Green Machine: Gaggia helps Fresh compete in the coffee hotspot
New cafe’s espresso machine has customers talking about bespoke paint job
Ivica Pendaroski (Ivan to his customers) describes his new business, Fresh, as “a local, casual cafe and lunch place with a deli, offering nice, 
freshly prepared food at reasonable prices.” It’s been a big hit with the locals which, since it’s in London’s busy Twickenham, is no mean feat. As a big coffee fan, Ivan was determined to offer the best and specified a Gaggia espresso machine. A green one.
“The green colour was to tie in with the decor,” he says. “There is a whole lot of competition around here – Twickenham seems to be where cafe culture is at, so we decided to offer something different. We aim to give customers a smart, fresh and relaxed environment, quality food and drink, and decent prices.”
Ivan is using the quality of his coffee to build up his business. “We tie it in with promotions – a free espresso with breakfast, coffee and a croissant for £2, and so on. Our coffee is very good, so it’s working really well, generating new business. It doesn’t cost us much in terms of ingredients and customers really like it.”
Fresh is a small venue, with just 18 seats inside. During the week it’s mostly take aways, snacks and drinks. On Saturdays and Sundays there are more diners and they’ll turn the tables two or three times during the day. “I guess on average we serve about 100 people every day,” says Ivan.
Customers are attracted by the wide range of home cooked foods Ivan prepares. “For example, at breakfast we do full English, but it’s grilled, so it’s not greasy. People really like our Egg Benedict and Eggs Royale, too. We do lots of salads and sandwiches – goats’ cheese with roast pepper, courgettes and onion marmalade is a poplar panini. And I cook daily specials, such as paccheri pasta salad with grilled asparagus, courgettes, broccoli and basil pesto dressing.”
The coffee has to match the great food. “I love coffee. When I started the cafe I knew what I wanted – not any machine, it had to be a Gaggia.”
Ivan went to specialist supplier Rich Coffee and selected a Gaggia D90. This two-group head machine, capable of serving up to four espresso shots at once, is a top of the range commercial model. It has a 13 litre boiler, with a capacity of up to 300 x 150cc shots per hour, and steam wands fitted with turbo nozzles to quickly produce a high quality silky latte milk or creamy cappuccino foam.
“It makes great espresso, it’s very reliable and easy to operate and look after,” he says. “We serve all the standards; latte is our best seller, while flat white is the local ‘on trend’ choice. We’re now looking at specialty coffees too – iced, syrups and so on.”
Since Ivan wanted the machine to match the Fresh decor, Rich Coffee arranged to have it painted green.
“Fresh is a really successful business in a very competitive area,” says Richard Millar of Rich Coffee. “It’s great to see a start up cafe with a genuinely fresh approach doing so well. The bespoke paint job on the machine is not as unusual as you might think – we get quite a few customers asking for it. It’s specialist work using specialist paints, of course, but it’s an increasingly popular option.”
“The green Gaggia looks great – customers are always commenting on the look of the machine,” says Ivan.
Fresh Deli & Cafe is at 25 Heath Road, TW1 4AW.
London-based Rich Coffee is an authorised Gaggia distributor. For more information call 0845 475 0707or visit www.richcoffee.co.uk.
The Gaggia range of espresso coffee machines and ancillary equipment is marketed in the UK by Watermark. It is available through catering equipment distributors and coffee specialists. Watermark is currently expanding its distributor network. For information and brochures phone Gaggia Watermark on 01494 785758, email info@watermark.uk.com or visit www.watermark.uk.com