Audit time (Rural Kitchen, Brooke)

Rural Kitchen,

Brooke,

Open Mon-Tues, Thurs-Sat 8:00-21:00,

Highly Recommended

With summer drawing to an end and the opportunity for outdoor activity starting to decrease then it's time to start planning my indoor programme. Top of the list is to have a full audit of all the cafes on my visited list. I have about 270 entries on my active list and map. I know a few of these have closed or changed hands so I plan to tidy the list up to the best of my ability. I sometimes wake up in a cold sweat imagining someone finding a cafe on my list, cycling there only to find it has closed and their ride ends up with no cake.

As well as removing now closed cafes from the list I need to revisit ones that our now under new ownership. I started this mission recently by going to the OB (formally Cadence) cafe in Old Buckenham (see 3rd time lucky) as it had changed hands. 

Another cafe on my list was the imaginarily named "The Cafe" in Brooke as I knew it had been sold. I had been there at least half a dozen times before and it was highly recommended so I was hoping it would still be good.

I took Mrs Crusader as my cycling guest for the 30 mile loop. On arrival I was pleased to see that the cafe had a rather better name of the Rural Kitchen. It had also expanded its range as it opens until 9pm serving Bistro style food. However I was here to check out the hot drinks and cake.

Outside The Rural Kitchen in Brooke

The set up was as before with an indoor and outdoor seating area. We opted to make the most of the sunshine and sat outside.

First I checked out the effective cake selection (ECS), which was a good one, with some unusual options along with the standard chocolate, lemon and carrot cake (3 of the sponge cake big 5). I went for ginger and lime while I got Mrs Crusader a slice of courgette and lemon as I liked the sound of it.

Some of today's Cake selection

Our refreshments soon turned up. My hot chocolate was a fairly average one but Mrs Crusader thought her Americano was very good. On the cake front I felt both cakes were very nice, light and moist although I could have done with a bit more ginger. I had had it confirmed that they were all proper homemade which is always a plus.

I added up the scores which, apart from the hot chocolate, were very in line with its old ratings and I would still highly recommend a visit.
I was pleased my Cycle Cafe Audit was off to a good start (if anyone know of any errors on my current cafe list then please let me know) however its about to go back on hold as this weekend I set off for a 5 ride week of cycling in the French Alps where I will again be looking to add to my list of the best cafes to be found at top of mountains plus continuing my search for the ultimate croissant.

Scores

Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Effective Cake Selection	Cake Quality	Ambiance and Atmosphere	Café Rating
6.0	7.5	7.3	7.8	7.35	7.19

Route

Click link to down load 30 mile Norwich Poringland gpx file for your GPS

Looks like rain. (K'Teas Cafe, Poringland)

K’Teas Cafe,

Poringland,

Opening times Mon-Fri 09:00-15:30

When I checked the weather forecast for today's cafe cycle ride it didn't look promising as rain was forecast throughout the day. The only positive was that it was saying only one blob for the first hour before moving on to two blobs for the rest of the time.

Rain forecast all day

Obviously I would never call off a planned cafe cycle ride due to a bit of rain, especially if it starts with only one blob, but it is not always straight forward to persuade a cycling guest (who I need for an official cafe review) that spending two to three hours getting cold and wet is a fun idea. Fortunately today's cycling guest was Big George and he is from Scotland where rain is a way of life, so was more than happy to set off on our trip.

We decided to limit our ride to a shorter than normal 30 mile route (we're not mad) taking in the newly opened K'Teas in the Poringland community centre. 

Despite having followed all my wet weather cycling guest cycling top tips it wasn't long before we were soaked. Just as I thought we couldn't get any wetter the rain got heavier so well done to the BBC weather site as they had predicted the rain moving up to the 2 blob level exactly on time, just a sham their sunshine track record isn't so hot.

When we got to Poringland I knew exactly where to go as I had visited the Cafe when it was under different management and called Frog on the Pond (see Cake Tuesday). It is at the back of the Poringland community centre. 

Outside K'Teas cafe which you can just make out through the rain

Dripping wet we went inside and straight to the counter to check out the cakes and award the effective cake selection (ECS) score. There was a lemon cake, some scones and cupcakes meaning the cake selection, and therefore ECS mark, were rather small. There was also only a choice of filter or instant coffee. I chose lemon cake with my hot chocolate and Big George a fruit scone with his coffee.

