News that Sonya Kidney was taking over a yurt at Nicholsons Nurseries and running a cafe there was an announcement indeed.

I love Sonya’s food, whether she’s cooking in a small cave or a five star hotel, so I was already working out how soon I could get to North Aston before I’d even put the phone down.

Fresh from her most recent stint as head chef at Killingworth Castle, Sonya has been given free rein at The Yurt Cafe, and, with a family at home, she’s finally got her evenings back.

She cooks the kind of deceptively simple, seasonal, sympathetic, soothing, fresh food that I love and with North Aston Organics on full alert just up the road, I expected the produce and ingredients to be shouting as loudly as the chef.

Soon afterwards I could be found hot footing it through the posh garden centre, snaking down the windy path to the circus looking tent at the back, where Sonya and her team were newly ensconced.

The yurt is a wonder to behold, brand new, straining on its guy ropes as the wind whistled overhead, snug as a bug inside, all fresh wood and canvas, tidy staff in pinnies waiting behind the counter, tables scattered about with tarnished cutlery, stools and a diluted palette of pale blues and greens. I fully expected a strong man or a troupe of acrobats to appear at any time.

The menu is small and vaguely predictable, in a garden centre sort of way - a daily quiche, smoked salmon and brown bread, soup of the day - quite National Trust. The crowd was similar, nothing too flashy. My sons didn’t like the stools, it meant they had to sit up for once, but as soon as their huge Mexican hot chocolates arrived, they stopped grumbling.

We ordered some soup and a plate of cheese truffles (£6.50) to share while we eyed up the mains. As soon as the starters appeared I knew my hopes hadn’t been unfounded. The generous sweet potato and celery soup (a steep £7.50) was flavoured with lime, giving it a tiny afterkick, the swirls of olive oil decorating the thick, supple, soft, pureed vegetable flavours. All very nice.

As for the goats cheese truffles with a beetroot relish, they defied belief; one rolled in chives, another in fennel seeds, the third in turmeric, pretty as a picture, delicious, fresh, novel and right up my tree, the homemade beetroot relish cutting right through the rich goats cheese. The boys didn’t get a look in. Even the garnish featured delicious soft, new North Aston salad shoots, fronds of herbs and leaves adding to its overall accomplishment.

The food arrives on gardening trays which is a nice touch and our mains were prompt. The spinach, red onion and parmesan quiche (£9), came as a small round individual pie rather than a slice, and needed a few more minutes in the oven and a bit more flavour.

The beef and herb meatballs with creamed potatoes, red wine sauce and savoy cabbage (£10) was a different dish altogether, the depth of that gravy, the creamy potatoes, the juicy meatballs, all combining to fend off the cold wind outside, a suitably seasonal dish.

The homemade gnocchi were wonderfully soft and served with a leek, mushroom and red pepper sauce (£10.50).

We had to have the pear frangipane tart for pudding, which was heavenly, plus a portion of Sonya’s legendary sticky toffee pudding (£9) -she trained at Sharrow Bay Hotel, the birth place of the dessert, so if anyone can do it properly she can - which we then fought over, and some lovely scones, all of which were better than a rather strange rhubarb shortbread which wasn’t cooked, or possibly at all.

Daylesford aside then, the Yurt Cafe is a massive step up for garden centres everywhere, and perfect for a gentle luncheon.

And yes there were a few hiccups, but as the doors had only been open for a matter of days I’m sure any teething problems will be ironed out.

Plans are afoot to apply for a licence and extend its opening hours to include the evenings as well. Come the summer, when overflowing with produce, The Yurt Cafe and Sonya’s penchant for freshly picked, local produce will really come into its own.

The Yurt Café, Nicholsons Nurseries, The Park, North Aston, OX25 6HL,

01869 340342

theyurtatnicholsons.co.uk

Opening hours: Monday to Friday: 8:30am – 4:30pm

Saturday: 9am – 4pm