THIS venue came recommended. On the Brandsby Road from Crayke, this food shop, cafe-bistro and market courtyard is open from Tuesday to Saturday. A Sunday brunch is also available but please book (01347 889241).

From the car park, we walked through the entrance to a paved courtyard. There are floral decorations and an imaginative use of old wheels for seating.

As rain threatened, we made for the indoor section of the cafe: an upgraded barn with wooden floor and visible roof trusses.

By 12.30pm, the place was full with a few hardy customers in the courtyard.

We were enjoying our annual visit from granddaughter Anna, who was given first go at the menu. From the three platters (meat, fish and ploughman's), she chose the latter (£6.50). This consisted of Cheddar, Wensleydale and Stilton cheeses, half a pork pie and a dressed salad. Apart from the olives, this choice seemed to go down a treat!

Ann wondered about the salad bowl with farmhouse preserves (£4.50) or quiche of the day (£4.95). Finally, she opted for butternut squash soup (£3.50). This was well received, piping hot and declared delicious.

I pondered the specials. Would chicken liver pat or gravadlax suffice? In the end, I too requested soup but in my case it would be mushroom. It was totally satisfying.

We waited well over half an hour for the food to appear. Perhaps there had been a slip-up in the kitchen area because everyone who arrived after us was served first!

However, the food was worth waiting for and it did come with an apology. The accompanying selection of bread, white, brown and walnut, satisfied our personal likes.

I couldn't persuade Ann to respond to the request please ask about teacakes, scones, cakes, croissants, pain au chocolat and toast' and she called it a day.

Anna was game for one of the day's puddings. Not bread and butter but apple and blackberry crumble (£2.50). So we had one portion and two spoons! Together with a jug of thick cream, there were two very satisfied customers.

The publicity material on the tables says The Williams Family are delighted to welcome you', although on inquiry we discovered that none of the pleasant and efficient staff were family members.

We felt that the IKEA cutlery and modern white crockery were out of keeping with a farmhouse image.

Also, Ann and Anna had difficulty getting their legs under the table.

On departure, we ran the gauntlet of mouth-watering home baking and preserves made on the premises, not to mention the many unusual delicatessen items on sale.