In a grand opening ceremony, Watford’s Elected Mayor Peter Taylor Peter Taylor cut the ribbon, along with Random Cafe’s Founder Jane Johnson, officially opened the doors of their new cafe.

The event saw inspiring speeches from various volunteers and officials, including garden manager Jenny, who shared how volunteering for Random Cafe and Penniwells, riding for the disabled, has been a significant part of her life.

Volunteer Dan also expressed how his experience with the organization has helped him grow in confidence and learn more about sustainability, which has supported his studies in engineering. The speeches by Jane and Alex highlighted Random Cafe’s journey and plans for the future.

“We celebrated the completion of our beautiful garden room on Saturday 15th April. The weather was lovely, and it was great to see so many of the wonderful people that have gotten us to where we are now.
We had delicious canapes from West Herts College and a glass or two of Prosecco.”

With Watford MP Dean Russell

Random Café operates on a pay-as-you-feel (PAYF) basis, which allows customers to donate an amount that they believe is fair for the meal they receive or to recognize the value of a meal by donating their time, energy, skills, and support. This model supports the organization’s mission to reduce food waste and its environmental impact.

In the UK alone, around 15 million tonnes of food is wasted annually, with a significant portion of it being perfectly edible. This wastage also has a profound environmental impact, wasting land, water, diesel used in farming, packaging, and energy for refrigeration. The most sustainable way to manage surplus food is to ensure it ends up in any belly rather than any bin (landfill, anaerobic digestion or compost). Random Café aims to help achieve this goal.

The organization is now working to prepare the garden room as their full-time cafe, and they invite everyone to come and have a look from 13th May.

Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday 10am -2pm AT 24a Garsmouth Way, Watford WD25 9DR