MY LIFE IN THE CAFE

Sarah Van Hesteren talks about the Riverhouse Barn Community Cafe in Walton.

A fun and frenetic career heading up TV listings for Sky TV is a far cry from managing the waterside idyll of the RHB café, but for Sarah Van Hesteren it requires an equal amount of creativity and is just as much fun.

Run by a mix of paid staff and volunteers this not-for-profit café is a pioneer of the ethos of food sustainability. It all started about nine years ago when Sarah and the café’s then manager, joined forces to seek out ingredients from the excesses of M&S in Walton: ‘It was before the surplus revolution happened’ she says.

Since then, the idea of sustainability has taken off, with organisations like Surplus to Supper sourcing the leftover food and distributing it to local charities and groups.

Because the ingredients that Sarah receives varies daily, her menus require on-the-spot creativity. Ideally, she’ll opt for all kinds of fruit, vegetables and proteins to make the café’s ever popular soups, which always feature something special like croutons or a drizzle of olive oil. But Sarah is also keen to introduce exciting and unexpected dishes like Thai beef salad made with surplus beef and noodles, quiches made with a potato crust instead of pastry and roasted vegetable frittata - and no salad goes out without a proper dressing! ‘Presentation is everything!’ enthuses Sarah.

A selection of cakes is always on counter-top display to tempt café customers, so baking ingredients like eggs, sugar and flour are requested. Besides the ever-popular muffins, scones and flapjacks, the cakes sometimes include surprising ingredients like beetroot or courgette and Nigella Lawson’s orange and almond cake recipe is always a winner. They also make and sell jams and chutneys from the surplus-surplus. Nothing’s wasted!

Creating these tempting meals can be a bit of a challenge in the café’s small kitchen where 3 people constitutes a crowd. The old electric oven also takes getting used to: ‘We need to keep an eye on it’ laughs Sarah, who admits to burning cakes in the past. Although Sarah only works 3 days a week, she is always on call while the volunteers work in half-day shifts. They often cater for birthday parties, or special musical events in the RHB Theatre. Preparing food for 40 people sometimes requires supplementary home cooking but it’s manageable and ‘lunch for 20 is a walk in the park,’ says Sarah. Part of the joy of working in the café for Sarah is talking to the variety of customers who wander in from their walks by the river with their dogs or perhaps a group of cyclists stopping for sustenance. ‘Interaction with the local community is very rewarding,’ she says. A happy relationship with the staff is important too. Many of the younger volunteers come through the education system while others are local mums or retirees, and refugees introduced by a local charity are also welcome. And to encourage team spirit, Sarah cooks and hosts a special ‘thank you’ meal for everyone twice a year, where the atmosphere is always fun and frenetic.

Janet Donin