our journey
Founders Celine and Christopher Thompson waved goodbye to their corporate jobs and set to work creating Jefferson’s. Their aim was to develop amazing recipes served in a delightful environment where design and architecture complimented the very best natural ingredients they could find. A visible kitchen was to be central to the offering to ensure delicious small batches of ice cream could be made fresh daily, creating every day moments of joy.
our ethos
team members
When it comes to our team, we want the best, so we provide a fun, safe and happy environment to work in that allows our team members to thrive and develop. Friendliness, honesty and initiative are the key attributes of a Jefferson’s team member. We don’t necessarily require previous experience as we carry out all our training in house to ensure our team work to our high standards and expectations, because our customers expect no less.
our customers
Our customers are the centre of our universe. We recruit the best staff and source the finest ingredients to ensure each time you enter Jefferson’s you have a glorious experience. We have designed the menu to cater to a variety of tastes. Our ice cream cafe is also family friendly, with a menu for small children available, a sandpit in the garden and lots of little details to make life easier for little ones. If we aren’t doing our job please tell us about your experience, we will put it right and learn from your feedback to ensure that we constantly improve.
environment
The packaging world is correctly witnessing a lot of scrutiny to avoid waste and reduce unnecessary packaging. Under pressure are the plethora of coffee shops that sell cups that simply cannot be recycled. Some shops have started providing compostable cups as a solution, but this is simply a box ticking exercise. For a compostable cup to compost it needs to be collected with other compostable items and to be taken to a specialist plant. How many compostable collection bins do you see around? That’s why we have carried out tireless research to find a supplier of recycled and recyclable coffee cups (8oz and 12oz). All you need to do is place your cup in any standard recycling bin.
We’ve also introduced a discount on drinks when you bring your own cups, alternatives to plastic straws, and recyclable paper bags rather than plastic. We still have work to do to reduce our environmental impact with regards to other packaging, but we are constantly working with our suppliers on this front. As the packaging industry responds rapidly to customer demands for more sustainable packaging needs, we will always be quick to adopt the best solutions. We have sourced ingredients as locally as possible to reduce our carbon footprint too.
community
Having lived in Balham and Clapham for almost 20 years, we love being part of this neighbourhood. We have partnered with local businesses and local people in setting up Jefferson’s, including hiring our website designers, social media advisors and of course seeking to employ staff from the local area.
We believe Balham is already a special place to live, and we hope to add to that by being a proactive member of our local community and providing a sociable and fun environment for everyone to enjoy.