nice as possible for their customers as it used to have walls and pillars in it before but now it is just one space. They have also spent lots of money on making the basement very nice, modern and clean because that’s where Andrea will prepare lots of nice things for you to buy and take home.

Anyway this week as some of you may have noticed if you were walking or driving down Regent Street on Tuesday morning all the display equipment for the shop was delivered. The shop front had to be taken out to get it all in. At one point there were 3 glazier vans, 3 delivery trucks and about 11 people working to get it all in as quickly as possible so that not too much disruption was caused to the neighbours and traffic.

Unfortunately it did not all go too smoothly as 1 of the units delivered was wrong and now they have to wait a few weeks for a new piece to arrive from Italy. This means that the opening date has been delayed and also the coffee machine cannot be installed yet so they have been very stressed and sad this week but work is still going on as there is lots of painting and cleaning to do to make sure it is as nice as possible when it finally opens.

I have seen the designs for my new clothes but I am not sure when I am getting them as this has been delayed also due to the other problems but I hope I will get them soon.

Andrea is also very frustrated at the moment as while all the planning and building has been going on he has been too busy with this and has not been able to concentrate on what he really loves which is making nice food. Elaine has also missed dealing with customers and selling all the nice food as she has been very busy with the painting and other things. They have had some visits from food suppliers but still lots more to do on that front as there is so much to choose from because they collected so much information and tasted so many foods over the last couple of years that it now has to be narrowed down to the best. That is the bit they really enjoy though so they can’t wait finalising all the products.

We are going to visit lots of suppliers and some farms as well in the next 2-3 weeks and we are also going to a good food show soon to make sure you will have all the latest products and I of course will very busy as well as I have to take them to all these places.

Finally I met Daisy this week. She is going to work in the shop and she has already been in to help do some of the preparation work as there is so much to do. She is coming in again next week for a few days and then she is going to start in a week so she can start to learn all about the products. She seems very nice and I think everyone who comes in the shop is really going to like her.

Bye for now and I will update you again soon.

Cheeky

PS I now have my email address – it is cheekycento@massaros.co.uk

Hello again

Well I am getting better – less than a week since I last spoke to you.

Before I tell you more about the shop and some more of the history I have to tell you about my trip the other day as I am so excited. I took Andrea and Elaine to an industrial estate in Cambridge to see some very nice people about getting a sign made for the front of the shop. When they had finished this man and woman came down and took pictures of me and they took some measurements. I was getting measured up for all my new writing. It will be a while until it is ready but I am so excited. You will all recognise me then.

Well I told you last time how long it has taken to find the premises for their shop and the lots of research they have done to make sure that when it finally opens it is as nice as possible. They are working very very hard at the moment on every detail and unfortunately it has been delayed a little bit but hopefully not for too long. They have got some very nice deli counters coming from Italy and these should have been arriving on Tuesday but the shop is not quite ready where they were supposed to go so they have had to delay them for a few more days so they are a bit disappointed but hopefully will be sorted soon.

They have done lots of work to the shop and the basement because they want everything to be excellent and to be prepared in the cleanest and nicest environment possible. Andrea is having some of his preparation and cooking equipment arriving this week so he is happy and looking forward to soon being able to put all the finishing touches to the food he is going to make for everyone to buy. To be honest he doesn’t really need to because he has been cooking for years – he is not a chef or anything but he loves cooking and using the best ingredients. The food he will prepare is all very simple as this is what he believes in – he says using very good ingredients and keeping things simple is the best way. It will all be very simple and quick as it is not a restaurant but he believes in giving the same dedication and care to a sandwich or a salad as a chef would in a good restaurant. He thinks it is a shame that often there are very nice places you can eat if you have time to go to a restaurant or are treating yourself but for more simple snacks at breakfast, lunch or just when you fancy something quick there is not so much choice and we all settle for less but he thinks that we should take all our meal times just as seriously as we would if we are planning a night out. They hope the shop will help you to do that whether you want to take some ingredients home to cook for your family or friends or to eat something in your workplace at lunchtime or any other time.

Elaine has been very busy too. They have collected lots of information over the last 3 years as they have been to lots of good food shows and done lots of research on artisan food producers. Elaine has spent the last 2 weeks re contacting them all so that they can visit them and gets lots of samples to pick the best. There will be lots of lovely fresh food to buy from their deli counter and even more from their shelves. All of it will be proper artisan food made by lots of small producers who all believe in the same food principles. There will be some products coming from Italy such as cheeses, meats and antipasti and also lots from small local farms. All the fresh ingredients such as tomatoes, onions, lettuce and other vegetables which Andrea will use in the sandwiches and salads will come from local farms but only if the quality is right as they believe that food just needs to be properly produced and that if it says things like organic or local it doesn’t automatically mean that it will be tasty or even produced correctly. Luckily they have found lots of small producers that produce very nice food and are local.

Next time I will tell you more about other things they will have and also about their fancy new coffee machine that will be coming in the next week.

Hopefully by then I will have my new writing and maybe even have had a wash.

Bye

Cheeky

A Little More

Hello me again. Firstly sorry I know I had promised another instalment but I have been so busy ferrying Andy and Elaine about in preparation for their new shop that I have not had time. I have found out lots more about it though so I will tell you some more now and more when I next get time.

Well firstly I will tell you a bit about them. Andy, my driver, is very passionate about food and ingredients. He believes food should be produced properly and prepared freshly and with passion. This is no surprise really as his mum and dad are from Italy. He was born here but his mum and dad came over in the 1960’s. Good food in those days ironically was cheap as they reared and grew it themselves. They then prepared everything fresh and did the best with what they had.

Andy was brought up with similar principles and he still believes in this today. It has only ever been a hobby or interest but now he wants to do it everyday with the shop.

Elaine, who is from Scotland, actually grew up in a similar way in a family with similar ideals – making the best with what they had and everything always prepared from scratch. Elaine has also worked in lots of shops over the years but it was when she was working for a supermarket that she decided that some things were not right and she wanted to find a nicer way of selling food. She got a job in a farm shop and learnt lots about good and real food – food she only remembered from her childhood. Andy was intrigued by this as over the years he had forgotten some of his principles and relied on much cheaper and mass produced ingredients although he always cooked from scratch.

This is when the idea of the shop was born. They decided to look for premises and start a shop selling the best products they could find. They did lots of research and decided that just selling it was not enough they needed people to try the difference in a nice environment so that people could really taste the difference. This is when they came up with a joint deli and coffee shop idea. At the time they had not seen anything like this so they took themselves off to London to see if there were any places like this thinking that if there were they would probably be in London. They found a few like this and so they decided if it was good enough for London it was good enough for Cambridge and so they set out to look for suitable premises for this new format. This next bit is a very long story so I will just say that about 3 years later they signed up for the premises they are going to be in very soon. So now we are up to date I will say goodnight as I have to get up very early to take their kids to the airport as they are going to Spain for a week.

Next time which I hope will be sooner I will tell you all the exciting things they have planned for the shop and how they decided on the way it has finally ended up.

By the way I have not got the writing on me yet but I hope to get it in the next couple of weeks. I also haven’t had a wash yet!!!

Take Care

Cheeky