Rather small cake selection

We selected a table in the indoor seating area and I picked up the menu that had an introductory piece about the cafe and new team in charge. I love a good cafe name pun so assumed K'Teas was run by someone called Katie. Very good, I thought, until the menu told me that Karen and Keith were in charge, which was a bit of a let down, they could at least have pretending someone called Katie was involved.

Nice and bright indoor seating area at back of the community centre

Our drinks soon arrived but as mine was a standard Cadbury's drinking chocolate, and we never did decide if Big George had had filter or instant coffee, then the drinks quality marks were not too high although they did warm us up as we tried to dry off.

Drinks

My lemon cake was very nice and although Big Georges scone wasn't fresh out the oven the cake taste quality mark was good.

Cake and scone ready for tasting

Although we delayed setting off again as long as possible the rain was still hammering down so we reluctantly put back on our wet jackets and set off for our final drenching, which we duly received. I'm hoping all of my other cycling guest take note of Big George's excellent example and don't winge next time it is raining on a planned cafe cycle ride day.

Scores

Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Effective Cake Selection	Cake Quality	Ambiance and Atmosphere	Café Rating
5.50	4.50	4.50	6.00	5.00	5.10

Today's route

Click link to down load 30 mile Norwich Poringland gpx file for your GPS

On the Buses. (Blakeys Bus Cafe, Mulbarton)

Blakeys Bus Cafe,

Mulbarton,

Opening times Mon-Fri 09:30-16:00

Sat 09:30-15:30

Recommended 

After the Easter storm, when Chris (Mrs Crusader) asked not to be given any chocolate eggs then ate all mine instead, it was good that things had calmed down enough for us to go on a cafe cycle ride today.

The word out on the cafe street was that a new venture had recently opened in the nearby village of Mulbarton and, more interestingly, it was bus based. I therefore felt this would make an ideal venue for a 30 mile ride today.

Once kitted up and out on our bikes we found that we had to work pretty hard as despite the course being a loop we seemed to be cycling into the wind most of the time. With the cafe stop coming towards the end of the loop we were both pretty tired and in need of refreshments as we pulled into Mulbarton and found Blakeys Cafe Bus parked up near the common.

Arriving at Blakeys Cafe Bus

As you can see the cafe is actually a Bus. It is permanently parked there so sadly not available to be taken on a Cliff Richard style summer holiday (ask your parents). As we arrived my cafe skills came to the fore as I heard a party of mothers and young daughters heading across the car park towards us. I knew we had to beat them inside so as to get our order in first or potential have a long wait. Without a moment to be lost we quickly dumped our bikes in the pleasant looking outdoor seating area and headed in to secure our seat on board as the bus cafe was clearly busy today.

Outdoor seating area where we dumped our bikes

We were greeted by a waitress/conductor next to the downstairs kitchen and shown upstairs were all the indoor seating is. On the way up the stairs we went past a good looking cake selection with some special Easter based cakes leading me to award a good effective cake selection (ECS) mark.

Cake selection fridge on the bus stairs

Having never been in a bus based cafe before it was hard to know what sort of atmosphere and ambiance (AAA) score to give. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful and there were good views over the common, but buses are not that big so it felt a little cramped however the longer I was there the more I warmed to it so eventually gave a good AAA score.

Upstairs on the bus overlooking the common

On the drinks front my Hot Chocolate and Chris's Mocha were both nice but could have both been a bit stronger for top marks. 

Todays drinks

To make sure I did get to eat something Easter based this year I opted for chocolate Easter cake while Chris went for Coffee and Walnut. When they arrived I made sure I ate all the chocolate decorations on my cake before Chris had a chance to spot any and make me hand them over. Both our cakes were good and I especially liked the fresh fruit garnish and choice of cream (pouring, clotted, whipped) that came with it.

Cakes with nice fruit garnish

Blakeys bus cafe is certainly a welcome addition to the local cafe scene and it was great to see it so busy. I certainly recommend a visit if you want something a bit different from your standard cafe venue.

