A delicious slice of Devon for Mother’s Day

March, of course, means Mother’s Day, so our blog this month is dedicated to our own mums, as a thank you for all the support they give us throughout the year at the Cafe on the Green - and with life in general!

If you’re a regular at our cafe, you’ll no doubt already know Becca’s mum, Debbie, who often helps out here. In fact, it’s because of her that we moved to Devon in the first place. When Debbie was house-hunting in this neck of the woods, we came across the Cafe on the Green for sale online. And the rest, you could say, is history.

Nearly two years on, we feel we have really made our mark on the business: new menus, new branding, new retail corner, new reading corner, new loos and new decor, and that’s just for starters. We know we’re making our mum’s proud!

If you’d like to treat your marvellous matriarch this Mother’s Day, we’d love to see you here for breakfast, lunch or an afternoon treat. If you’d like to cook up your own fabulous foodie gift for her, may we suggest this slice of Devon heaven? It’s one of Becca’s mum’s recipes - Devon Apple Cake - which we bake here quite often… Happy Mother’s Day!

Debbie’s Devon Apple Cake

400g Cooking Apples

1 Lemon

350g Caster Sugar

350g Self Raising Flour

2tsp Baking Powder

4 Eggs

1tsp Almond Essence

1 handful of sliced Almonds

225g Salted Butter

1. Peel and chop apples. Squeeze lemon juice over the chopped apple to prevent discolouration

2. Melt butter

3. Add sugar, flour and baking powder into the mixer and slowly beat in eggs, melted butter and almond essence until just combined

4. Line a tray with parchment paper. Add half the batter, top with chopped apple and cover with the remaining batter (Don't worry if some bits of apple stick out)

5. Sprinkle over sliced almonds. Bake for 45 mins at 180°c

6. Enjoy!

Sharing the love across Devon and Cornwall

We moved to the West Country nearly two years ago and recently we managed to squeeze in our first little holiday since taking over the café. We spent four days travelling around Cornwall in our little van, exploring some great pit-stops and eateries, which gave us lots of inspiration to take home to Devon. As February is traditionally a month to share the love, we wanted to share with you some of our favourites from our trip.

Box and Barber – Newquay

We had never been to Newquay before so, after a wet and windy walk on Fistral beach, we were glad to find this cosy little café to enjoy breakfast. It’s quite small but has an excellent selection of brunch options and smoothies and serves a great coffee. It definitely inspired us to get some more delicious vegan/vegetarian options on our breakfast menu.

Canteen – St Agnes 

We have been following Canteen for a while on social media and it was a must-visit recommended by others. It’s a very simple, community-based canteen based in the Wheal Kitty workshops, serving up great, cheap, simple lunches and cakes. They focus on producing only 2 or 3 main dishes each day. We would 100% recommend it if you want a wholesome plate of food after a walk. We loved the very positive vibes and real community feel – something we want to emulate at our own café.

Origin Coffee Roasters – Penryn

We are self-proclaimed coffee lovers and can’t get through the day without a flat white or two, so a visit to Origin Coffee Roasters Café in Penryn was a must. We weren’t disappointed; they have a simple food menu and, of course, great coffee.  The stunning interiors filled with indoor plants create a calming atmosphere. They also provide plenty of plug-in-spaces for laptops – we found it a relaxing place to sit and work whilst on the road!  

One of the things we love about living in the Westcountry is the wealth of amazing food producers and cafes. Hopefully, over the coming months, we will get to explore more of these and look forward to sharing our finds with you.

A great big sprinkle of Christmas wishes to you all

With Christmas now tantalisingly close, and postmen hard at work with yuletide deliveries here on Dartmoor, we couldn’t let the moment pass without posting our own festive blog - a kind of online Christmas card to all our wonderful customers and suppliers.

Those of you who’ve been watching the BBC series, The Gold Digger, will no doubt have clocked that it was filmed in and around Widecombe-in-the-Moor. We even glimpsed The Cafe on the Green in the background of one shot. It was fabulous to see a prime-time drama filmed in our stunning neck of the woods, showing viewers far and wide what a wonderful location it is.

The chilly, frosty days of winter mark our favourite time of year on the moor. The weather may not be the best, but it’s a season when we feel we have the entire place almost to ourselves. As the number of visitors winds down, we have time to catch our breath, reflect on the business and plan for the year ahead. Hopefully, in the next few months, all of that planning will come to fruition, so watch out for some exciting developments here at the Cafe.

