Teddington Nub News aims to be supportive to EVERY element of the community from business and shops to people and charities and clubs and sports organisations.

Everyone is finding it tough at the moment and is desperate to get back to normal.

We are profiling some of these local businesses and those groups regularly over coming weeks in a feature called UP CLOSE IN TEDDINGTON in the hope that we can be a supportive springboard for their full return to business as usual.

This week we talk to the amazing Gosia of Gosia's Cafe and Deli in Broad Street, Teddington.

During an in-depth Q and A session she reveals how she set up shop in Teddington as well as her affection for the community and her favourite dishes.

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So Gosia, you have really built up a great reputation in Teddington for your wide range of food and your delicious cakes and pastries, tell us something about your background?

My first job, back in Poland in the 1990s, was running a ladies' clothes shop, concentrating on traditional, classical styles. My customers knew exactly what they wanted, some were even quite demanding. but that was good, because it meant I quickly learned how to listen well. Everyone is different. And to be successful in business you really have to appreciate this fact. Gradually I expanded the operation to provide an alteration and adjustment service for clients. It all happened very naturally.

In 2002 an opportunity came up for me to join a major bakery and patisserie firm selling all sorts of food from cakes and biscuits to confectionery and pizza. I became involved in virtually every aspect of the business, from stock ordering and inventory to food preparation. My business skills must have caught the eye of the people in management, because before long I was asked to look after a string of shops within the group with the aim of revitalising each in turn.

How did you come to set up shop in Teddington?

When I came to live in London in 2007 it was my dream to open a shop here. But before I could do this I knew I had to improve my English. In late summer 2013, while working as a Home Help for clients in Putney, Chelsea and surrounding areas, I enrolled for evening classes at a school around the corner from Putney Bridge station. At first I struggled. I remember several times being in tears, it was all so frustrating. But by October something must have 'clicked into place', because English no longer sounded quite such a foreign language! I don't know if it was my determination not to be beaten (you could call it bloody-mindedness!), or just sheer hard work (every day and night I would force myself to keep on repeating the English words and grammar). Either way it was such a relief. Finally I could start thinking seriously about opening my shop.

The first property I was offered, in Richmond, might have been ideal. But there was one big problem: the landlord had just gone off to Africa and couldn't be tracked down to negotiate! I was so pleased when the same agent, Milestone Commercial, left me a message the next day to say he had just taken on a property in Teddington. I wasn't sure exactly where Teddington was, but by chance I discovered that one of my English teachers happened to have worked in Teddington for nearly 20 years as a Haymarket Publishing journalist. From what he told me I couldn't wait to see this place.

The minute I walked in to 52 Broad Street and saw the high ceiling and space I knew it was somewhere I could make my own. I could picture everything in my mind immediately. Of course it took a lot of investment in the right fixtures and fittings and some very hard work to turn my vision into reality, but five months after taking on the lease I'd managed to track down everything I wanted.

Those five months were exhausting, but exhilarating too - enormous fun. One of the centre-pieces I found was an original Dutch-style main chandelier which I picked up from a London architectural clearance house. I was so pleased to be able to match it with a pair of identical, but smaller chandeliers from a source in Poland. Next came some beautiful, creamy yellow, Victorian London stock bricks from a reclamation brickyard which I used to create a special wall running the length of the café. And after a lot of searching online I discovered a huge Rococo-style mirror to hang half-way along the wall.

Fridges and freezers for the kitchen, new oak floors, a front-of-house refridgerated display, a bank of purpose-built oak shelves, a reconfigured kitchen area, and finally, to complete the picture, a set of classic acorn-legged oak tables, matching chairs and assorted decorations (though even today, I'm still on the look-out for more). Something that seemed to take forever was the saga over my awning and canopy for the front of the café: seeing it through from design to production and eventual fitment ready for the grand opening on 13th July 2014 took far, far longer than building our lovely interior wall!

How much of the food preparation, cooking and baking do you do yourself Gosia and how long does it take?

