in Ampleforth Abbey’s new Tea Room

Ampleforth Abbey has opened a new Tea Room providing a host of delicious locally sourced snacks and meals for the thousands of visitors who visit the Abbey each year. The Tea Room is situated in the Main Hall next to the Abbey Church and is open Tuesday – Saturday from 10.00 am – 5.30 pm, and on Sundays from 12.00 pm – 5.30 pm.

Ampleforth Abbey is home to a thriving Benedictine community which recognises hospitality as an essential part of its work. Fr Rainer, who works in the Ampleforth Abbey Orchard, sees the Tea Room as part of the Abbey’s outreach to the wider community: ‘Food and drink is a great way to welcome visitors to the Abbey to take in the atmosphere of this beautiful part of Yorkshire. We want people to come and visit us, join the Community in prayer and enjoy the stunning surroundings. A delicious piece of homemade apple cake and a perfect cup of tea or coffee is a simple act of hospitality expressing the welcome that is at the heart of every Benedictine monastery’, says Fr Rainer.

The Tea Room aims to serve the best in local produce, with cakes, sandwiches and meals made on site. Many of the recipes use the produce of the Abbey itself, particularly apples from what is the northernmost commercial orchard in the UK, and Fr Rainer’s cider-making enterprise and seasonal chocolates.

The local flavour is reflected in the Tea Room decor, too. Paintings are by 87 year old Fr Martin Haigh, who for more than 30 years was Arts Master at Ampleforth College, and furnishings are by local craftsman Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson.

Fifteen hundred years ago, St Benedict said no monastery should be without guests – guests at Ampleforth Abbey can now relax and, in holy surroundings, succumb to the temptations of the delicious local produce.