Village cafe first in district to be given gold recognition

Reg’s Café on Richmond Street was given the Eat Out, Eat Well Gold Award by the district council for its commitment to providing healthy eating options.

The Eat Out, Eat Well award scheme is supported by the council and has been developed to reward caterers who make it easier for their customers to make healthy food choices when eating out.

Alison Howe, owner of Reg’s Café, said: “As a newly established business in Northamptonshire, we are delighted to already receive recognition for our efforts to provide healthy options for our customers.

“When I first heard about the scheme, my first question was – what can we do better to get a gold award? Through the training we were able to better understand the scheme and learn how to modify our menu and make further changes to the way we cooked certain items. It was a valuable course and I’d recommend it to other caterers looking to go for gold.”

In total there are three levels – bronze, silver and gold – and the level of the award is based on a scoring system that takes into account the type of food on offer, cooking methods and how it is marketed and promoted to customers.

The award is open to any business serving food to the general public, including takeaways, cafés, sandwich shops and restaurants.

The next training course for the CIEH Level 2 Award in Healthier Foods and Special Diets will take place on Wednesday, April 13 and Wednesday, April 20 from 2pm to 5.30pm at The Forum, Moat Lane, Towcester.

Councillor Dermot Bambridge, portfolio holder for environmental services at South Northamptonshire District Council, said: “As the demand for healthier food choices continues to grow, it is great to see businesses like Reg’s Café making a commitment.”