The Franke Pura is perfectly suited to hotel and restaurant applications and is a very welcome addition to our range of coffee equipment. .…… Watch this space.…..

The Fox and Hounds Llancarfan near Barry

Macmillan Cancer Support is such a worthy cause and coffee system supplier, Café du Monde, has supported the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning for the past 5 years, raising over £50,000. This year’s fundraiser was held on 25th September and they distributed free coffee to their participating customers.  The customer raising the most money this year was the Fox and Hounds in Llancarfan near Barry in the idyllic Vale of Glamorgan.

This pub restaurant with rooms is the heartbeat of the village and was purchased by the villagers themselves in 1999, when it was threatened with closure. It is no wonder, then, that the community rallied round present owners, Sue and John Millard. Between them, they raised the magnificent sum of £1,110 for Macmillan. Planning the event began weeks before with prizes being donated for a grand raffle. On the day, there was a ‘bring and buy’ and home-made cakes were baked and bought – all in addition to the coffee morning itself. The event was even advertised in the local newspaper. Says Sue: “We are a very close knit community here and many residents have their own personal experiences of cancer. Because we all believed in the cause, it came as no surprise just how much we had raised. This is our best effort so far, bringing our five-year total to over £3,000. Thanks and congratulations to all our customers.”

In 2001, Sue and John bought the Fox and Hounds from the villagers in return for a commitment to continue to run it as a pub. Today, it is renowned in the locale for its food, with 8 en-suite bedrooms drawing tourists to South Wales and business people visiting nearby Cardiff. John, a classically trained chef, runs the kitchen personally with the help of his sous chef, Darren. Their cuisine is traditional home cooking, served in hearty portions. Their Cod in Beer Batter is widely regarded as the best in Wales.

The association with coffee supplier, Café du Monde, goes back to when they first opened. They use a free-on-loan cafetière system, serving Continental and Decaffeinated blends from elegant glass cafetières. They also offer espresso-based speciality coffees from a Mon Ami 50 bean-to-cup machine supplied by Café du Monde.

Of their coffee supplier, Sue says:

“We would not change Café du Monde for the world. Their coffee is just the best. They have been with us since the start and are so supportive. Office staff are more like friends than suppliers and competitors don’t even bother knocking!”

Bibury Court

This is a majestic Jacobean mansion, picturesquely situated next to the old church in the ‘chocolate box’ Cotswold village of Bibury, once described as ‘the most beautiful village in England’ by eminent Victorian artist and writer, William Morris. Bibury Court was built in 1633 by Sir Thomas Sackville, a ‘knight and gentleman usher in dailie waiting to the king’ — James I, that is!

Nowadays, Bibury Court is a superbly appointed, privately owned hotel set in six acres of delicious Cotswold countryside. Could any place be more English, with its oak-panelled drawing room, log fires, four poster beds, serious antiques, mullioned windows and oil paintings by the score? The setting is pristine, with virginia creeper climbing the walls, clipped yew hedges, a rose arbour with lavender beds and the peaceful tinkling of the river Coln as it passes through the grounds. As a guest here you could throw a line in and pit your wits against the trout or simply meander alongside the river as it makes its way into the heart of the Cotswolds. What makes Bibury Court a real home from home, however, are the unobtrusively attentive and friendly staff.

The Bibury Court Restaurant is an award winner – two AA rosettes, Cotswold Life’s Restaurant of the Year 2007 and the current holder of ’Taste of the West’ Gold award. Restaurant Manager, Christina Lindstadt, Head Chef, Antony Ely and their respective staff are responsible for food and drink in the restaurant itself and guests may also eat in the conservatory, drawing room or, weather permitting, on the recently extended terrace. Antony, who learned his trade in top restaurants in London and Dublin injects his award-winning flair into devising inspired menus. He is passionate about the use of fresh local produce and his dishes reflect a plethora of regional specialities and produce in season. His talents also include that most traditional of English treats, Afternoon Tea, served on the terrace in the summer or beside a roaring log fire in winter.

You can expect a fine cup of coffee to accompany your superb meal, as Bibury Court became a customer of Café du Monde just last year, after hearing of them through these columns. They particularly wished to introduce Fairtrade coffees to the hotel. Antony and Christina tasted several companies’ coffees along with General Manager, Philip Mason-Gordon. They unanimously selected Café du Monde who went on to install its stylish free on loan cafetière system and a Mon Ami 75 bean-to-cup espresso machine.

Says Antony, “They endeared themselves to us early on with the quality of their Fairtrade coffee, which beat the others we tasted hands down. Since then, their support service has sparkled with willing, helpful advice and spot-on deliveries regular as clockwork.”