News

Marketing is considered a bit of a dark art, especially integrating all of the new online elements of the marketing mix with more traditional techniques. In this post I explain how I have approached marketing and specifically review podcasts I have been using to develop my strategy. Continue reading →

It’s been a warm weekend here in Harrogate and it’s been great to be able to make full use of our south facing outside seating area – which gets the sun all day long when it’s out. It can sometimes get too hot for comfort though and rather than drink hot drinks we think people will want something cooler, well we’ve been working on some new concoctions for just such an occasion. Continue reading →

‘The Foodie Bugle’ started life as an online magazine and has recently translated into their first print edition. I’ve actually had my copy for some time now but I wanted to read it cover to cover before I back it in sticky back plastic (like at school) and put it out on the magazine rack for you all to take a look at. Continue reading →

Our new Koldtbords offer us ways to give you even more of a taste of Scandinavia , we can’t wait to get started…. Continue reading →

We’ve got a barista who needs to practice, you like coffee – put those together and you get free coffee hours every night this week. Continue reading →

Breakfast has been on our minds for a while at Baltzersen’s……. Continue reading →

We’ve been open for nearly six months already, how the time has flown by, so we felt it was time to take a look at the menu and make a few improvements. We’ll be taking you through our thought process and introducing some new items this week, starting today with our new savoury bakery options. Continue reading →

After a busy December, most of which we spent short-staffed in the kitchen (more about this later), I am climbing back on my blogging and social media horse and this time I am determined to stay on for good.  Enough … Continue reading →

Our baristas are becoming increasingly proficient at getting our coffee to your table tasting great and looking even better. We wanted to develop a new addition to the menu that offered something for the non-coffee drinkers and we felt that the chai latte, with it’s use of exotic spices common in Scandinavian cuisine, was the obvious choice. Continue reading →

This week has provided something of a wake up call…. Continue reading →

So it’s been a month since we opened the doors and in that time we have welcomed so many great people to the café it’s It’s been fantastic to finally get some feedback on the décor, food and feel of the place. Continue reading →

We have sorted most of our crockery from the incredibly helpful folk at Fishers Catering Supplies outside York, but there are two items that we just couldn’t source.

Today we went to see Adam Wild from Wildwood Gifts hoping to find the solution to one of our problems: what do we serve our incredible Scandinavian waffles on? Continue reading →

At the end of building week 9 we are now starting to see some real progress.

Over the last month we haven’t posted on the blog for a number of reasons but primarily because all the changes that we see on a weekly basis can’t really be noticed as much on photos. Continue reading →

Well it’s been another busy week. Continue reading →

On Friday 20 Jul 12 the One Show’s Jay Rayner delivered a piece on Scandinavian food, I couldn’t watch live but caught up today on iPlayer. The piece started with a positive and upbeat tone but didn’t finish in the same manner. Continue reading →

We have had our minds set on sourcing some vintage furniture for the shop for some time now and we knew where we wanted to get it from. EU Vintage is Bouk Maijer’s retro European furniture company and fortunately for us it’s warehouse is based just outside Ripon. Continue reading →

We thought it was about time we let people know what they can expect once the hoardings come down and Baltzersen’s opens. We asked our designer Dan Gardner to create this poster explaining what we plan to do, and for those of you who can’t take a walk along Oxford Street here it is: Continue reading →

Well it’s been a couple of weeks since my last post and I thought I should give a bit of an update on where we are with the building work. Continue reading →

So 276 days after I first viewed the premises, 198 days since we submitted a planning application, and 108 days since planning permission was granted we have finally signed the lease!

