A café in Stalybridge is helping to bring the local community together

Peacock Café in Stalybridge has many upcoming events to help bring the community closer.

The Café is run by Works4U, a specialist college for 16-24 year olds offering an alternative to mainstream education. 

Norman Mackie is the director of Works4U: “We try to give them skills for adult living, we try to teach them budgeting, cooking and everyday life skills”, she said.   

The college offers a lot of work experience and work placement opportunities, some of those being at the Peacock Café.  

The Café in Ambleside recently hosted a MacMillan coffee morning.  

Sarah Lewis, a support worker at Works4U, who helped organise the charity event said: “We’re hosting the coffee morning to raise money for charity and to bring the students in to help us and make them aware of what MacMillan is”. 

The cakes at the coffee morning were all made by the students at the café. 

Carrie Finn, catering tutor said: “It’s all about them (the students) and getting them effective communication and knowing how to speak to customers and being a part of the community”.   

They host a MacMillan event every year to raise money. Another upcoming plan they have is a tea for talk event for mental health day on the 10th of October.  

Peacock Café has just achieved their 5-star food hygiene rating, which they are very pleased with, and shows the hard work that goes into the café from the students and tutors. 

The Café is a place where people of the local Ridge Hill community can go, Sarah said: “It brings everyone together, it’s been crazy in here today so hopefully we’ve raised quite a lot of money for the charity”.  

Carrie teased some plans the café has coming up in the future: “We’re looking at doing mums and tots and bringing more into the community and have this be a base for things to happen in the community”.  

Sarah added: “We’re looking to do a pet social where you can bring your dogs in if you’re coming for a brew”. 

The students who work at the café are studying level 1 food hygiene and the café is a way for them to advance their skills and build confidence.  

Peacock Café is open 8:30am till 2pm Monday to Friday.