Friday 18th June: Mouse and De Lotz - dey got da lot!

My first ever time attending Brownies aged 7 was a cookery lesson on how to make not chocolate brownies but chocolate "Tiffin" cake. I have been hooked to this crack cake ever since. So far the only places I have found that can provide anything up to my standard grade are The Kemptown Deli
and Kalender Cafe..............or the fair hands of Maki Lou Lou. So, as soon as I found out that the new cafe opening up next door served up "tiffin" I cut thru any preliminary polite protocol when I met co-owner and chef Nadya (Mouse) .........I wanted clear, concise answers...........are raisins on the ingredients?..........this is essential but overlooked............answer: "NOT RAISINS BUT DATES"............HOLD THE SIEVE AND STOP BAKING, WHAT DID YOU SAY?..............DATES?..............AND GINGER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The proof is in the pudding..........which I sampled and rellished earlier today at the first day of opening up shop! For the past couple of weeks, I have been lurking round the premises like a Patrick Wolf fan stalking the steps of the Shepherds Bush Empire days before a gig. I have been so excited about the chance to sip a Square Mile coffee and munch on slice of heaven...........or sample a woopie pie which is the new trend in bakery - a hybrid of the cupcake and scone. Both Verity Keefe and Craig Lawrence cannot comment or give me a quote on tasting this delicacy as they have been put into a raspberry butter cream coma since sinking its sharp sweetness. However Verity did liken it to the experience of imaging what a Whizz Pop Cookie might taste like if she had encountered Moon Face on the Faraway Tree to slide down the slippery slip............
Aside from the sweets, the entrenpeneurs also serve up savoury moments for lunch such as Hot Salt Beef w/mini pickles, smoked salmon on rye and cheese on toast with mustard. But lets get back to the sweet stuff..............for breakfast you can pick up a saucer size toasted tea cake with home-made rhubarb and ginger jam. Business starts at 8 o'clock so there's plenty of time to stop off before you slope into work...............or come back at the weekend when there may well be story telling sessions or even an evening supper club to meet like-minded foodies.

Here you can see the beautiful decor and mural painted by artist / jewellery designer Hela Dondertman who was brought on board via Victoria's sister Jessica De Lotz. This is the link to the small world of fashion, food and general East London goings on..........when I went to Hannah Marshall's last preview night, I sniffed out and detected that Alistair Guy had a parcel of Tiffin.............which he had acquired from his friend embarking on a cafe enterprise on my road.................. his friend being Jessica who sells her jewellery at Kabiri alongside mine..........and here we are a few months down the line and its OPEN!

I can see this is not going to be the last of my reporting from next door....to sample for yourself, take a right at Nando's, give it a wide birth and wander up to Mouse & De Lotz, 103 Shacklewell Lane, E8
Fred rating: ****