The Linton Kitchen

Linton has been crying out for some interesting food options for ages! It's a pretty village south of Cambridge with lots of chocolate box cottages winding down their high street, and now the street is peppered with some interesting places to eat and shop. First there was Jigsaw Bakery, now there is Linton Kitchen, and soon there will be a new butcher's shop opening.

I worked very close by about 3 years ago and the only things of note nearby were the greasy spoon around the corner and the fact that the nearest BP garage had an M&S food. You can imagine. 

Linton Kitchen is a coffee shop and local produce shop run by Gemma, which opened in April. It's a small shop packed with local goodies - Kandula tea, Hot Numbers coffee beans, jams, chutneys, oils, eggs, Saffron Ice Cream Co. ice cream and lots more. She even sells local crafts - tea cosies, little fabric clocks and mugs. 

I'd stopped by soon after opening for a coffee and custard tart, but I was keen to go back with the Mr again and to have brunch. 

There are lots of options - centering around traditional breakfast foods - eggs, mushrooms, sausages and of course bacon - the menu changes daily. There are also a selection of sandwiches for lunch and of course there are sweet treats to be had.

We both had the mushrooms on (Jigsaw Bakery sourdough) toast with creme fraiche, and added bacon for me, washed down with an excellent flat white. The quality of everything really shows in Gemma's food - the mushrooms taste of something, there is a good whack of garlic and the bacon is excellent. You can tell the produce is fresh and well chosen. 

Cakes are baked by Gemma or provided by the lovely Afternoon Tease. There are also housebaked brownies or flapjacks and muffins. You can also find Norfolk St Bakery's custard tarts for sale, which is rather nice for a Shire dweller like me who finds it difficult to get into the city. She even made my recipe for Banana Oat Cake and had it for sale last week, and it is very popular (beaming). 

The Linton Kitchen has only been open for just over 6 weeks but Gemma has already done so much, there is always something new available (which she tweets about each day) whether it is a new cake or some fresh produce that has just come in. There are local strawberries in this week, the first batch of the summer.

If you're a little bit further afield it is definitely worth making the trip out to Linton - there is Jigsaw Bakery, Linton Kitchen and then you can go and visit the Zoo as well! And if that isn't enough you can make lots of Alan Partridge jokes whilst you are there (sadly there isn't a travel tavern). 

I'm looking forward to being a regular customer, it's a lovely spot to chill with a coffee and it's nice to have a proper breakfast / brunch option in the area.

Linton Kitchen

30 High Street 

Linton

Cambridgeshire

CB21 4HS

Open Tues - Saturday (8-6) and Sunday (10-3)

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Jigsaw Bakery - Linton, Cambridgeshire

Real bread has come to Cambridge! Since my first visit to the Jigsaw Bakery in Linton a month or so ago I've been going along pretty much every weekend for my fix of Matthew's wonderful bread. The kind of brilliant bread that makes you want to run home as fast as you can and tell your husband about it because it is so good (yes I do always have a nibble of it as I am leaving the shop, naturally). I visited the bakery first during CamShopLocal so here is my promised post, dedicated to it!

Matthew Whitby opened the bakery back in November, and I spotted the bakery Facebook page go up just before and watched the progress of the shop being fitted out. He's part of the Real Bread Campaign - campaigning to bring back proper bread to the UK - handmade without additives or improvers. I've heard lots of people compare our bread to the continent and we are lagging behind, has the popularity of the soft white slice made us forget what proper bread is?

Matthew sells a huge variety of bread from his tiny bakery - sourdough, flavoured sourdough, fruit breads, pain de campagne, ryes, wholemeal, breadsticks and even more - plus cakes, puddings and meringues. He also stocks and makes coffee, olive oil, bread flours, chutney and aprons from the lovely Cooking Gorgeous.

We've so far tasted the sourdough, pain de campagne, tomato and cheese focaccia, currant malthouse and wild garlic focaccia. The focaccias are mega, and don't last more than 24 hours in our house. The currant bread and the sourdough keep so well in an airtight container and see us through breakfasts and alongside meals during the week. We've yet to try the sweets but I'm sure we will do soon.

Linton is about 10 -15 minutes drive from Central Cambridge, a lovely little village which has some exciting things going on. The Linton Kitchen has recently opened - a beautiful cafe which also sells local produce, and there is a butchers opening soon too. The Crown Inn is a great pub (good pies!) and they even have a little zoo!

If you're hoping to get some of Matthew's bread do arrive around opening time (11am) because he does sell out quick. Also, if you drop him a note on Facebook he is happy to reserve a loaf for you, great service!

Jigsaw Bakery
113 High Street
Linton
CB21 4JT
Open Tuesday 11-6, Thursday - Friday 11-6 and Saturday 11 - 4

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