Once home I finished my letter to the Easter Bunny to make sure he ignores any 'No Easter Eggs for me' nonsense from Mrs Crusader next year.

Scores based on last 3 visits (last one 11/03/22)

Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Effective Cake Selection	Cake Quality	Ambiance and Atmosphere	Café Rating
6.00	7.1	7.15	7.40	7.10	6.95

Today's route

Click link to download 30 mile Norwich Poringland gpx file for your GPS

Cake Crusader Sportive 17. (30 miles Poringland via Acorn tearooms)

Sportive 17,

Acorn Tearooms,

Poringland,

Opening times Everyday 10-4,

 Recommended

It had been a quiet few weeks on the cafe cycle front as the excitement from my world record attempt died down and normal cycling service started to be resumed. However things were about to go cake crusader cafe cycle crazy (CCCCC) as over the next few days four rides were planned. The first of these was today's sportive to the Acorn Tearooms at the Royal Oak pub in Poringland.

I wasn't sure how many riders were joining me today as the signing up process had consisted of a series of excuses and maybe's this, combined with a forecast of rain, could mean I would be doing the sportive by myself, in which case I wouldn't be bothering posting about it.

Clearly someone must have turned up or you wouldn't be reading this now and in fact I was surprisingly joined by 5 sportive guests at race HQ.

Today's sportive guests

Three of today's riders, Mick, Chris (Mrs Crusader) and Gwyn had recently been on a bicycle maintenance for beginners course meaning we would be in safe hands if there were any mechanicals on the ride today. The course was clearly excellent as when Gwyns chain came off, before we had gone a few yards, she was able to put it back on, eventually, without assistance and we were back on our way.

Gwyn finally managing to complete getting her chain back on

Most of the ride was spent with my sportive cycling guests complaining about how far it was to the cafe stop, as it came towards the end of the ride, and uttering comments such as 'there must be a quicker route to the cafe than this'. I suggested that on that basis they could always have gone in the car but this would be missing the point of going on an actual bike ride. With my point well made we finally arrived at the Acorn tearooms at the Royal Oak pub. Despite all the moaning and the dull and windy conditions, there was general agreement that it had been a good route on some nice quiet country lanes and we were definitely ready to cake.

Arriving at the entrance to Acorn Tearooms

We parked up are bikes and went inside where Mrs Acorn was on hand to give us her usual warm welcome whilst we reviewed the good cake selection and ordered our drinks. 

Good selection of proper sponge cakes

We took a table for six in the corner and entered into the traditional debate as to if the Acorn tearooms at the Royal Oak pub felt more like a tea room or a pub that serves cake. As on previous visits the jury was split although as they have a stained glass indoor window with tearoom written on it and had put a table cloth on the pool table it felt all tearoom to me.

Indoor stain glass window clearly saying tearoom

I was pleased to see that everyone had ordered a different hot drink so I would get a good view on the accuracy of the guest hot drink quality (GHDQ) rating and was looking forward to a lively and informative debate.

An excellent selection of guest hot drinks

Gwyn had ordered a cup of Earl Grey tea and wanted to award it 8 out of 10. I explained this was not possible as cafe cycle reviewing rules clearly state that there is a cap of 7 on a cup of tea rating as at the end of the day it is just a cup of tea. So I scored it as a 7. Gwyn was not happy with this approach and said that in that case she only wanted to give it a 6 out of 7. Once again I had to explain it didn't work like that as it was a cap of 7 not out of 7. Gwyn was now quite agitated and insistent about her score being 6 so I was forced to suggest that if she was not happy with my scoring approach maybe she would like to start up her own tea based blog in which case she could implement a tea rating system of her choice. I noted her drink as a 7 and moved on to gather the other guests hot drink thoughts as they clearly agreed with me or didn't care.

After a lively and informative debate, in which there was a wide range of views on the different coffees, I collected all the scores and the average came out to the same GHDQ score as of my previous visit making drinks GHDQ scoring today all a bit of a waste of time really. 

