St Lawrence Café, Ipswich
St Lawrence Café is one of seven social businesses run by Realise Futures, which aims to improve and promote the economic and social wellbeing of those who are disadvantaged and/or disabled across Suffolk and Norfolk. Based in the de-commissioned St Lawrence Church in Ipswich, the friendly café provides real jobs, advice and support in a bustling hospitality setting.
Leading the kitchen is Caron Mexome, who trained as a commis chef before going on to have a successful career in the corporate world of hospitality for the likes of Eat and Coffee Republic.
“I joined the café as a stopgap after moving back home for a family emergency,” says Caron. “That was seven years ago and I have never left. The people hooked me in pretty quickly and it didn’t take long to realise how much I had been missing the corporate world. We employ people who are disadvantaged or have a disability. It could range from deafness, autism, mental health challenges or something else. It’s about providing opportunities for people to develop and enhancing their lives.”
“All our staff work for 16 hours each week, but they acquire new skills, build confidence and learn how to work with money. We put them through hygiene courses and they learn how to create dishes and cook. It’s about life skills and community, as well as employment. I will never go corporate again. I love my job, the team, our customers and what we have achieved. Seeing the development and growth is so rewarding. Every day the staff inspire me.”
“All our staff work for 16 hours each week, but they acquire new skills, build confidence and learn how to work with money. We put them through hygiene courses and they learn how to create dishes and cook. It’s about life skills and community, as well as employment. I will never go corporate again. I love my job, the team, our customers and what we have achieved. Seeing the development and growth is so rewarding. Every day the staff inspire me.”
The Menu
While many travel from far and wide for the house speciality – beef stew and dumplings, the café’s menu changes four times a year and the team cooks as much from scratch as possible.
“We make scones every day, sausage rolls, soups, pastries, quiches and we work closely with our suppliers to make sure we’re keeping up with trends and the menu is exciting and fresh. Our staff play a massive part in our menu idea generation, creation and testing. It teaches new skills but also motivates them and makes them part of the process. A new recipe will take at least four weeks of kitchen testing, customer tastings and tweaking before we’re all happy.”
“The Country Range portfolio is vital to our menu. The seasonings, herbs, spices and sauces are top quality and fantastic value. The wide range of stock products on offer is brilliant as well. We use the Beef Bouillon for our very popular beef stew and dumplings, the Chicken Bouillon at Christmas and the Vegetable Bouillon for all our soups. On the sweet side, the cakes are amazing and also enables us to provide for those with allergens. The Country Range Gluten Free Lemon Drizzle Cake and Carrot Cake are two of my favourite products that work really well on our menu.”
