CAST Cafe in Helston to be joined by chef from America

Described variously on Trip Advisor as 'a hidden gem' and 'a knockout surprise', the cafe in Penrose Road is growing its reputation for food and now its staff also.

Mollie Goldstrom, wife of artist William Arnold, is relocating from Rhode Island to be a part-time chef - bringing with her a wealth of experience, particularly in cooking seafood and foraged suppers.

It is the same ethos that already exists at the CAST Cafe, where food is seasonal and the menus are designed on what is available from local producers at any given week.

Chef-manager Dominic Bailey said: "We're using pretty much exclusively local producers - there's very little imported goods. It's very seasonal. We're doing things you can't find in other places in Helston."

Chef-manager Dominic Bailey puts the finishing touches to two lunches

Fish is from Kernow Sashimi near St Martin and meat from C&E Retallack Butchers at The Lizard.

"There's a really strong commitment to reducing food miles and waste," he added.

Mollie has also, in the past, hosted feast 'pop up' feast suppers - as has the CAST Cafe - and Dominic hopes to hold more of these this autumn and winter.

"I think she's able to contribute a lot. Once we get past summer I'm looking at feast nights. In April we did a wine night with Rich Hamblin of More Wine, with all wine from the Loire Valley and food inspired by that, so I'm hoping to get him back for a Spanish night," said Dominic.

A first birthday party was recently held in the cafe

Other events at the cafe include occasional tango 'milonga' nights, where dancers from across Cornwall, Devon and the south west descend on Helston for a night of dancing and food.

During July and August it is hosting three 'Six O'clock Cinema' nights based around time travel, starting with Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure last week, with Terry Gilliam's Time Bandits shown on August 7 and cult subtitled French film Les Visiteurs (15+) on August 21. Tickets are £2.50, with bean chilli and cakes available in advance.

Dominic has also started taking CAST Cafe on the road, providing outside catering for parties and weddings. To date he has catered for everything from a 70th birthday party for ten people through to a picnic for 50 people.

The Helston cafe opens every day except Monday for breakfasts between 10am and noon, lunch between noon and 3pm and throughout the summer during Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings from 6pm to 9pm, with the plan to continue these through the winter also.

The CAST building in Penrose Road. Photo: Jamie Woodley

It is part of the CAST building as a whole, which also houses artist studios and puts on a range of community events.

Coming up these include weekly Tuesday children's workshops until August 20, plus on Saturday August 3 and 10, and a camera obscura from August 6 to 20, while in September CAST will be part of the Helston Makes It! festival with a Helston Mends It event, for which volunteers are being sought to show how to darn, sew on buttons and general clothes repairs.

That same month, on September 14 and 15, CAST will hold an Open Studios event where people can visit artists in situ, including the six new studios created from an old toilet block in the former school.

CAST chairman Teresa Gleadowe said: "I want people in Helston and around to understand it's for them."