Kaf coffee is celebrating 10 years as a staple on the Glasgow food scene.
Tell me about your career so far and what inspired you to get into the coffee and bakery business?
I started kaf nearly 10 years ago now. I had been to Berlin and Iceland where the speciality coffee scene was really developing and just loved it. I loved the coffee, loved the bakes, loved the atmosphere and wanted to create something similar at home. I had been working in hospitality for a few years before taking the plunge so I had a good knowledge base to get started.
It was important to me that I could cover every area of the business from making brunch to jumping on the coffee machine. During Covid I adapted the business model and for me this was a great decision as from that point kaf really developed into the business I wanted to run.
kaf coffee is one of Glasgow’s best specialty coffee shop and bakeries. How do you stay at the top of your game in such a competitive industry?
We really just try our best to be consistent. Trends come and go but reliability is so important. We want to be creative but at the same time have the trust of our customers to be dependable in quality.
How would you describe your baked goods and what is a customer favourite?
I would describe them as comforting and well balanced. Customer favourites would be our pain au chocolat, our boxed granola and the cubanos - our savoury pastry based on the toasted sandwich, with ham, two types of cheese, mustard and gherkin.
In 2024, kaf coffee was among six Glasgow pastry shops listed on renowned gastronomic guide ‘La Liste Best Bakeries in the World’. What did that recognition mean to you?
That was extremely exciting and a big surprise. It meant a lot for a French institution to recognise our baking at that level. It also came at the same time we were included in the publication Britain’s Best Bakeries by Milly Kenny-Ryder which was also incredible.
Who do you admire/take inspiration from in business?
There’s so many great bakeries all over the UK. We love Toad and Don’t Tell Dad, both based down in London. Closer to home, I’ve always loved Cottonrake and what Darcie is doing with Lannan in Edinburgh is extraordinary. Lewis at Dune Bakery in South Queensferry is growing rapidly and it’s really impressive what he’s doing there too.
Where is your favourite place to eat in Scotland?
My favourite restaurant is The Palmerston, I’m lucky to call Lloyd and James friends but what they’ve created is fantastic. Lloyd’s menus never fail and they make the best bread in the world (in my opinion).
How important is it for your company to champion women and give back to the local community?
I very much wanted a calm environment for women to work within at kaf. I’d had my fair share of working in kitchens with old school toxic masculinity and it had always felt like unnecessary energy. I always hope that we’re setting a standard or an example for how we can work as a team and that people will carry that forward into their next jobs. We’re always learning though!
How would you describe the modern cafe culture today?
It’s definitely become very aesthetics based. Lots of modern cafes are beautifully fitted out with high-end finishes and top-end equipment. I suppose this reflects the internet culture of being seen in aesthetically pleasing places on socials. Cafes have also become just as integral to our lives as restaurants so I guess the level of spec has become much more similar to restaurant-level.
Have you anything special coming up you’d like to share?
A couple of brilliant things have happened as of late. Our granola achieved a second star this year in the Great Taste Awards, of which I’m immensely proud. My dream would be to get it into supermarkets one day. If anyone has experience in this and would like to help me then please get in touch!
I’m also really pleased to be setting up kaf caters with Lyle who’s been cooking and managing at Kaf since the very start. He has been the mastermind behind all the infamous food we used to make during our brunch days and nowadays it’s our popular take-home deli sections. Lyle has been taking additional catering work at kaf for some time now, specialising in bespoke work for parties and for brands.
The obvious next step was to set up a new business for this together - he’s such a talent and a great friend.