We are still reminiscing about our breakfast at Waste2Taste in Cowley, which totally blew us away. Already enormous fans of Sandra Ruge, Marie Lehri, Ioana Nedelcu and their team, their sustainable, community ethos is really hard to beat.
Waste2Taste menus are made with surplus ingredients, which means they vary continually, more a case of ‘catch of the day’ than cafe classics, but they work around it, adapting when needs be.
Which doesn’t deter from their offering, and that goes for their cafe space as well. Because while it’s incorporated into the unlikely surroundings of Shotover View, a care home, the joy, love, kindness and passion poured into every inch of the bright, welcoming space must be applauded.
The current photographic exhibition I AM READ ABOUT IT HERE adorns the walls, awarding an extra splash of colour. Throw in the beautifully decorated tables, the Freezer of Love (pay-as-you-go for the home-cooked ready meals within, many of which are gifted), the kids corner, busy events programme, and the mini larder speak volumes of what Waste2Taste is trying to achieve here – everyone is welcome!
And while the cakes and pastries are piled high at the counter, you can still enjoy proper waitress service at the jaunty tables whilst you peruse the menus, kicking off with some sterling coffees.
We ordered from the breakfast/brunch menu (everything is £8) diving straight into the vanilla pancakes with honey pan-fried apricots, Greek yoghurt & cinnamon berries, and the same with crispy bacon, egg, nutty dukkah (a dry, Middle Eastern mix of herbs, nuts, and spices) and maple syrup.
To be honest I was expecting something fairly standard, but honestly it was one of the most enjoyable and memorable brunches I can remember. Those apricots, so often insipid and tasteless, sang! Juicy, plump, infused with honey with the slight chargrill from the pan, manna from heaven.
Calmed with the thick yoghurt and then enhanced with the thick, sweet and sour berry compote of blackcurrants and strawberries, mopped up with the light, fluffy sweet pancakes, it was an absolute masterpiece to both taste and behold. We wiped the plate clean.
The bacon version may sound drier but it was moistened by the yolk of the fried egg and the maple syrup, the dukkah providing spice and crunch, and equally well received.
The innocuous sounding yoghurt bowl came framed with sliced apple, banana, macerated black cherries, berry compote and granola, rich with dried coconut, bananas and tropical fruit, drizzled with honey, in such abundance that you couldn’t see the yoghurt underneath.
We then moved onto more of a brunch/lunch course, (lunches are £8.50) just to showcase everything they could do (ahem), and were amply rewarded. The spinach and mozzarella cheese omelette with salad, did everything it said on the tin, but was really flavourful and well cooked.
Ditto the Flatbread pizza with salad (choose from mushroom, Margherita, pepperoni), one for the kids maybe, although the pizza sauce was delicious and rich, the cheese generous.
And the toasties (£5.20) were packed full of oozing cheese, bursting with red and green tomatoes, chewy sourdough, strident pesto and a garnish of with mixed leaves, apple slices, carrot and pepper. Generous to a fault.
The mezze bowl, reflective of the day’s ingredients, was rich with hummus, the falafel crispy, baked artichoke slices, roast aubergine, pan-fried grapes, sliced peppers, cucumber and carrots, mixed leaves and pickled beetroot. A home-made dressing would have been nice – shop bought honey and mustard, and thousand island, were presented, but a vinaigrette would have gone down a treat.
As for the individual leek, mustard and cheddar quiches (£5.20), they were absolutely excellent, made by new Waste2Taste recruit Dido Reynolds, who has a high end catering background, and is already making her mark. The pastry cases were thin and crumbly, the filling rich and pert, the cheese and veg tangible. We should have smuggled the entire batch home.
Replete to the point of bursting, the cake counter still beckoned, and we managed to squeeze in a gluten free brownie (£3.50), a slice of. moist blueberry and lemon cake (£3.50) and a rather unseasonal but equally delicious hot cross bun, served toasted with butter and jam.
You may have noticed that the menu is predominantly vegetarian – there’s the occasional slice of ham, sausage, pepperoni and rasher of bacon to be found, but fundamentally its pretty herbivorous.
Surrounded by regulars, many of whom beam down from the walls, residents, local workers popping in for lunch, or a tea and cake, most dining inside, but the more adventurous braving the tempestuous weather on the charming tables outside.
What can we say? Except for bravo. This is how to do it – with kindness, love and an immense skillset. Because while we were digging in, the team were also catering for a 75 person event. Lucky clients! If their food is anything as good as ours, they’ll be grinning from ear to ear.
WASTE 2 TASTE is at Shotover View, Craufurd Rd, Oxford OX4 2SQ and its cafe is open Tuesday to Thursday 9.30am to 2.30pm and the 1st Friday of the month 9.30am to 2.30pm https://www.waste2taste.co.uk/cafe
