News: I visited Gosforth's Café Beam and met the young people behind the scenes

Tucked into the Old Fire Station on Gosforth High Street, Café Beam may be small but like its staff, it’s full of personality and is one that will become a local on my list. Opening its doors in May 2014, now with its sister café having opened at Ouseburn Farm in March 2023, the café is run by the North East’s Smile For Life Charity whose aim is to put a smile on the face of every disabled and disadvantaged youngster, empowering them to achieve their potential

And the café certainly has done that. The warmth, not just from the cosy newly refurbished space, but from the staff and volunteers is hard to miss and certainly had me smiling long after visiting. Paula Gascoigne, Chief Executive of Smile for Life Children’s Charity, said regulars call it the Café Beam experience. She said: “It’s not just a lunch, it’s not just a breakfast, it's the whole package and a lot of our regulars come in just to have a coffee, a cake and a lovely bit of chat with our young people who are very keen to do that.”

Paula was inspired to open the café in 2014 after working in the community and noticing a gap for young people which the charity was keen to fill. She said: “It became very clear that there was a real gap when youngsters approached school leaving age and that either a very small percentage of them went into supported employment, many of them stayed at home, some went to do college courses or to day centres.”

Café Beam’s goal was to provide real life work experience, skill and knowledge and the café has since been successful in supporting over 70 young people which has led to its expansion in Ouseburn. Since 2014 five members have now become full time paid employees including a chef, three café supervisors and a kitchen porter.

I was lucky enough to meet two of these superstars on my visit who let me in on the key secret into Café Beam’s appeal to young people and customers, confidence. After meeting the whole team I can hardly believe any were shy to begin with. Josh Hardin, 28, is one of the café supervisors and his bubbly fun personality kept me grinning from the moment I walked in. He remembered his start at the café after a year's work experience every Friday afternoon and being asked to stay on as a paid member of staff.

He said: “I said yeah, I would absolutely love that. They obviously saw my potential and experience and they wanted someone to oversee the front.” Though Josh is a man of many talents from greeting guests, taking orders, making coffees and helping with deliveries, he makes sure everyone is welcome and the café is running smoothly. But his love for his team shines through and is very clear to watch as they work front of house together. It’s this atmosphere that helps create regulars and make all in the café feel at home.

He said: “I’ve got a really good staff team and young people and I work with them every day.” Josh has managed to meet people from all over the world as word of mouth spreads the cafe’s glowing reputation and it is exciting for the young people to get the recognition they so rightly deserve.

Talking about why he would encourage others to visit, Josh said: “Just come in and enjoy our refreshments, our cakes are very popular and so is our food menu. And obviously we have two amazing chefs that do everything from scratch every day.” This was when I went to meet another lovely young person, who graduated as a paid worker from Café Beam but whose talents are a little more behind the scenes.

James Middleton, 23 years old, is the chef at Café Beam and whose food looked amazing on the day, and I will definitely be back in the New Year for a review. Like Josh, James came to Cafe Beam as part of a work experience for his second year of college whilst studying hospitality and catering. He said: “I did have a friend who used to be here before I came and he said a lot of positive things about Café Beam and how it’s helped him get out and improve his skills.”

He started on a Friday afternoon as front of house making coffees and taking orders. James said: “It helped me build my confidence up, getting out of the house and just interacting with the community, it’s all fantastic. It was a brilliant opportunity.”

But his real passion came back of house, at home in the kitchen. When receiving the job as chef he said: “It felt absolutely brilliant. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to do it at first. I found that I do enjoy working with my hands back of the house and creating delicious fresh food with a variety of flavours. It’s like an art form, you really use your creative side to come up with interesting ideas and combinations.”

James and fellow Head Chef Kate, like all the staff at Cafe Beam, are proud of the food they produce using local ingredients and this dedication to flavour and experience was awarded this November with the Cafe receiving another inspection result of 5 stars for the 7th year in a row. Paula said: “I was adamant we would not compromise on quality and our young people deserve to work in a beautiful place with the best facilities and the best produce and the customers see that.”

One of the best things about the café is that their young people are at the heart of the business and that reflects in their pricing too. Despite the many cafes and restaurants on Gosforth High Street, Café Beam is not out to compete with them, their main focus is to train and support the young people on work experience with the food and drinks being an outcome of the service.

Written by Georgia Cuthbertson, Chronicle Live