Spotlight: Common Ground Coffees and Decadent Eatery

Decadent have long been a supporter of our magazine and we are just blown away by their passion and dedication to the bean and all things Decadent :) Jacques Badenhorst, chef at Decadent, filled us in on their journey and what one can expect on discovering them!

Elna, my wife (also a Chef) took over food and beverage operations at Decadent Coffee shop about 9 months ago. Elna studied at CTIA in Capetown at Spier and her roots are French Cuisine. My training on the other hand was more Corporate and my roots are a lot more modern. We changed Decadent Coffee Shop to Decadent Eatery, an Eatery where French meets Modern. We have also been nominated for Rosetta's by Restaurant Association of South Africa (RASA). We don't want to be caught up in that and our main focus is playing with modern french cuisine, our patrons, and we are even starting to play with Neuro-Gastronomy.

Under Decadent we have a few extra legs 1.) Dinner @te - exclusive dinners from a 9 to 13 course, where coffee is served as a course. We feature certain meat produce, Well known Chefs and live band and amazing surprises in the food we produce, more of a molecular gastronomy approach. 2.) Vor-Horst - This is our own Private Label, ranging from spices, to pickled products, Charcuterie an finishing salt and even sauces - aimed at the higher end market. 3.) Pop_up Eatery - A dining experience. - We host Pop-up Eateries, anytime, any place, any idea, any where and only exclusive.

Common Ground Coffees was founded by Francois Vorster. Francois' passion for excellent coffee is the key in this business. Francois uses a Genio Roaster, designed by Neil Maree, Francois also uses Cropster Roast Profiling System, to ensure the quality of each roast. Common Ground Coffees is also endorsed by ChefMLK, also known as Chef Martin Kobald. Martin also endorsed JC Le Roux, Living Brands, he is also in charge of the Global Pizza Challange, Honorary Past President of the South African Chefs Association, Continental Director of World Association of Chefs societies, Martin is also well know as a TV Celebrity and has a big network of Chefs and Hoteliers in the circle he is involved. Martin is also busy working on a Radio Channel Show with Jeremy Mansfield, where they will focus on fun, good music, and food and beverage information.
We also host coffee appreciation evenings and this is doing very well.During coffee evenings, we do a roast, a blind tasting, provide coffee inspired snack items, show and educate our clients about brewing methods and coffee in general. Our patrons also get to make their own blend to take home with them.