Another Award for Roasted Berry – a fitting swansong
The Roasted Berry has shone very brightly in the Zim on a Plate competition since its inception, winning both The Coffee Shop of the Year and The Restaurant of the Year Award in the Competition’s first year, then Deluxe Coffee Shop of the Year for the following three consecutive years, 2007 to 2009 inclusive.  The overall Restaurant of the Year Award was dropped after 2006, at the request of the Trade itself, which as a whole preferred that the competition be renamed the Restaurants of the Year Award, and at the same time, the new category of Deluxe Coffee Shop was introduced to accommodate, with greater accuracy, those coffee shops, such as The Roasted Berry, which served more than teas, coffees, cakes, snacks and light meals.  There are quite a number of such up-market coffee shop-type establishments across the country, open for longer hours and offering full meals.  

By the Zim on a Plate definition, Deluxe Coffee Shops serve all of the above, but in addition also serve full meals, and are open for a total number of hours each day, in aggregate, comparable to those of a standard restaurant.  Zim on a Plate allows entrants to select their own entry category, as obviously, no category definition can possibly be watertight.  In the area of Coffee Shops, in particular, there are some establishments that could truthfully fall into either category, so at the end of the day it is up to their own choice and self-perception as to which category they select.  They will still be judged according to Zim on a Plate’s stringent rating criteria and standards, so all’s fair!

The Roasted Berry, however, most definitely belonged in the Deluxe Coffee Shop category, offering in its day an amazing all round eating out experience, situated in a beautiful old home with perfectly kept garden, excellent food, an  imaginative menu and superb service.  2009 marks this excellent restaurant’s swan song, with its Deluxe Coffee Shop of the Year win, bringing to five, its multiple awards over the years, a very fine achievement indeed.  For The Roasted Berry has since closed.  Kusum Low of The Roasted Berry was sadly not able to come to the ceremony to collect her last well-earned award, owing to an annoyingly timed dose of flu.  She has been busy re-inventing herself, meantime, at new premises, and before long we expect to see her new establishment back in the competition.  Meantime, well done to Kusum and The Roasted Berry for such an impressive track record during its existence!