Out & About Autumn 2019

Independent cafés offer a welcome alternative to the high street chains. These popular meeting places provide individuality, as well as homemade, healthy treats. We visited Colline’s Kitchen, Newbury and The Snugg at Snelsmore Common CAFÉ CULTURE Colline’s Kitchen The Old Town Hall, Market Place, Newbury Open Tuesday to Thursday 9am – 2pm Friday to Sunday – 9am – 4pm www.collineskitchen.com C olline’s Kitchen offers a peaceful haven in the centre of Newbury.

You can sit in the cooling shelter of itscourtyard, surrounded by hanging baskets busting with fuchsias and foliage, to enjoy a coffee and a very generous slice of cake. Colline believes that when you eat cake, you should be able to enjoy it. Not be left wanting more. So needless to say her slices are gorgeously filling. They are all also made by Colline from her home just around the corner, where she first began her journey from home baker to café owner. Her tasty treats, made using eggs from a local farm and fresh fruit and veg from the market, are all on show on the counter of the diminutive café, tucked away inside the town hall. Just head into the double doors next to the Cancer Research UK shop and follow the signs – and the delicious smells. As well as an tantalising array of cakes and sweet snacks, Colline also has a breakfast offering of avocado toast, homemade granola with yoghurt and berries, chia seeds pudding and pancakes, alongside coffee, tea, smoothies and juices. Colline has a lunch special of one main and three sides for the tasty price of just £7.95, which includes dishes such as marinated paprika salmon, red lentil curry and soy chicken breasts. You can also choose from toasties, quiche and soup. Gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan options are always available and because Colline bakes all the cakes and knows the chefs who provide the other items she sells, she can adequately

cater for people with allergies and intolerances. Colline’s passion is collaboration and her dream is to have a café where local chefs and businesses come together and have as small an environmental impact as possible. She also hosts “very chilled and casual” supper clubs, which have so far included tapas, Asian and Flavours of Africa nights, as well as sushi-making classes. An accountant by profession, Colline’s Kitchen empire has grown rapidly over the past 18 months, from a stall at the Artisan Market, through a chance chat with a friend that led to the town hall venue, to a new collaboration with The Globe pub in Bartholomew Street which started in August. After a successful stint in June, running a pop-up café at the Real Macaron Company shop in Newtown Road, Colline hasn’t ruled out the idea of opening another café sometime in the future. For now, she has plenty to keep her busy.

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