The two girls walked out the cafe fully sustained for a Dartmoor hike. They gave ‘Kitty’ a small wave, a massive smile, and expressed the hope that she would still be open on their return.
That was enough to convince me that this must be a good place to eat. Good, and certainly different. You could even say, ‘quirky’.
To be honest, I didn’t even want to go to to a cafe, didn’t want to go out. My energy levels were low but so was our larder, so a supermarket visit was essential. Once Luisa is at the supermarket, she also wants the organic shop, and then BeanFeast in Okehampton’s Victorian arcade – and once you are in BeanFeast, well, the Clockwork Kitty cafe is right next door.
I really don’t know the reason for the name as Kitty is a free spirit, cooks whatever is on her mind or available from the organic shop – and therefore has no fixed menu.
“The whole ethos is to provide something healthy, but also to provide people with an experience where they know that they are cared for,” Kitty explained to me after I’d indulged in a bowl of her red pepper and bean soup.
Luisa chose a very tasty Mediterranean Lentil soup with sweet potato balls.
All very well, but why am I writing a blog about it? Put simply, we just found the whole ambiance to be a delight.
“Anyone who gets some tables and chairs in, buys some food and sells it, can call it a cafe,” Kitty says. “Anyone can do that, and you can have a really good vibe, and it’s fine. The chains do it. It’s absolutely fine, but we aim to create something that specifically, at every step of the process, is designed to make someone feel well, feel that they are valued. It is a very different game. And it’s a privilege.”
Kitty switched from her professional career to cooking some years back. She does a lot of catering for events in the villages around Okehampton, and started her own cafe in the centre of down just as Covid and Lockdown arrived on the scene. That business collapsed, but about eighteen months ago she gained the lease on the tiny store half way up the Victorian Arcade.
Luisa and I enjoyed our soup while seated on reclaimed cinema seats, looking out the window, watching the shoppers passing buy or browsing the eclectic variety of stores along the passageway. The other customers sat on stools at a counter down the centre of the cafe. Customers one side, Kitty and her team on the other.
Martin Latham was on holiday from Kent. “I think it’s a bit like the Shire in the Hobbit. Full of good energy.” He was also delighted that it was not corporate. That gave it the special atmosphere he liked. Equally he enjoyed sitting and watching the food in preparation, asking questions, and joining in the conversation.
One of the teenage helpers explained to me that she is homeschooled and Kitty is one of her tutors. Together with her friend she was creating rice-paper wraps, filled with tasty vegetables and seasoning, then cooked in a toasted sandwich maker and served with a peanut butter sauce and ground chilli. Delicious.
As well as learning catering skills, Kitty explained that this kind of tutoring taught a number of life skills. The girls certainly seemed happy with the process – and as customers we enjoyed the end result.
Casper, who was on holiday with Martin, enthused. “The food was incredible. Watching it being made was a privilege. The combination of foods, it was almost like a mystical process.”
I understood exactly what he meant when he added, “It’s a calm healing space.”
We felt the same, and we will definitely be back for a return visit. As Kitty responded, “Healing! That’s exactly what we try and do with our food. That’s the whole point. To try and make you well and happy. The idea is that we want you to have something that makes you feel really amazing.”
Whether you live locally or are on holiday, if you want to try something different to the norm, this is definitely the place to try.
Kitty is English, but a recent DNA test showed that she had ancestry in the Middle East. She laughingly thinks that may be why she has such a love for herbs and spices and the foods from Morocco right across to India. Visit her website here.
She is also one of the active leaders of the Okehampton Community Kitchen. Profits from her catering are used to help support this and similar worthy projects.
Customer, Martin Latham runs an independent bookshop based in Canterbury and is author of ‘The bookseller’s tale.’ He was delighted to discover the delightful Dogberry & Finch Bookshop around the corner in St James Street.
While you are here why not also explore more in the Okehampton Victorian Arcade.
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