AT WORK WITH PETTIGREW TEA ROOMS

Pettigrew Tea Rooms is one of those hidden gems of Cardiff, tucked away at the entrance to Bute Park. There is a throwback charm and relaxing atmosphere that can be found past the hustle and bustle of the high street.

For this edition of the series, I spoke with David, founder of the Pettigrew Tea Rooms. David also has a fantastic blog in which he documents his journey from the hotel industry to running his own business.

A typical day at Pettigrew Tea Rooms:
"Following a brilliant 20 months since our opening, thankfully a typical day at the Tea Rooms is pretty full on, from 8am until we turn the lights off at around 8pm. Our job is to make everything seem easy and smooth for the customer, even when from our perspective it feels like chaos. We work hard to ensure a relaxed atmosphere for visitors to Pettigrew, this means getting in early to make sure the scones are baked, fresh soups are prepared and all the little touches are just right. We have a busy coffee morning, followed by the busiest part of our day over lunchtime, which blends right into Afternoon Tea and what we affectionately call 'Cream Tea Hour'. We close the doors around 5pm then, as we are open for seven days of the week, we spend around two hours cleaning the entire building from top to bottom, with a special weekly deep clean to keep the place in top condition."

Where inspiration for cake recipes comes from:
"Every team member takes an interest in what cakes we have, but the real passion and creativity come from our chief baker, Gladys Deschenes. Gladys is inspired by experimentation, utilising seasonal produce to come up with some truly special flavour combinations. Currently, my favourite is Cranberry, Walnut and Pear cake which is baked in a loaf style and also happens to be both gluten free and dairy free."

Pettigrew Tea Rooms one year from now:
"I hope to see us gearing up for another busy period of Christmas Afternoon Teas. Really it is about maintaining our high standards of service, improving the quality and diversity of our menu both savoury items and sweet alike. It would be very nice to be recognised for the efforts of the business, the problem is who has the time to put themselves forwards for awards? I would be very proud to see the current team develop and take on new responsibilities."

"Who knows, there may even be time for a Pettigrew 2."

Much more information can be found on David's blog and the website here.