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Danish-Inspired London Cafe HJEM Brings Scandinavian Comfort to the bustling City
In February 2019, I first stumbled upon HJEM, a delightful, Danish-inspired cafe in Kensington, London. I distinctly remember that day. It was pouring rain outside and my best friend and I, who were visiting London at the time, were seeking cover from a typical London rainstorm. Drenched, and in desperate need of something warm, we spotted HJEM – a glowing, cosy beacon in a torrential downpour. Sipping our cappuccinos and snacking on rye bread, we were offered a lovely shelter from the storm. We enjoyed our stay so much that we lingered for hours, disregarding the fact that the rain had stopped.
As cafes and restaurants alike begin to reopen, I look forward to my return to HJEM. In the meantime, and in an effort to share the gem that is HJEM, I recently spoke with owner Marianne, about the cafe’s story and inspiration.
Tell me a little bit about how HJEM started and the background of the cafe.
A few culminating factors resulted in the birth of HJEM. As a university student, I had loved spending time in the wonderful cafes in my native Copenhagen? and in New York where I was an exchange student. They were a good base for studying and people-watching, and provided me with a lively living space outside of my small apartment in both cities. Back then, I dreamed about one day starting my own charming cafe, which would be a warm, welcoming place for the neighbourhood, playing smooth tunes in the background, and serving high quality products.
Life took me in a very different direction with a career in investment banking in New York and Johannesburg, and later on ending up in asset management in London. I left finance when I had my first child, spent a few years consulting for a FinTech start-up, but soon realised that my passion for finance was gone. A very close friend said to me then that I should start a cafe, built around my homemade sourdough rye bread. I had made rye bread my whole adult life as it was a core staple in my diet, and friends across the world loved the flavour, the crunchiness and of course it’s health properties.
Meanwhile, I regularly complained to my Australian husband that every time we wanted a get coffee or go somewhere to have a casual bite together, we would have to get in the car. Despite living in South Kensington which is a busy, buzzing part of London, our area was sadly speckled with chains rather than charming independents. His response was “why don’t you do something about it” and with that and the seed sown by my friend a few years earlier, HJEM really started taking form in my head.
What inspired you to name the cafe HJEM?
I wanted it to have a Danish name and initially I had thought about calling it ‘Rugbrød’ but let’s face it – that’s totally unpronounceable for most English speakers. The word ‘hjem» symbolises three things about my cafe. Most importantly that it is Danish; secondly, HJEM was built to feel homely and welcoming – it feels like ‘hjem’ which means home – home away from home. Thirdly, at HJEM we make a lot of the products we serve ourselves rather than having the finished product delivered to serve – we have this word play that our products are ‘HJEMmade.’
What is the most popular thing on the menu?
Avocado on HJEMmade rye and cinnamon buns are by far our most popular items.
What inspires the menu and how do you source your coffee/ingredients?
I have a passion for wholesome food – made from scratch, using the best, ideally organic, ingredients. But I am not holy – by ensuring there are no hidden sugars in our daily diet, there is also room for a treat. I wanted HJEM to reflect that, and be a place I felt good about when feeding my own children – be it a healthy rye bread sandwich or a delicious piece of cake.
At HJEM, we make a lot of our products from scratch. We have our pastries and sourdough loaves supplied by an organic Danish bakery in Hackney, and our coffee comes from Climpson & Sons. When learning about coffee and the flavour profile of coffee I realised that I wanted something that was smooth and would have overall appeal. We use The Baron, which has flavour notes of dark chocolate, hazelnut and marzipan. Our tea is Danish, supplied by a close high school friend started an organic tea company a year before I opened HJEM! Cocoon Tea Artisans make organic, whole leaf teas that simply taste divine. The fact that this is a Danish company is an extra bonus for us.
Our produce is sourced from a mix of wholesale and regular retail suppliers. We are too small to get everything from wholesale suppliers so we rely on Ocado for deliveries multiple times a week, and if we run out of something we run to Waitrose or Whole Foods which are both close to HJEM.
Tell me about some of your best moments with the cafe.
We all love when it is really buzzing at HJEM – happy people inside and outside, coffee flying over the counter, food being enjoyed. It’s hectic, but super fun and it is so wonderful to feel the joy from everyone, who comes through the door.
We are very lucky to receive a lot of love from our guests. Friendships are made at HJEM, the community gathers there and connects. We once had two ladies sit at separate tables for lunch. Once they started chatting, 4 hours later they were leaving to have dinner together. We had a young lady from Australia who was a regular – she ended up celebrating Christmas with an Australian couple, who were also daily customers. They met at HJEM and the couple thought it was sad she didn’t have her family to celebrate Christmas with.
What does a typical day at the cafe look like?
Two team members arrive 30 minutes before opening and get everything set up. It takes a bit of time dialling in the coffee to ensure the perfect brew. We tend to be very busy from when we open early morning until around 10. We refer to it as the morning rush. People come by to pick up their morning coffee with a pastry first thing; some families come for a quick breakfast before school and many parents come for a take away drink or a catch up with a friend after dropping their children at school.
Guests come in and out during the late morning hours; some days it’s quiet, others it’s buzzing the whole morning. Around noon, we start having lunch visitors. They come to try our open-faced rye bread sandwiches or a delicious cheese toastie with our HJEM made kimchi. Not a very Danish ingredient, I know, but we love it with cheese and kimchi is very healthy.
The lunch guests hang around until around 3pm when we get our ‘after school rush’. A lot of children come in to have a snack while doing bits of homework or waiting for a sibling to finish school. It all quietens down around 4pm when our neighbourhood guests come in to relax after a busy day, or maybe do a bit of work.
What makes Hjem unique?
I think our relentless focus on quality, regardless of cost, and our dedication towards giving our guests a happy experience set us apart. When I hire new team members, I always stress to them that HJEM is a happy place – a place where guests feel they are warmly welcomed.
What are your future plans for the cafe?
The most important thing is to maintain our quality across the board. This requires effort and hard work every single day. I would love to open another HJEM nearby but it has to be the right space, in the right location and at the right price. I don’t see the point in running ourselves crazy to pay some unreasonably high rent, which is generally a problem in London. We are in no rush though – we already have one HJEM to care for and keep us engaged.
Keep up with HJEM via Facebook or Instagram and don’t forget to pay them a visit next time you’re strolling through Kensington!
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