Excellent cake

We all thought our cakes, especially the sticky toffee one, were very good and once all the remaining category scores were entered then the Acorn tearooms had ended up with the same score as when I visited before once again proving the consistency of my rating system. The Acorn Tearooms at the Royal Oak pub proved a very welcome stop after a 'long' ride on a cold day and remains in my recommended category, definitely worth a visit and as a bonus you can play the tearoom vs pub that serves cake game.

We set off home in the drizzle with the first of the CCCCC rides successfully completed. The only disappointment was that Gwyn, Mick and Chris had not had any further mechanicals with which to demonstrate their bicycle maintenance beginners skills. Before the next ride I may deliberately deflate Chris's (Mrs Crusader's) back tyre to see what her pumping up ability is now like.

Scores for Acorn Tearooms at the Royal Oak pub after two visits

Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Effective Cake Selection	Cake Quality	Ambiance and Atmosphere	Café Rating
7.5	7.00	6.50	7.50	6.50	7.00

Map of route

Click link to down load 30 mile Norwich Poringland gpx file for your GPS

Warm down. (Willow gallery cake and coffee corner, Poringland)

Willows Gallery,

Poringland,

Everyday 10:00-17:00

After the excitement of four times world Ironman champion Chrissie Wellington's recommended ride (see Celebrity cyclist Chrissie Wellington Recommends Church gate tea room) earlier this week it was back to a more normal ride today. However today's guest Chris (wife) is also a triathlon champion winning the 2012 North Walsham 45+ ladies age group super sprint (beating 3 other old ladies to the title). So today was a bit like a cafe cycle warm down.

I have found that in the winter you are limited to only a few hours of safe and reasonably warm ride time each day so I selected a 30 mile loop to the Willow Gallery cake and coffee corner just outside Poringland, which falls nicely in the winter cycling goldilocks zone.

You may remember from previous posts I had generously given my old bike sat nav to Chris rather than auction it on E-bay to raise money towards my latest new bike fund. This has proved a foolish decision as I have to spend much of each ride getting it set up correctly for her. Today she kept wanting to take us across fields as it was in 'as the crow flies mode'. As I can't fly like a crow (although crows can't ride a bike so I don't feel too bad) this was not very helpful and I insisted we stick to the road. Despite this we managed to successfully find our way to The Willow Gallery just outside Poringland which advertised tea, coffee and cake on a sign by the road.

In the out door seating courtyard area outside the Willow  Gallery

The Willow Gallery mainly does ceramics but also has a cake and coffee corner providing hot drinks and cakes. Outside there is a spacious outdoor courtyard seating area but it was too cold for that so we went inside. As always I went to check out the cakes so I could award the effective cake selection (ECS) rating. Unfortunately I was informed that they were currently waiting for the cakes to arrive so there were only a few left. Fortunately there was some nice looking carrot cake so I ordered that. This only left the millionaire shortbread, chocolate brownie or flapjack and for cake quality reviewing purposes it is important not to both order the same cake. Therefore Chris unknowingly took one for the team and I ordered her the shortbread. 

Remaining cakes as new ones were on the way

On the drinks front the Willow Gallery only does coffee by the carafe so Chris couldn't have her normal mocha meaning we both had hot chocolate.

Drinks and cakes, clearly showing who had the better cake deal

The hot chocolate was certainly hot and of a good quality. The carrot cake was very good and I enjoyed it very much. After finishing her shortbread Chris said it wasn't as good as the cake looked. I pointed out that as calories don't count on a Friday she could order the last piece of carrot cake and have that. Apparently it was now too late for that particular solution so we paid and set off home. Later on I worked out that I was meant to have swapped my delicious cake for her shortbread, the clues were all there and one day I will learn how to solve them.

The Willow Gallery cake and coffee corner was a nice add on to a lovely gallery but not a full blown cafe or tearoom. Worth a visit especially at this time of year for those difficult to buy Christmas presents.

During today's ride there was plenty of Egg News. Just to remind you that you now get this as Egg News Flashes on my new Twitter account. Cake Crusander@cafecycletour so please follow me there so as not to miss out. 

Scores for Willow Gallery cake and coffee corner

Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Effective Cake Selection	Cake Quality	Ambiance and Atmosphere	Café Rating
7.0	n/a	5.0	7.0	6.0	6.25

Map of route

Click link to down load 30 mile Norwich Poringland gpx file for your GPS