Spotlight on: North Hertfordshire Museum Cafe

With the opening of North Herts Museum last summer, an early success has been the increasing popularity of the on-site cafe.

The venue, which has been awarded a maximum ‘five’ rating for its food hygiene practices, is currently open from 10.30am to 3.30pm, Tuesday to Saturday and 11am -3pm Sunday, and is already gaining a loyal following.

One of the key areas of focus has been how the cafe has been set up to have a low carbon footprint.

Katie Hasler, Hitchin Town Hall’s Operations Manager said: “We are trying to cut back dramatically on single use plastics and now only have single use wrappers on our biscuits, crisps and straws on children’s cartons. Cutlery is washed and reused and all takeaway containers are made from vegware, which has the plastic element replaced by vegetable proteins and other compostable materials.

“We also get a lot of children visitors and don’t want to fuel sugar dependency, so we have zero sugar or low sugar cans and soft drinks. We also offer a range of teas and syrups, some of which are sugar free.”

The team behind the food and beverage offering have set out to be as healthy as they can with good, tasty food and a menu which allows them to cater for all allergens and dietary requirements. The cafe has gluten free pasta and bread, nut free products and vegan options and their alternatives.

Commenting on the ethos of the cafe, Catering Manager Geoff Hains said: “Our main aim is to help to reduce our carbon footprint. We are proud to use local suppliers where we can for fruit, vegetables and other products.”

Geoff, who previously worked at North Herts Leisure Centre, said he wanted to encourage healthy eating and serve food that is freshly produced, made daily and a reasonable price.

All meals are cooked on site, but the key to offering a menu for all dietary requirements comes with the creation of a base sauce, which then means he can create gluten free, vegan or even meat versions using this.

The cafe has also become renowned for its Vista coffee by Tchibo, which is a blend that is approved by Fairtrade. It was chosen as of course Hitchin is a Fairtrade town and to add to the benefits, the cafe are also able to produce coffee ground logs which are also for sale at £9.95 per bag!