Every two weeks Thame Hub will be featuring an article on various people in Thame who serve the Thame Community. This is your chance for the people of Thame to find out a little bit more about you or your business.
If you’d like to feature in these articles after the new year then drop us an email at editor@thamehub.co.uk.
For our fifth instalment of the series we are talking to Sally Dickinson, Director of What’s Cooking to find out a little bit more about the delicious foods that they sell.
When did What’s Cooking set up in Thame?
It feels like only yesterday but we opened in 2005 and, even though much has changed since then, as we’ve grown over the years, our core philosophy has stayed the same – great food, hospitality and our customers have remained firmly rooted at the heart of everything we do.
Tell us a bit more about your shop
What’s Cooking is actually three businesses in one: firstly, we’re a delicatessen selling a range of artisan food products, including handmade ready meals, mouth-watering salads, savoury pastries, artisan British cheese and freshly baked cakes; secondly, a bespoke catering company preparing high quality food for private parties, weddings, picnics, business lunches and corporate events; and thirdly (our latest addition), a warm, welcoming café where you can enjoy all-day breakfasts, brunch, light lunches and cake, with fresh coffee and loose leaf tea.
Everything we sell is hand-crafted and freshly prepared by our own expert chefs in our kitchens above the shop, or personally sourced by us from local, artisan food producers, who all share our commitment to provenance, quality and freshness.
We’re located in a lovely period building on Cornmarket and there’s no better place for anyone who wants to eat fresh, eat local and eat well.
What made you open What’s Cooking in Thame?
Finding the right location was always key to our vision, and although we explored many other market towns in the area, we quickly decided that Thame was the natural home for What’s Cooking. From the moment we walked up the High Street and saw the rich diversity of thriving independent businesses, we knew this was where we had to be.
I really believe that choosing to locate in Thame was the best decision we ever made. It’s a very special place that’s managed to successfully nurture a vibrant community of independent retailers, supported by local people who value the vitality and unique sense of identity this brings to the town.
What’s Thame’s best-selling product?
What a question! Right now, I’d probably have to say it’s our crushed avocado, slow-roast tomato and poached egg on toast but it’s really difficult to single out a particular item. We have such a range of products, and so many of them are enormously popular.
This said, we have some old and trusted favourites which always sell well, like our beef bourguignon and, of course, everyone loves a treat; our chocolate brownies are always in demand and our lemon polenta cake, which we have recently introduced for customers who prefer to avoid gluten, has been an instant hit.
What’s your favourite thing about Thame?
Again, I couldn’t possibly narrow it down to just one thing – there are so many.
Naturally though, I’d have to start with the amazing people of Thame and, in particular, our customers, who support and inspire us, and are always spreading a good word for us. We feel very fortunate to have so many lovely customers and they hold a special place in our hearts.
I also love the fact that Thame has such a strong community spirit, and is determined to preserve its uniqueness – not only in terms of the physical fabric of the town and its wonderful historic architecture, but also by supporting and encouraging independent businesses like What’s Cooking, who are privileged to have made Thame their home.
What’s an average day in the life of a What’s Cooking employee?
Average is not a word we use very often at What’s Cooking, but while no two days are ever the same, they always begin with an early start.
Whilst the town is still waking up, our chefs are hard at work preparing an impressive array of mouth-watering dishes for our deli and café, and for our outside catering. At the same time, our sales staff will be busy filling the counters in our deli with sumptuous bowls of fresh produce and warm breakfast pastries, before they open the doors, ready to greet the people of Thame with fresh coffee, wholesome breakfasts and a friendly smile.
Each member of our small team has different skills, qualities and experience, but we’re all connected by our passion for great food, artisan coffee and generous hospitality – and we love sharing this with our customers.
It’s a long day, it’s hard work, and it can certainly be hectic at times, but we have a dedicated team and we love what we do. Our staff work tirelessly to make What’s Cooking what it is and the wonderful smiles on our customers’ faces make it all worthwhile!
What’s your favourite dish to make using your products?
It changes regularly, but right now I’d have to say it’s our delicious coffee and walnut cake. The reason why it’s so special? It’s all about the coffee!
Our coffee is supplied to us by our friends at Ue Coffee, who only buy their beans from small artisan estates, wood-roasting them locally in Witney using traditional methods that have been lost for generations.
Our clever chefs use the very first coffee extract of the day to make an espresso syrup – and this is our secret ingredient for the best coffee and walnut cake you’ll ever taste!
For someone who hasn’t visited What’s Cooking yet – why should they come to your shop?
If you’ve not yet visited us, you have a great adventure ahead of you – and it begins before you even open the door and step inside!
The first thing you’ll notice are the tantalising aromas drifting from our kitchens upstairs, and the shop windows laden with mouth-watering food, freshly prepared just hours or even minutes before.
Push open the door and you’ll receive a warm welcome from our friendly, knowledgeable staff, who will be delighted to help you in any way they can, even if you just want information on provenance, advice on preparation and cooking, or simply to chat about good food or coffee.
Nothing beats that special pleasure of being able to see, smell and sample freshly made and locally sourced, hand-crafted food. I guarantee that when you’ve come through our door once, you’ll soon be back for more!
What’s in store for What’s Cooking in the future?
Although we’ve been trading for over a decade now, we’re still filled with boundless enthusiasm and an endless dedication to sharing great food and an authentic food experience with as many people as we can.
We’re brimming with exciting new ideas, although I’d rather not give too much away right now. What I can say is that, in due course, we will be extending our opening hours to include Sundays, as well as hosting foodie evenings and taster events.
At the end of the day, however, we’re here to give our customers what they want, and so I invite the people of Thame to let us know what more they’d like from What’s Cooking!
Anything you’d like to say to the people of Thame?
Well, it almost goes without saying how privileged we are to know so many lovely people in Thame and I’d like to express our sincere gratitude to all of them for supporting this very special town and its delightful high street.
The distinct individuality of Thame is down to the people who live here, and we’re proud to count ourselves part of the community.
If you’re already a What’s Cooking customer, we thank you and look forward to the pleasure of sharing our food with you for many years to come and, if you’re not, why not drop in to say “hello”, and let us introduce you to the tastiest, freshest food in town!
Thanks to Sally for letting us interview her, for more information on What’s Cooking you can visit their website at www.whatscookingthame.co.uk or sample some of their delicious food yourself by heading into the town centre where you can find them at 6/7 Cornmarket.
