This weekend, Food at 27 celebrated its first anniversary, rounding off a year of challenges, but also of great positives, for the Church Street sandwich shop.

"I think I got the keys on December 20 2019 and opened on January 16 2020," says owner, Catherine, who runs the shop with help from Elaine and Gwen. "And then everything changed!"

I took a look back with her through the ups and downs of this first year.

The beginnings of Food at 27

Catherine began Food at 27 after a long career in the media, which saw her working in advertising, headhunting and business development.

"I didn't like what I was doing," she explains, "but I've always loved cooking.

"I left home unable to boil an egg, a potato or anything, so I'm self taught. I've always loved dinner parties, making food and feeding people. I like reading cookery books, watching programmes and going on courses; it's a real passion of mine."

Having left her job in October 2018, she set up a small business developing and producing healthy ready meals, as well as offering cookery lessons.

"It was a really good learning curve, but after having such a busy career and always being in big teams, I didn't like being on my own in the house!"

"My husband, Tim, suggested that I start a café, and I saw a space advertised in Frodsham.

"The lady who had it before me, Jane, did a lot of baking, cooked breakfasts and things like that, so I knew that there was a synergy there with what I wanted to do."

Catherine jumped at this new opportunity, and was soon serving her home-made sandwiches, soups, breakfasts and sweet treats to the public.

"To me, it's all about the food. I always say to people that I wouldn't put anything out in my shop that I wouldn't give to my family and friends.

"We don't buy anything pre-prepared: we roast the meats in the shop and I do all of the baking myself."

Catherine soups and sausage rolls soon developed quite a name for themselves, and "a lot of people would come in asking for them.

"That's definitely the best bit, when somebody compliments your food like that," she says.

A promising start

"For the ten or twelve weeks we were open before the first lockdown, it was so nice to get to know the community," Catherine tells me.

"One of the best aspects was meeting people like Lisa at Dandelion Gifts, Ian at Alan Pickup Butchers, Carol and the team at Hales, Chris from Frodsham Fones, Katie from brew and tucker and many more.

Keen to support her fellow local businesses, Catherine decided to source her meat from Alan Pickup, her vegetables and eggs from Hales and her kitchen supplies from Home & Beauty.

"Frodsham has such a nice business community," Catherine says. "Everyone is so supportive and wants to see you succeed.

"I thought it would take a few months for us to establish ourselves and then we'd begin to grow the business. I had all these big ideas!"

An unexpected spanner in the works

But then, Covid-19 bulldozed through the plans and projects of businesses across the country.

"We did try as long as we could to stay open in March," Catherine says. "And then obviously there came a time when we knew we would have to shut the shop."

Luckily, when Food at 27 was able to reopen in May, the customer base that Catherine has accumulated came back in force.

"We were actually busier than when we first opened," Catherine says. "People genuinely wanted to support the business and we found new customers in those who were now working at home and going walking round the town in their spare time.

"When we came back again over the Christmas period, it was just so busy and everything started to go really well.

"It's just great being there in Frodsham. When I arrive every day at 7 o'clock, it's just Ian and I on Church Street, preparing for the day in the dark mornings, and I just love that.

"There was also a great camaraderie with the other shopkeepers. We all check to see how everyone is doing."

As the Christmas shopping frenzy began to crescendo in December, the Food at 27 team would make coffees and teas for the other traders on the street, offering a small helping hand for their busiest moments.

"It was nice to see everyone pulling together," Catherine says.

"Elaine, Gwen and I take a lot of pride in what we do and it means so much that people have supported us."

Feeling hopeful for 2021

When lockdown restrictions ease and Food at 27 is allowed to open once again, Catherine hopes to build on the successes of the last year, continuing to provide quality breakfasts, lunches and snacks to the busy people of Frodsham.

"I'm more confident now about being away from the business. I know that when we do go back, it will be just as busy, if not busier," she says.

"While I've been at home with nothing to do, I've been testing out homemade pork pies, and thinking of other recipes that taste great but are also good value for money."

Alongside these little projects, Catherine is thinking about developing a Food at 27 delivery service.

Finally, "it would also be great if we could have a full year of trading!" she laughs.

You can keep an eye out for updates from the Food at 27 team on their Facebook page or website.