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Queen for a Day

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Thank You

Thank You

“Off with their heads,”

the Red Queen was heard to cry over and over again.

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Now the sentiment may have been a little archaic, and not a little ruthless, but the conviction with which those words were uttered has to be admired. Similarly Marie Antoinette was heard to mutter that the starving French populace, in need of basic foodstuff such as bread, should – instead of starving – “eat cake”. So passion and cake combine, in history, in fairy tales and now in Café Hemingway’s (Kyalami, Johannesburg).

Drive passed Kyalami Downs Shopping Centre and you would be forgiven for not even slowing down. It’s unprepossessing to say the least. That is, of course, until your eye is caught by the billowing Bedouin drapes. What frippery is this? You can’t help but be drawn in, even if it’s just for a little explore.

Café Hemingway’s is a delightful surprise secreted away in a corner of Kyalami you may otherwise ignore. The décor, menus and just beautiful bar all speak for themselves, but what will really take you by surprise are the high-teas.

If we have nothing else to thank our colonial forefathers for, we should, abjectly and without reserve thank them for bringing their tea with them to Africa, and as I wander through the café and watch them set a table for a previously booked Marie Antoinette high tea, I can’t help but think we should thank them for this tradition too!

In days of yore, the English had two versions of tea. Afternoon tea which served as a bridge between lunch and supper for the upper classes who would invariably be spending their evening hours at plays or card evenings, before coming home famished late at night to sit down to the meal we now call dinner. This afternoon tea was fairly light, and generally involved not much other than a pastry or two, and of course the obligatory cup of tea.

The lower classes however would work much longer hours and would be able to enjoy their afternoon tea between 3 and 4pm, but as it was pretty rushed, it would generally be served at tall tables or enjoyed while standing, hence the term high tea. It was a little more substantial as they would only be home later and often involved something sweet as well as something meaty (for those who could afford it!). The high-born class decided that they rather liked this idea and so appropriated it for themselves, but of course they made it a lot more lavish than the common man could, and being too posh to stand, it was served seated at table.

Now this little piece of history is being re-enacted with a lot more style and a lot more panache in the delightful Café Hemingway’s.

This modern day high tea, the one lavishly thrown just for you, by the passionate café team is a once in a lifetime experience. Think elaborate towers of croque-en-bouche, bite-size treats stacked layers high, tea served in paper-thin cups and elegance overflowing.

It’s a stunning testament to a bygone time, and it’s something everyone should experience at least once. Combining savoury and sweet treats that run the gamut from traditional to the exotic, each high-tea has its own feel and flavour. Says Café Hemingway’s “Each individual tea has specific crockery selected just for the feel and flow of that menu. Table décor has been designed with each tea in mind, so for example on the Alice in Wonderland tea you can expect crazy coloured tea cups and tea pots as well as table décor that includes rabbits and even a dormouse! Our aim is to make each guest feel special, each tea feel like it’s the only one we’ve ever held. We want to make our guests feel like a Queen for their day”..

“I sell dreams, small comforts, sweet harmless temptations to bring down a multitude of saints crashing among the hazels and nougatines”

DESSERTS AT CAFÉ HEMINGWAY’S!

Café Hemingway’s cakes and desserts (especially the platters) have quickly become the stuff of legend. Their approach is very inclusive and on any one day, while casually sitting sipping a milkshake, you may be asked to try a batch of cookies or cake as they play with new recipes, or get input from customers on how they would like their dessert options structured.

It is not only the passion for delectable treats that make Café Hemingway’s who they are, they really live their approach to community development1 and there’s a thriving kitchen of interns all learning to make ’n bake, as well as more experienced team members who coach them in their quest to become the best in their field.

Café Hemingway’s is a place of contradictions. A rundown shopping centre is home to this world-class gourmet establishment. The fixtures and fittings - all top class - are a sweet juxtaposition to the ethos which drove this café to launch. It’s a business driven by a passion for people, and started with nothing but good intentions and heart; that has managed to turn a world driven by fads and “the next big thing” on its head by becoming the go-to place for a return to old fashioned values and the timeless high-tea

1Café Hemingway’s was founded in December 2014, when Jonathan Wolpe, who had been going to the café since he was a teenager, was told by the owners of what was then a little House of Coffees, that they would be closing. Jonathan didn’t want to see the people he had grown up around unemployed just a few days before Christmas, so he bought the shop, and began development of what would, in two short months, become Café Hemingway’s. The shop now employs more than 30 people with skills development being a core tenant of the enterprise, including barista and bar-tending courses, cooking, baking and frontof-house learning..

Book your high tea for 4 or more, with Café Hemingway’s! Choose between the Marie Antoinette high tea, Great Gatsby high tea, Isabel high tea or Alice in Wonderland high tea!

Marie Antoinette High Tea

“Come, let us have some tea and continue to talk about happy things.” – Chaim Potok.

THE QUEEN’S HIGH TEA, TO BE SHARED WITH ONLY THE MOST FAITHFUL OF COURTIERS AND KINGS.

2x Mini Croquembouche Filled with Decadent White Chocolate Strawberry Mousse & Dark Chocolate Mousse Cake Pop Surprise Macarons 5x Assorted Mini Cakes Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée, with Seasonal Berries & Sugar Truffle Box Meringues Cognac Cake Shot Citrus Lemon Madeleines Three Time Layered Blueberry Cheesecake Mille Feuille Salmon & Cream Cheese Croissants Served With Fresh Greens & Chives Oysters served with Migonette Pearls & Champagne Foam Duck Bruschetta with Foie Gras Mayo & Candied Citrus Zest Open Fillet Sandwich Topped with Strawberry Preserve & Crumbled Feta Saint Emilion Cheese Open Sandwiches Served with Grilled Peaches Sherry Duxelle Mushroom Quiches Topped with Fresh Thyme Prawn Cocktail Vol-Au-Vents Topped with Avo Dust Standard Tea & Coffee

Contact us to book your event! reservations@cafehemingways.co.za

Order your very own cake from the Cake Queen at Café Hemingway’s. Be it a mini cake, naked cake, layered cake, themed cake, or even a wedding cake, let Chef Engela delight you! Flavours include; Red Velvet Cake, Blue Velvet Cake, Black Velvet Cake, Vanilla Cake, Chocolate, Strawberry Cream Cake, Rainbow Cake, Carrot Cake, Double Chocolate Cake, Triple Chocolate Cake with Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting, Fudge Chocolate Cake, Caramel Chocolate Cake, Coffee Cake, Chocolate Mousse Cake, Black Forrest Cake, Ombre Cake, Wild Blueberry Cake, Pink Lemonade Cake, Rose Water Cake, Butter Caramel Popcorn Cake, Caramel Apple Cake, Lemon Mascarpone Cake, Almond Pear Cake, Flourless Dark Chocolate Soufflé Cake with Earl Grey Cream, Chocolate Chip Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, Tiramisu Cake, Hazelnut Praline Cake, Salted Caramel Layer Cake, all flavours of Cheesecake!

+27 (0)11 466 0195 reservations@cafehemingways.co.za

Kyalami Downs Shopping Centre Corner Kyalami Boulevard & Kyalami Main Road (R55), Kyalami, Midrand, 1684

www.cafehemingways.co.za

@HemingwaysJozi www.facebook.com/HemingwaysJozi www.instagram.com/hemingwaysjozi

Photographer Post Production Styling Makeup & Hair Photographer’s Assistant Venue Dress by Project Management Ingrid Alice Irsigler Galina Snitsaruk Karin Orzol Sam Scarborough Johan Bredenkamp Sharon Wolpe Arwen Garmentry Purple Raindrop

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