4:37pm Wednesday 8th March 2006
By Sandra Carter
There's more to The Elgiva than pantos and pop groups. You can get a decent snack there too, says Sandra Carter.
GOOD food is sometimes found in unexpected places. One of Chesham's secret eating spots is tucked away within the Elgiva theatre: Spotlight Caf.
While in the evenings the foyer bar is thronged with theatre goers, during the day it's a quiet, relaxed spot for a coffee, lunch or afternoon tea with friends.
Sue Owen, who took over the caf a year ago with Julie Gabriel, says: "Our emphasis is on fresh, good quality food, organic where possible and locally sourced. We believe this gives the freshest and most tasty results as well as the most healthy."
The caf also supports Chesham's Fair Trade status, using Fair Trade coffees, teas, milk and other products. It's open 10am to 3pm, Monday to Saturday.
We popped in for lunch this week and joined a motley group of people enjoying the light and airy foyer. There are tables and chairs as well as big comfy leather sofas to sit on, and picture windows overlooking the patio, making the caf bright and cheery.
The menu has a fair selection of snacks and light meals, all very reasonably priced.
We chose the home made soup of the day, wild mushroom and porcini, which was generous, beautifully flavoured and wonderfully creamy (£3 including baguette). Then we shared a panini (£3).
Other options would be jacket potatoes or sandwiches, and often there's a casserole or summery salad on the menu.
Then there's the cakes: all the favourites like coffee sponge or carrot cake (£1) and flapjack (50p), and tempting puds including Sue's famous meringues.
There's a selection of coffees and teas, and the cafe is licensed if you'd like something a little stronger.
Sue adds: "We get such a variety of people coming in, from ladies who lunch to families bringing grannie out for a treat, to mums and toddlers who like to meet up here. Mums like it as there's plenty of space and children can have half portion meals."
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