Overall, 2019 has been a brilliant year for the team, not without its challenges but definitely way more ups than downs. So, we’d like to say a big festive thank you to you all for your continued support.

If you haven’t finished your Christmas shopping yet, we have lots of ideas in our ‘retail corner’ for thoughtful, last-minute Christmas presents, which show you care about the provenance of what you are giving and also support some of the West Country’s best food and drink producers.

We welcome dogs and children and this year created a cosy ‘reading corner’ to keep your little ones entertained while the whole family enjoys a warming drink or tasty treat. Our fires will be also be lit to keep you and your companions snug and toasty.

We’d hate for you to turn up and find us closed though, so please note that we will be shut on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and from 6th to 19th January.

Warm wishes from Becca, Jamie and all our Christmas helpers and a very Happy New Year to one and all.

What a summer! Uncle Tom Cobley and all!

As the autumn mists (and rain clouds) begin to descend on Dartmoor, we’re finally taking stock of what’s been a whirlwind summer for the whole team here at the Cafe on the Green.

It’s been a fair few months since our last blog back in July and that’s a reflection of just how busy we’ve been. Not that we’re complaining! 

Alongside traditional café classics, we’ve been upping the ante with our new offerings at breakfast and lunchtime. And Rebecca has continued to have fun experimenting with recipes for scrumptious cakes, perfect for a mid-morning snack or afternoon treat. 

Our outdoor seating area has been put to good use over the summer months as visitors have flocked to our unique corner of Devon to enjoy Dartmoor in all its glory in the sunshine.

Unsurprisingly, one of our busiest days of the year was the annual Widecombe Fair, which always takes place on the second Tuesday of September and attracts visitors from far and wide. This year, it was Tuesday 10th September and - guess what? Yes, the sun was out again.

Along with The Old Inn, we were joint sponsors of ‘The Village Green and Green Activities on Fair Day’. Our normally peaceful Green was a frenzy of activity throughout the day with all sorts of attractions to the soundtrack of the Acoustic Music Stage.

We were kept busy inside the café too. Over the course of the day we served more than 1,000 hot drinks and lots of pasties and cream teas, raising money for the local school by donating 50p to their funds for every cream tea sold.

We feel very lucky to be part of a village with such great community spirit - very much in evidence on Widecombe Fair Day. So, to all our fellow villagers and local businesses, we’d like to say how much we’ve enjoyed this summer with you. And to our customers, we’d like to say a very big thank you for your continued support.

ONE YEAR ON...

Thank you to all our customers who stopped by for a Devon Cream Tea on National Cream Tea Day last Friday (June 28th). It couldn’t have been a more perfect day for an afternoon treat in the sunshine, overlooking our lovely village green. A view we never tire of.

 June was a very special month for us because it marks the first anniversary of our ownership and we really do appreciate all the support and encouragement we’ve received from our loyal customers over those 12 months.

 So, before we steam headlong into July and full-on holiday season, we’d like to reflect (briefly!) on what we’ve achieved in that time.

 The quality of our food and service is always our top priority. With this in mind, we have produced new breakfast and lunch menus, which seem to have gone down well. We have expanded our team and arranged training courses to enhance their skills. We have also made a number of team visits to our suppliers, to build strong relationships with the local producers we love to support and whose ingredients we love to use in our kitchen.

 In the Cafe itself, we have repurposed a formerly neglected corner as a retail area selling West Country produce - a great way to spread the word to tourists about the outstanding food and drink produced here in the South West.

 It was always our aim to establish The Cafe on the Green as a popular ‘hub’ for events which bring the local community together. Our knitting club has become a regular event and we’ve had some brilliant evenings hosting live jazz and folk music.

 We couldn’t have done any of this without your support. Thank you one and all.

 All our efforts haven’t gone unnoticed. We are delighted to have featured in a double-page spread in Devon Life magazine, and in other smaller articles in Dartmoor Magazine and The Moorlander. We have also been featured in several blogs on Visit Dartmoor, an organisation we are proud to support, alongside Food & Drink Devon. Last but not least, we received a brilliant review from Dining Devon blogger, Sue Stoneman, who brought her son along for breakfast. 

 To sum up, moving to Dartmoor and taking on The Cafe on the Green has been a real journey of discovery for us both. A steep learning curve too! We are loving our new life in this stunning part of the West Country and look forward to another fun-packed year.