It was a bit of a dull day. We’d just been around the prison
and wouldn’t be able to visit the castle until it opened for the afternoon. Jenny’s Kitchen looked inviting.
“It’s all gluten-free, though,” said my husband, pulling a
face.
I shrugged. “I don’t think it matters,” I replied. I remembered
that one of my favourite snacks is the little gluten-free Bakewell tart that
Costa produces.
The café was clean and comfortable inside. There didn’t seem
to be all that many tables and all the ones we could see were occupied. This wasn’t a problem, though. There were more
tables round the back. We found one that looked directly over the kitchen. We
watched as one young woman – Jenny, perhaps? – busied herself making sandwiches
and soup, loading the dishwasher and serving customers in the shop. She never
stopped but she never got into a flap.
A few women on the next table were holding a meeting. Rent-a-table
obviously works well here. There was a shelf of enticing books in one
corner. Book crossing was definitely
encouraged. The walls were covered with artists’ work. Most of the pictures were for sale and the rest
had a “Sold” sticker on them. This sort
of gallery space works well; the café owner gets free decoration and the artists
get to display their work.
I had a really delicious home-made soup and Martin had a gigantic
sandwich. The texture of the bread was a little odd – perhaps more like a scone
but it was very tasty.
On the way out we spotted some attractive slices of Bakewell
tart. Would that do for dessert with our evening meal? You bet. They didn’t disappoint. Amazing that an item that contains both pastry
and cake mixture can be so successful gluten-free.
