Coffee, Cake and... Kisses?

I recently visited an artisan coffee house with a twist, the purpose of my visit was to firstly eat cake (they only had brownies left) and to explore what made this café different from competitive patisserie style cafés. Well, I was pleasantly surprised as although I could not sample the ‘worldly’ carrot cake, I was invited into a

very different seating area, a kitchen. The company argue that this is done to create the feeling that you are sat in your friend’s kitchen rather than in a café and I think it works. As you can see from the pictures, there are no barriers like those that are found in usual café environments, no glass separating you from the staff that work there, creating a more personal experience, and more importantly, no separation from the cakes. As you can also see from the pictures, all but the cupcakes are actually from one whole cake or tray-bake and I think this is an important part of their message at Coffee, Cake and Kisses. They are attempting to make an inclusive environment in London, a place that I know as an outsider can feel somewhat exclusive and isolating.

As I sat in the island of the kitchen table I was able to see the authenticity in the kitchen environment, there are no tricks, no pretence around it, it doesn’t feel hideously disguised as a café. Instead, it had the relaxing feel of exactly what it was intending to be, your friend’s kitchen.

As I didn’t get the chance to speak to the owners of the establishment, I have taken their reasoning for starting the business from their website: http://coffeecakekisses.com. In response to why they did this, they say: “We believe that the time has come for people and the world to become whole, all the different aspects of us. We wanted to bring you the place that aids the integration of the body, the heart and the mind...inclusive and welcoming of all genders, sexualities, relationship models and lifestyles.” (web). They are bravely attempting to combine relationships with food to help to bring people together in an individualistic society.

The number of available books in the café were of great interest to me, everything from

recipe, to self-help, to relationship advice. In this way, it seemed more like a social space than just as somewhere to simply have a coffee. The message of the café appears somewhat simple; any person, anytime. As a company, they even attempt to bring people together by regularly holding classes, social events and tastings. 

It appears clear that the owners at coffee cakes and kisses believe strongly in the connection between cake and relationships and how intrinsically linked they are. 
They say: “Where does one hold the most tricky, and most rewarding, conversations if not in one’s kitchen?” (web). By creating this space, they have attempted to bind the love of food and relationships together, to form something that perhaps is lost in the individualistic society of the patisserie cake.