The Opening Day!!

Two months of planning, forecasting and tasting were finally over and we had fifty bottles of champagne to commemorate the occasion.
Niroch and Priyan’s mother even flew all the way from Sri Lanka to help out .The whole team was at Whitelys before 8am and before long the people started to show up. Niroch and Priyan were in a zone the whole day.
Between setting up the Cafe and making sure the staff (Dimitri) was not eating the food they had their hands full. The rest of the team was also very busy….flirting with the customers, downing glasses of champagne and nibbling on the canapés when Priyan was not looking.
The displays and the champagne attracted quite a crowd but it was the food that made them stay. The sandwiches were a huge hit and the Sri Lankan curries were sold out half way thought the day. The friends and family we invited seemed to be impressed by what we had put together but we insisted they gave us feedback. Their suggestions included making the curries spicier, serving soups and having a life size picture of Niroch wearing a dress on the Gastro Café sign like at Kohlu’s in Colombo (I for one am a huge fan of this idea).
A big thank you for everyone that stopped by on Saturday. Having our friends and family there to share in the birth of the café was important to all of us.
Your support and feedback was very much appreciated. From the bottom of our hearts we just want to say – THANK U!!!

8 days left to the Opening Day!!

Niroch is going nuts and cant wait for the Cafe to open and all the deliveries to arrive!! He already thinks he needs a PA...hahaha
Tomorrow we are giving a make over to the Cafe...Exciting! Priyan and his guys will do some magics to create an ambiance and give a character to the place!
Dimitri is letting the locals know about GastroCafe...basically he is flirting with the ladies in the area and invite them over... u call this a job??? Crazy world!!
Serena will join him on Sunday to make sure he is giving out the right info and not just his telephone number!!!
Dagmara was very creative and has done and printed all the INVITES and NOW WE are waiting for all of You to Join US!!!

Menu Tasting

With the opening of the café fast approaching we decided it was time to actually sample some of the food that Niroch was planning on serving. To add some credibility to the event we invited Lee Streeton, Niroch’s ex head chef and his beautiful girlfriend Jane. Niroch wanted some constructive criticism outside the usual “holy crap that’s awesome” and “amore the porketa you cooked last week was better” and Lee was only happy to help. This was also a chance for us to finally see how the food would be presented to the general public. Niroch had recently received a shipment of the utensils, plates and boxes we would be using and we knew all of you would want to see why Gastro café was going to be different from any other café you have visited.

· Baby Gem, Smoked Mackerel & Beetroot Salad

This was a huge hit with everyone in the room. The saltiness of the Mackerel complimented the Beetroot perfectly.



· Salt Beef Salad

Salt beef sandwiches were always going to be the centerpiece of the menu but the idea to add a salt beef salad was something Niroch was playing with. After we had a chance to try the salad we knew it had to be added to the menu. The sharpness of the mustard was a little too much for Jane and Sere but the guys loved it.

SANDWICHES

· Dorset Crab

In my humble opinion this sandwich is going to be Gastro Café’s bestseller. The crab is fresh and Nero’s decision to keep it simple is going to have people coming back for more.



· Salt Beef

From day one Priyan and Niroch wanted the Salf Beef Sandwiches to be Gastro Cafes pride and joy. The beef had to be braised for 5 hours but it was worth the wait. Soft Caraway bread, quality slow braised beef, mustard and a pickle…need we say more?



SRI LANKAN CURRIES

We were served not one, not two but three curries (Beef, Pork and Mutton). How could we open a café without paying homage to our heritage? At this point we were completely stuffed but miraculously each of the dishes were soon empty.

And there you have it.. Each of use were basically comatose for the two hours following the culinary extravaganza but it was considered a complete success. Lee and Jane were blown away by Niroch’s skills and Priyan’s cost cutting ideas. Hats off to Niroch..the food looked and tasted amazing. The packaging looked perfect and we finally got some pictures to share with you guys.

So lets have it ! What do you guys think? Does the food look good? Be brutally honest please..We are all adults and can take some criticism I think.

Basics!!!

Its Sunday the 17th and there are exactly 14 days till we take over the premises. There is oh so much to do, and well apart from the food.... its the beverages, take away stuff and coffee that need be sorted!!! It was all Snap Crackling and Pops today with piggy in the oven... however as good as it tastes, I dont want people dropping dead around me!!! :) Its gonna be a weekly treat!!!

One would think that cooking and tasting dishes is great fun.... Its fun but tiring and when I cook a dish and kick myself for silly mistakes, its funny to hear others talk about things that I think are perfect!!!! hmmmm. Everyone is gonna have an opinion. No more hiding behind a kitchen and not hearing comments!!! Forget about thick skinned.... thick eared!! :)

Await pictures and all your thoughts and comments would be greatly appreciated.

---- My first post. Not going to be as vivid as I am in real life or on facebook. Just gonna talk about food, food and more food!!! YAY!!!

Welcome to Gastro Cafe

Click on followers and get updates on how we are doing!!!

6 people 6 different opinions

Everybody wants the best for the Cafe but try to put 6 differents ideas together....not always fun;)

Thankfully Niroch was quieter than usual because he thinks he has mad cow disease from his big meat tasting session...hahaha

Lots of tasks are still to be reviewed but everything seems to be more tangible.

Andrew is off playing poker for the next 2 weeks in LA...not fair!!! lucky him!! Apparently if he is not back for the opening his parents will be taking his place...wander how his mum and dad will look on Queensway holding a board up saying gastro Cafe here:)

We may change the opening day for a closer date!! Crazy!! Can't wait though to be all up and running...we need a genie in a lamp!!!

THE MENU

Dagmara did a very good job with the layout of the menu.

The questions is what colors are we going to use: PINK and BLACK is what Serena Niroch and Andrew like...

but Priyan, Dagmara and Dimitri are not so keen...

The Question is: Is Pink and Black too Feminine?