York's Zen cook has opened a cafe selling food to connect with the soul

ETHICAL foodie Florencia Clifford has dreamt of running her own place ever since she moved to York 22 years ago.

She has now realised that ambition with the opening of Partisan, a compact cafe in Micklegate, selling an enticing mix of healthy, colourful and tasty fare alongside a selection of antiques.

"Everything you see is for sale," says Florencia enthusiastically. By that she means not only the rustic looking sandwiches and platters of roast-vegetable salads, but also the table chairs, mirrors, paintings and other fixtures scattered through the Tardis-like historic building.

Its listed status provided its own challenges as Florencia and her partner Hugo Hildyard set about converting what was once a curry house into a modish cafe, complete with an eclectic mix of wooden and glass service counters, stripped floors and unfussy furnishings. Local artist Mark Ibson carefully painted the exposed ceiling in a marble effect after restrictions were placed on renovations by planners.

The end result is a shabby chic interior that looks as if it has been there forever. It can cater for 25 covers upstairs and 20 downstairs in what could double as a private dining area. Bookings are already being taken for private parties.

Although only open during the day, Tuesday to Sunday from 9am-5.30pm, the plan is to extend into the evening too, stretching the simple day-time menu to something a bit more formal, but still retaining the essence of the Partisan ethos.

Florencia explains: "The name Partisan stresses a resistance to multinational coffee chains that don't pay tax. It is an asset to the community, a place where people can come for some very good food.

"Everything we have gone for is the best quality. We get a lot of our supplies from Suma, the wholefoods co-operative, and we try to support fair trade and independent farmers and growers. It's all about the heart and putting your heart into it."

York Press:

INTERIOR: Inside the new Partisan cafe with manager, Ian McQueen-Mason

Food is sourced locally and ethically, where possible, following Florencia's own food philosophy. Self-trained, she is an accomplished cook who spent ten years working as a chef at spiritual retreats and is the author of a book on Zen cooking, Feeding Orchids To The Slugs.

At Partisan, she has employed a professional chef from Denmark, Lennart Petersen, who shares her food passions.

He said the style of food reflected a mix of cuisines, with the emphasis on quality ingredients. "It has to be as local as possible. It is nice to use Asian spices, or Moroccan ones, and mix it up a bit."

The breakfast menu features a platter of cured ham, cheese, home-made jam and yoghurt, free-range egg, sourdough bread and a cake for a tenner as well as a Danish speciality of a hot skillet with free-range eggs, potatoes, goat's cheese, watercress and sourdough (£8.50). Eggs are also available served with bacon, or avocado or salmon.

For lunch there is always a homemade soup (£6), as well as a choice of healthy sandwiches and salads – all of which vary daily. Today the salad choice is roasted aubergine with lentils, thyme, pistachios, tomatoes and coriander; raw cauliflower, sultana, red onion and black olives; chargrilled broccoli with feta yoghurt, black sesame and parsley; and roasted sweet potatoes and parsnips with mango and coriander salsa, priced at three for £8 or four for £10.

Slow-roasted pork neck, warm smoked salmon with avocado and tomato salsa and hay-baked chicken leg with salted yoghurt and baked and burnt leeks can be added for a fiver. A couple of lunch specials are available too.

Cakes and pastries are baked on the premises, as is the bread. Coffee is from Monmouth in London and Roost in Malton, while a tea selection is from Bluebird, an award-winning producer from Brighton. Partisan is licensed too.

Florencia says Partisan is part of the revival of Micklegate, a place formerly blighted by boozing and bawdiness by night and empty shops during the day. Partisan is the latest in a series of new eateries that have opened in recent months.

Florencia said: "The street is being rebranded as York's most elegant street rather than a place where people come to get drunk."