Our builders are due to start on Monday but before they arrive we thought we would get on with some of the labouring, in particular taking down stud walls to open up the back of the building to more light. Continue reading →

Heather Linnett at Eclectic Chair doesn’t mess about and has completed my egg style chair project in double quick time. So, here are some photos of the finished article – just the small matter of building a café to house it now!! Continue reading →

Today I met with fellow new business owner and brains behind Harrogate’s newest interior design company LimeLace – Sam King. We were meeting to see if we could help each other out. Continue reading →

We are closing inch by inch on finally agreeing the lease for the café, it should be signed any day now. In the meantime we have been thinking about the interior and how we would like it to look. Continue reading →

The stray played host to the Northern StrEats a street food collective that offered a diverse collection of foods offered from mobile catering units. Continue reading →

Over the last two days I have attended ‘Caffe Culture 2012’ at Olympia. The show is a café trade exhibition that provides a platform for businesses to offer a wide range of café related products (equipment, food, drinks, packaging and much more). Continue reading →

Welcome to my first blog. I am Katie, Paul’s wife, you can expect to see me working in Baltzersen’s at the weekend but in the week I work as a Registered Dietitian in the NHS. My job necessitates a great interest in food and its links to health and disease, in my blogs I will write about a balanced diet and the benefits of the ‘Scandi’ approach. .
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My Great-Grandmother, Ingeborg, attended Housewife school in Norway in 1917 and whilst she was there she began writing a recipe book. The book is a record of everything a house wife needs to know about managing a household. This book has been passed down to my Father and he has kindly allowed me to borrow it. I am going to start testing the recipes each week and I will post recipes and pictures here on the blog. Continue reading →

Ever since I have been on my bread baking course at the School of Artisan Food in Nottinghamshire my life has changed. Continue reading →

There are many things that can and will delay a project like Baltzersen’s and today was one of those days that leave you incredibly frustrated. Continue reading →

Today I visited the Veteran’s Bakery, a new artisan bakery that has opened in Catterick Garrison and is staffed by former members of the Armed Forces. The bakery is located in ‘The Beacon’, an initiative of housing association Riverside ECHG which provides temporary housing, training and specialist support to ex-servicemen and women who are at risk of homelessness. Continue reading →

Taking a lease on a commercial building for the first time is a difficult process, especially if you are new to building works and dealing with potential contractors. The building on 22 Oxford Street is in various states of repair depending on which room/floor you are on but one major problem on the basement level is damp. Continue reading →

I have recently ben experimenting with some of the food that you can expect to see on the menu in the Cafe. Continue reading →

The start of a new week was also an opportunity to do some research and networking down in ‘the big smoke’. Accompanied by the Baltzersen’s Food Service Consultant (AKA my Dad) we headed to London’s docklands and the Excel exhibition centre for Hotelympia, a trade show for food service and hospitality. Continue reading →

I have been lucky enough to receive from my Dad this week some photos of my Grandma and extended Norwegian family growing up in Sauda in the 1940s. Continue reading →

The last four days I have been away, with my trusty food service consultant (and Father) on an Artisan baking course at the School of Artisan Food, based at Welbeck in Nottinghamshire. It was a strange experience going to Welbeck because it is 10 years ago this year that I finished two years studying for my A levels at what was previously called the Army Sixth Form College at the same location. Continue reading →

This evening I decided to go along, with Brother-in-Law John in tow, to the inaugural Home Barista training session at Laynes Espresso by Leeds Central Station.  The aim was to build upon our coffee knowledge, but also make some coffee … Continue reading →

Today I began the search for suppliers by visiting a number of bakeries and butchers. The absolute highlight of the day was the visit to Kolos Bakery in Bradford. The story of the bakery has featured on Radio 4.
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I have attended a few sessions on ‘business’ as part of my preparation for leaving the Army and one of the books recommended to me was ‘The E Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to do About It’ by Michael Gerber. Continue reading →

Baltzersen’s, or more specifically I, have today become part of the ‘Real Bread’ campaign. Continue reading →

We have been away an a 48hr whirlwind trip to Oslo to do some research; specifically on the food available in cafes in Norway’s capital and also the style and décor. Continue reading →

I thought I should include the bare details of a meeting I had today with the graphic designer who is working with me on this project. This meeting was the culmination of a couple of months of to and fro with respect to the branding of the business. We finally chose a number of the key elements of branding that will be used to define its identity. Continue reading →

I thought that after ushering in 2012 in a quiet way with my wife, my brother-in-law (John) and his wife (Erika) I should write my first proper blog entry – it’s going to be a busy year.

So….where are we? Continue reading →

Welcome, my name is Paul Rawlinson and this is my blog about starting up a small business in Harrogate.
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