She’s all but run off her feet these days at The Hut in Rangitahi and Mica Thomson knows why – it’s the cheese scones she bakes fresh each morning in the tiny cafe’s recently extended kitchen.
Scone flavours include cream cheese and sweet chilli, cheese, date and orange, jalapeño and sundried tomato, and spinach and feta, while Mica’s other creations are also on offer daily, including frittatas, sweet muffins and cookies.
But it’s the cheese scones that keep the customers coming back, she reckons. And not just from Raglan and Ruapuke, either; there’s a group of ladies from Auckland who insist Mica makes “the best scones in the country”.
There’s another from Australia who’s been back twice for more of the same.
Mica and her team – Louise, Harrison, Miko and Sofia – take the compliments in their stride. “It’s beautiful to connect with the community in this way,” she says.
It’s not all coffee and scones, she insists, it’s also about the chat, knowing the regulars and asking after them – and maybe adding the odd touch like a glass of water for a breastfeeding mum or a free coffee for a customer’s birthday.
Mica’s always worked in hospitality – both in New Zealand and her native Argentina – but not until two years ago when she got the opportunity to manage The Hut did the bubbly 42 year old think to develop her baking skills.
The secret recipe? Love of course, she laughs. “I believe you can have all the ingredients but if it’s not done with love it won’t taste the same.”
She’s up at four every morning and bakes on site from five till seven, which is when The Hut opens. There’s now a “proper” rather than bench top oven thanks to a re-jig six months ago when the shower box in the cafe’s attached bathroom got the shove in favour of more kitchen space.
Mica – who’s lived in Raglan for 12 years now, with a Kiwi hubby and kids in tow – hopes to go even bigger and better when Rangitahi’s new cafe gets built slightly further down the road later this year.
