Hot weather uncovers surprise business tweet

It was sunny but chilly, so hot drinks were required for us parents, as it looked as though we might be there for some time.

What an unexpected treat it was to find that the coffee van was not just selling hot drinks but was a proper mobile café, selling home-made cakes, biscuits and breads as well as the usual playground-survival fare of caffeine and chocolate.

I got chatting to the friendly owner, Lush, who told me that she and her partner Ed had recently set up not just one but two small businesses, Lush Mobile Café and Sussex Bread Company.

By this time, ever alert to the potential of food, my girls had appeared and spotted the cheese straws on offer at the colourful café’s table.

Once they had been scoffed, pronounced ‘gorgeous’ by two rather fussy food critics who then disappeared off to play, Lush told me that their home-made bread, cakes, biscuits and pasta were all gluten free.

But this is no crumbly, tasteless ‘worthy’ bread –after some dithering about which sort we fancied most, we took home a seeded loaf that you could actually slice to make a sandwich you can sink your teeth into.

Lush and Ed also use ethically-sourced and locally-grown ingredients and make their bread just a short walk from the café.

They are starting a bread box scheme, where customers can have their bread delivered to their door and are approaching local cafés and restaurants with a view to supplying them with a genuinely delicious gluten-free bread option.

All of this, whilst saving the sanity of the playground parents with the café!

Last week, I talked about seeing signs of recovery in the business world and it seems as though Lush and Ed’s twin venture is exactly the sort of thing that, with local support, will thrive.

Driven by strong values and artisanship, ethically- minded and community focused (they’ve also signed up for the ‘Share the Warmth’ scheme). May they blossom!

Visit the Lush Mobile Café at the seafront playground in West Worthing, or like them on Facebook, and follow them on Twitter via @sussexbreadco and @lushmobilecafe

Email me at [email protected]