A NEW cafe has opened in Wiveliscombe offering healthy and tasty locally sourced food.

The Phoenix Cafe’s owner and head chef, Justine Comer, lives in Broomfield on the Quantocks, but loves Wiveliscombe. “My best friend and my uncle both live here, and I’d love to live here too,” she said.

Justine’s family used to run the Pines Cafe in Broomfield, which famously burned down in 2019 - hence the name of the new cafe.

The Phoenix Cafe is offering quiches and homity pies, savoury tarts, healthy wholesome soups, buddha bowls, salads, tagines, toasties, brownies, muesli and more.

Justine said she will be bringing her wealth of experience  - catering college, private ‘cheffing’ on yachts, time spent cooking in New Zealand, running a muesli company and a wholesale cake company - to her new venture, and is confident it will succeed.

She said: “I think people in Wivey will be interested and open-minded about the range of food we’re offering - and much of it is local, from Thornes Butchers, Braziers Coffee and Fenton Farm eggs and so forth. Everything will be made in-house so it’s all as local as possible.”

On its opening morning a constant stream of customers was eager to try something new.

Local resident Susan Trent tucked into a slice of quiche. “It’s delicious,” she said.