One of the many perks of working at Pulborough Brooks is that I can buy myself tasty treats from the cafe. So for lunch today I tried out a toastie using the new bloomer bread that we’re having delivered from Jenger’s craft bakery, based just up the road from us in Billingshurst.

In my toastie was Red Tractor farm assured cheese and some of the RSPB’s own chutney – we’ve got three different kinds and I chose the country fruit version. We’re in the process of refreshing our cafe menu and one of the things we’re priding ourselves on is the sourcing of our products – some using local suppliers such as Ruby’s bakery and Seriously Real ice creams and others being sourced to meet important ethical and environmental standards such as our very own Hope Farm extra virgin rapeseed oil and Love Nature bird-friendly coffee.

The bread (and the toastie in general) was delicious, but the other benefit of using the bloomer bread is that the small slices at the end of the loaf have to be put to good use...so I’m pleased to announce the return of home-made bread pudding! This has always been a popular pud full of dried fruits, warming spices and lashings of cream but we’ve not had it on the menu for quite a while. I can’t guarantee it will be available every day but it will be back by popular demand on a regular basis.

For those of you who are keen on your coffee, I’m also pleased to report that our new coffee machine has arrived. Using our Love Nature bird-friendly coffee, we’re now able to produce frothy cappuccinos and smooth lattes in addition to our filter coffee. The milk comes from South View Dairy, just the other side of the River Arun at the bottom of Bury hill.

The RSPB chutney & jam, Hope Farm rapeseed oil and bird-friendly coffee are also available in the shop so you can enjoy them at home too.

Every penny of profit from both the cafe and the shop helps to fund our conservation work so if you go for a walk when you visit us you can enjoy watching the lovely lapwings and listening to the whistling wigeon knowing that every slice of cake helps us to manage the habitat for them.