A NEW training café serving local food products will open at Hatherleigh Community Centre in the New Year, offering professional kitchen training to local people.

The café will open every Tuesday market day between 9am and 3pm and will provide accredited training through the Open College Network for the volunteers who run the café.

The new social enterprise has been set up by Seize the Moment Ltd with funds from Local Food Big Lottery.

The café was originally the idea of young people who attend the Tuesday night youth club at the community centre. They received £4,000 from the Prince's Trust to buy café equipment and realised they would need professional training to make the business a success. Petroc College is now involved and can offer professional kitchen training to adult volunteers.

Another local social enterprise, Made Well Ltd, has offered extra help with kitchen supervision and an opportunity to grow vegetables and other produce at Hatherleigh Allotments.

Jane Elliott, volunteer manager for the project, said: 'This is a real grass-roots project where we aim to train local residents to run their own enterprise at the community centre.

'There are several similar cafés supported by Petroc, operating across Devon, and each of them has become sustainable through the work of the trained volunteers.'

Volunteer training places are available in the café and kitchen, which will open in January 2011.

Adults and young people aged 16-plus are eligible for free training places and should contact Jane on 07773 679559 or email [email protected]">[email protected] for details.