It doesn’t seem that long since we had our terrace full of al fresco diners enjoying what proved a long hot summer, but now we are launching our Christmas menu while looking forward to a busy and festive December. The decorations are up complete with our giant baubles hanging from the cafe rafters. Bookings for Christmas lunch and Xmas tea are looking good but there’s room for a few more if you wanted to look at the bookings page on the website.

At Blue Garden we pride ourselves on sourcing our ingredients as local as possible. This is particularly so with the thousand or so eggs we serve every week. As you may have heard on the news, it’s a tough time for our egg farmers at the moment with rising costs and avian flu. While one of our main suppliers who farms near Colchester has sadly had to close down over winter period, we’ve managed to continue to find suppliers who farm in the Ardleigh area. Fortunately when it comes to fish things seem a bit easier. Tony Talbot who fishes the Colne Estauary between Point Clear, Brightlingsea and Mersea has been catching some excellent Sole this autumn which has gone down well with customers as a Chef’s special.

And while we are mentioning those who work at sea, we were particularly pleased to see 120 people filling the cafe on our Quiz night in aid of the RNLI. We were delighted to raise £1400 while having a lot of fun which combined some head scratching questions along with a hearty serving of Pie and Mash. Many thanks go to Wright’s of Frinton for their help with this worthwhile and entertaining evening.

So on that note we wish you seasons greetings and good prospects for 2023.