A café was delighted when an “out of the blue” email revealed it had been declared a “local gem” by The Good Food Guide.

The Café in the Park, at Rickmansworth Aquadrome, was added to The Good Food Guide 2023 this week as a glowing write-up became available online. However, the owners did not even know they had been visited.

“It was just an email out of the blue. We will have to have a little bit of a celebration,” said David Wright, who co-owns the business with his wife Julie.

“Its fantastic news. It's very representative of the team that is down there.”

The Good Food Guide, which reviews the best places to eat across Britain, described it as “the kind of forward-thinking eatery that gives cafés in public spaces a good name”.

 “Sustainability is the watchword, with many ingredients grown on the owners’ four-acre organic farm in Radlett,” it added.

“The kitchen gives home produce a global spin, whether you’re in for breakfast (shakshuka, sweet potato fritters, toasted banana bread) or lunch (teriyaki broccoli, smoked baby aubergine with ‘nduja butter, grass-fed burgers, Ottolenghi-style salads).

Watford Observer: The Café in the Park RickmansworthThe Café in the Park Rickmansworth (Image: The Café in the Park)

“Artisan breads, cakes and pastries arrive each day from the owners’ bakery, and drinks are carefully sourced."

Having made sustainability and locally sourced ingredients a focus of the brand, the café was delighted to see it mentioned despite the visit being unannounced.

David added: “It is a shining example of the team effort and all the local suppliers it’s really nice to be recognised.

Watford Observer: The Café in the Park foodThe Café in the Park food (Image: The Café in the Park)

“We are always working with locally produced produce and it’s really nice someone else has picked up on that and written about it.”

He added that the drive for sustainability is set to continue with planning permission for solar panels at the site recently being agreed.

The café had previously been featured as a "local gem" by the guide in 2017 and 2018. It opened another location, The Tea Pavilion by Café in the Park, in Cassiobury Park, Watford, earlier this year.