AN open door cafe which has provided food for thought and a recipe for lasting friendship is now celebrating its first birthday.
The Open-Door Cafe at St Wulstan’s Church on Cranham Drive will be reopening on Saturday, September 9 between noon and 1.30pm after its summer break.
This is a community lunch offered to local residents of Warndon and neighbouring districts and this month Warndon's open door cafe celebrates its first birthday.
Funding comes from the Warm Hubs group, Sanctuary Housing, Citizen, Platform Housing and the Blakemore Foundation.
The cafe is run by Cllr Jill Desayrah who along with a crew of volunteers prepares the meals and drinks. Labour's city councillor is known for highlighting local issues from anti-social behaviour to fly-tipping and disabled access but her enthusiasm for cooking and building on Warndon's community spirit were motivations behind the venture.
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Cllr Desayrah said: "Starting out, no one had any idea whether this would take off however here about to celebrate our first anniversary.
"The need for this service continues. We see a wide mix of people, young families, elderly people, couples and single people.
"It is a great opportunity for people to come together for a chat, eat a home-cooked meal and start their Saturday off. Personally, I get a thrill when people enjoy my cooking and am in awe to the team of volunteers inside and outside the kitchen who are the unsung heroes on the day."
This week’s menu is a light soup, sandwiches and three flavours of homemade ice cream to cool everyone down during this late summer mini heatwave.
Peanut Butter, Raspberry and Rhubarb and Ginger are on offer. Each week’s menu is to be found on the community Facebook page desayrahwarndon.
"Everyone is welcome and a happy bunch of returning customers is expected," said Cllr Desayrah.
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