Cafe cooks up a Christmas cracker

A Welshpool business has revealed the lengths it went to in ensuring that those alone were kept well fed on Christmas Day.

The Inglenook Cafe was initially contacted by a Guilsfield volunteer group to enquire about cooking 15 meals for residents who would be on their own in the village.

But it snowballed with over 70 meals being prepared and handed out across the Welshpool area through the support of local volunteers.

Guilsfield Community Council Chairman, Ian Harrison, who co-ordinated the Guilsfield effort, described the Inglenook’s work as “making Christmas special for so many people” and the work of volunteers as “wonderful”.

MyWelshpool caught up with Andreas Andreou, whose family own the cafe, and he too pitched in with funding through his own company, Brookfield Comfort Shoes Welshpool (brookfieldcomfort.co.uk).

“We initially started thinking about 15 meals after being approached, but it was soon becoming apparent that there was a lot of demand for more,” he said.

“Being from a retail shoe background, I had minimal experience of what was required so it couldn't happen without Corey (Eadson) agreeing, and then setting the wheels in motion. “Without his organisation at the cafe, it just wouldn't have happened. Think of him as our very own Bob Geldof, but with slightly less celebrity status and far less singing talent! He made it happen though.

“As more orders came in, we needed to be strict on timings and exactly what we were going to do on the day. Nicholas Andreou arrived on the morning itself after being on call with the fire service. He took ownership of the kitchen, laying out everything, and preparing the meals without a second thought. I'm not sure how we would have coped without him, and it was a pleasure to see him calmly going about his business.

“It did start to get a little hectic, but there was none of that ‘Gordan Ramsey-type’ language here. Just fun smiles and patient customers. The timing of Sabrina Tomovic's arrival was also impeccable as she dished up more portions, relieving the pressure. Then Costas Andreou got involved just when needed, by keeping things in order, greeting the customers with Corey and making sure the area stayed clean while the pots and pans started to mount. He took care of all that.

“We had to insist on collection only, but then Naomi from Wrights Taxis pulled up, took instructions from Corey regarding any potential deliveries and put in a fantastic shift.

We were even approached and delivered to a random elderly neighbor who was watching, living alone and wondering what was going on. We put together the extra meal and that's the magic of Christmas I suppose.”