The Mustard Seed Café and Christian Bookshop has been named Sidmouth Herald Café of the Year for 2023. Thanks to customers’ votes, it won from a shortlist of 10 local cafés – in a town with about 40 places to buy a coffee.
Ruth Ray, current chair of the Mustard Seed’s trustees, said: “A huge thank you to all our faithful customers who voted for us to be Café of the Year!
“The Mustard Seed is a special place, which seeks to serve the Sid Valley in various ways and to be a community cafe that is open to all. The other trustees and I are truly grateful also to the great staff and many generous volunteers who make it possible.”
Established in 1992, the Mustard Seed is a charity and operates as a ‘social enterprise café’ and bookshop. It is run by part-time staff, including an in-house baker, and a team of local volunteers.
The Mustard Seed’s coffee comes from Sidmouth’s Buzz Coffee Roasters. Eggs are from Fowler’s Free Range, near the Hare & Hounds. It sources 100 per cent green electricity from Ecotricity.
The café’s baker is Hilary Dunster, whose cakes and traybakes constantly receive customers’ accolades. Michelle Bree is the main cook, supported by Carole Morris, Lois Swarbrick and Louise Melluish. A menu favourite is soup made by volunteer Biddy Miller, with varieties including courgette and brie, and parsnip and apple.
As a social enterprise café, the Mustard Seed offers opportunities for regular volunteer work to people whose needs limit opportunities for employment. One is Debbie Brown, who said: “I have been volunteering at the Mustard Seed for a year and I love it!”
The café is a meeting place for local organisations including New Beginnings, a bereavement support group, and Gateway Homelessness Action Group. Urgent housing need is a growing problem in the area and Helen Usmar, Gateway’s caseworker, is at the Mustard Seed most mornings to see clients.
Nick Townsend, manager of the bookshop, said: “I’ve been involved only in the past year and I’ve learned there is more to the Mustard Seed than meets the eye. The staff, volunteers and regular customers, along with the strong links with churches across the Sid Valley, make it quite a community.
“The Mustard Seed is the kind of place that practical Christian faith is supposed to be about. I hope all who venture in can find it as welcoming as I have.”
The other shortlisted cafés were Selley’s, Someday Something, the Courtyard Café, Buzz Coffee Roasters, Rincon Coffee, Arches Beach Café, Mocha Restaurant, Becketts and 14 Miles East.
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