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CAFÉS
V
Inside the Beach Café
bakery and dairy to give our visitors a real
taste of Cornwall. The menu has been
designed to cater for a range of tastes and
requirements, including seasonal daily
specials.
“For example, the sandwich selection
includes Mature West Country Cheddar
with tomato chutney and Cornish Crab with
Indeed, say English Heritage, customers
lemon, salt and fresh black pepper. Boxed
are increasingly demanding and want to try
salads such as Cornish Blue Cheese and
local produce while on holiday, so in
Walnut are available, along with kids’ meal
addition to providing top quality menus
boxes, afternoon tea and cakes and locally
the café at Tintagel Castle acts as a shop
produced wines and beers. There is even
window for Cornish producers. Many of the
locally grown tea on the menu, produced
items that are sold in the café are proudly
by the Tregothnan Estate.”
and clearly labelled as such, showing
To publicise the re-launch of the café,
exactly where they have come from.
Nick and his team invited their local MP
“Because of the different types of
and local and regional press to an open Ethical sourcing
visitors coming to see the castle, we have
morning. “Despite the added pressures on
to offer a wide selection to appeal to
us during the opening week, we had a
The RSPB has numerous sites across the
families and people who are more
successful event where the staff were
UK, some with tea rooms, others with
adventurous in their tastes as well as the
interviewed and photographed, as well as
coffee shops, according to the nature and
more traditional offerings associated with
myself and the local management team,
style of the location. At Newport, Daniel
Cornwall, such as cream teas and pasties.
and this really helped build morale and
Baxter says that it was important for them
What we have tried to do is vastly improve
create a buzz around the re-opening. We
to source coffee that was ethically
the quality of what’s on offer right across
then followed this up with an evening
produced, and having narrowed down
the menu while keeping costs affordable,”
event at the café for all the partners,
their selection to three, they finally opted
adds Nick Cole.
suppliers and community representatives
for a triple certified blend from Best
“We use the local village butcher,
who helped us in the redevelopment.”
Coffee Beans that comes from Honduras,
Brazil and Papua New Guinea (the triple
certification is by the Soil Association,
The RSPB’s Newport
Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance).
A haven
Wetlands Centre.
Together with colleagues, Daniel says
that they sampled several coffees, and the
No sooner have you left the hustle and final decision was made on what they
bustle of Newport’s mass of retail parks believed their customers would be
in South Wales, than it is possible to visit expecting in terms of a distinctive taste.
a haven of calm in the form of the RSPB’s The café is keen to be seen to be different
Newport Wetlands Centre, which from the high street, and be viewed as a
includes an impressive, custom designed destination outlet for all times of the day
café made from materials that for different people, whether families,
complement the environment, including groups or individuals.
slate. Daniel also acknowledges the role of
Located on former coal ash piles on the outskirts of the city the site was officially training to the success of the café which
opened back in March of this year at a special launch event involving the BBC’s well has a three group Brasilia coffee machine.
known wildlife presenter, Kate Humble. “We carry out barista training and Paul,
The low lying site along the northern edge of the River Severn between Cardiff and our coffee supplier at Best Coffee Beans,
Chepstow provides a home for many types of wildlife, but in particular birds, which helps out on the machine side. Including
visitors, including school children, come to spot. the outside seating area, typically we
At the heart of the centre is the contemporary-looking café, together with a shop, need to be able to serve between 65 and
where people can look out across the wetlands and choose from a selection of 85 covers. Our customers are mostly
carefully sourced refreshments which have all been selected based on their ability to people who are interested in nature, and
cause minimum damage to the environment, as well as their distinctiveness when we often see grandparents visiting with
compared to what you might find in a high street café. their grandchildren, or families, as well as
The centre’s retail and catering manager is Daniel Baxter. His background includes a some single people.
spell with Caffè Nero in Abergavenny, and where he says the biggest thing he learnt “Our emphasis is on high quality,
was the importance of café culture in its own right, as it is the elements of this – the distinctive products that are Fair Trade and
barista, and look and feel of the store – which shape the outlet and give it identity. This organic, such as our Ubuntu cola, for
experience has stood in him good stead as he now aims to deliver equally high example. Our cakes are made locally by
standards at the Wetlands café, which is already proving to be a draw with locals and woman who lives not far away in Magor.
tourists alike. Our sandwiches also come from a local
Bank holiday weekends see special events taking place there, with children coming supplier, helping to keep the food miles
along to take part in bug hunting, bird watching, guided walks and pond dipping. down.”
www.cafeculturemagazine.co.uk AUGUST 2008 CAFÉ CULTURE 25
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