Staff goodbyes and welcomes all in one week!

Huge changes coming up in the cafe with our Sunday staff Bronnie, Candace and Maddie leaving the Island this week (Chynna has already gone off to Perth).  This means that for the time being, sadly we will be unable to operate on Sundays.
We have had such fun over the past couple of years, Chynna and Candace keeping Bronnie and I entertained with their music and antics.  Bronnie has been an amazingly reliable member of staff, she is always coming in with great ideas and she approaches each Sunday with renewed enthusiasm speeding through the morning at an amazing pace.  Candace and Chynna have gone from being ‘OK’ workers to being a dynamic pair who work confidently and accurately, always enthusiastic and great company. I shall miss them all very much.

I was concerned that I may have to operate the café by myself or close the doors with so many staff moving on so I was over the moon last week when Di walked through the doors of the cafe looking for work.  She worked at Dory's for a while last year and it was great to have her on the team. She was unsure of her future at that stage but is now back on Island full time and able to work with us from Monday to Friday. You will see her friendly face out front as she enjoys making coffee and talking to customers.

Brenda is another life saver.  She also came along last week looking for work and was welcomed with open arms. Claire has been teaching her about the goings on in the kitchen and we are going to put her previous experience in the food industry to good use in the coming months. If anyone would like their house cleaned please contact Brenda at the cafe as she is looking for

as much work as possible (my words, not hers!). 

With two new members of staff on board I feel better prepared for Claire going on holiday in February! The next few weeks will be spent re grouping and we will hopefully come up with some great new ideas for the future.

Michelle and Clint left for Perth on Friday. They will be back in 3 months for their on Island wedding. What a beautiful couple they are! 

Persian Love Cake for Lexa

Harry, Lexa and the kids leave tomorrow having made wonderful contributions to the Island as well as being regulars at Dory's Cafe. Charlotte and Sabrina (the ballarina) love their cakes and milkshakes while Nick has a more discerning pallet and goes for things like miso soup.  Lexa has asked me for the recipe for Persian Love Cake in the past, as the whole family loves that but I have not been forthcomming!.  Here it is as a farewell present. 

Persian Love Cake

360 g (3 cups) almond meal

220g (1 cup) raw sugar

220g (1 cup) soft brown sugar

120g unsalted butter

2 eggs lightly beaten

250g Greek yoghurt

1 tablespoon freshly grated nutmeg

45g (1/4 cup) pistachios coarsely chopped

1.Preheat oven to 180 degs

2.Combine almond meal, butter, sugar and tsp salt in a bowl, then rub with fingertips until coarse breadcrumbs form

3.Spoon half the mix into a lightly buttered and bakingpaper lined 26 cm springform  pan gently pressing to evenly cover base. 

4.Add egg, yoghurt and nutmeg to remaining crumble mix and beat with a wooden spoon until creamy. Pour over prepared base, smooth top, scatter pistachios around the edge and bake for 30 – 35 mins until golden.

5.Cool completely and serve with extra Greek yogyurt.

Look alike film stars at Dory's Cafe

Jose', Cocos Beach Motel's famous chef came in to the cafe today with his new glasses on.  He now looks very much like Johnny Depp. 

 Another look alike film star is Claire, Dory's gorgeous assistant manager.  She has now lost 10.7 kilos and is looking like a young version of Demmi Moore!

The consumption of coffee at the cafe has dramatically decreased since the weekend - I think Digger going on holiday may explain why.

Mike, our informative weatherman is due to leave the Island on Friday. We will miss him very much as he has been an almost daily visitor to the cafe since the doors opened. He in fact,  visited the cafe hoping to get a coffee several times before we opened too! We hope you find a nice little cafe to visit on Norfolk Island Mike and wish you all the best for the future.

First post and aim of the blog

I'm hoping this blog will keep interested people up to date with Cocos news as seen from the cafe! So many amazing things happen on this little Island and I aim to document some of the happenings that may be of interest to locals, ex residents and tourists alike.  I'm off to work today to have a chat with the rest of the staff to see what we can come up with for our first update.  Stay tuned....