All the food at our café, including all our cakes most of which I make myself, is freshly prepared. I make up to five or six cakes, usually late into the evening or early morning, mixing ingredients for the cakes and icing, baking them in our oven and then waiting for the cakes to cool before they're ready to be decorated either with nuts or fruit, or layers of icing and/or cream filling.

We're very proud of our huge range of soups; the traditionally hand-made Pierogi (Polish Dumplings) with their three different savoury fillings; and our Polish Hunter Stew (Bigos) and Fasolka (a rich Butter Bean and Polish Sausage cassoulet) which we make to our own recipe. Even our properly home-made mashed potato which accompanies dishes including Pork Cutlet and Chicken Schnizel, is made the traditional way using plenty of butter and a fair amount of elbow grease! Our popular salads are all made to order. And we've just started producing our own range of high energy, healthy juices which are ideal for Take-Away.

Of course some specialist suppliers will always be needed for things like Pastel de Nata as we sell three types of these fabulous Portuguese fruit-filled filo pastry custard tarts. Although we're now producing many of our smaller patisserie items, which take just as long as the cakes to produce, I think Pastel de Nata are better made in batches by a top independent specialist delivering daily.

Who else has helped you make Gosia's Cafe & Deli such a success?

My son Krystian is not only head chef, but chief trouble-shooter. He's helped me in all sorts of ways, because he's so talented understanding how to fix technical problems, everything from the plumbing to the wi-fi and internet, the kitchen refurbishment, computerised streamlining of our till-to-kitchen communications, and recently setting up our UberEats Delivery Service.

I've always managed to maintain a good team of waitresses, waiters and kitchen/café support workers to keep everything running smoothly. And right from the beginning I've also been fortunate in being able to count on the support of Jonathan, the English Teacher I mentioned before, who previously worked as a journalist in Teddington. Over the years he has become a good friend and has always helped me whenever I find myself stuck over complicated communications, or struggling with a particular administrative headache.

Where do you get your ideas and inspiration from. Do you have any formal training?

I think my experience remaking several shops for the bakery and patisserie firm in Poland helped teach me how to imagine everything from scratch. Before that I developed an eye for detail at the Ladies' clothes shop where I launched an alterations service to support the main sales operation. But my very earliest inspiration comes from my family. I was so lucky that my mum gave me cookery lessons when I was growing up living on the edge of a town in southern Poland. And my father also played a big part. He looked after lots of animals including chickens, pheasants and pigeons. I remember at one point he had about 100 of them! Looking back now I realise how happy I was right through my childhood. We always had what we wanted, and most of all we had the best fresh food you could ever imagine.

If we were to put you on the spot, what is your favourite hot dish and which is your favourite cake? And if you were to share a recipe what would it be?

Ooh, that's not easy! There are so many. Well I suppose if I'm really hungry, my favourite has to be the Pork Cutlet with Mushroom Sauce and Cheese topping with Mashed Potato and Surówka (a kind of tangy, dairy-free Coleslaw). Otherwise I'd probably choose Pierogi: I like a mixture of the three types of these Polish dumplings, some filled with mushroom and sauerkraut, others with cheese and potato, and the third type with chopped meat and onion.

At the moment the one cake I really can't resist is my Carrot Cake with Pineapple. It came about because I'm always looking to add something new to see if I can make a great cake just a little bit more special. And it's the same with all my cheesecakes and crumbles: there's something original about each of them. Then again if I want a true classic I'd have to go for the Coffee & Walnut cake.

Sorry though - I hope you understand - my recipes are a closely guarded secret!!

What do you like about Teddington and its people?

It's not just that people in Teddington are so nice and friendly. There's something more. What I like is the amazing cross section of people in Teddington. They come from all sorts of different worlds, like the scientific/technical people at NPL; artists and media people; retired couples; families; carers looking after those with special needs; shop workers; sports and fitness enthusiasts; building contractors and so many more. Different customers have a habit of visiting us at particular times of the day. In the morning and afternoon we can have business people bringing in their laptops for informal meetings. Before lunch new mothers with their babies like to meet for a tea or coffee and a good chat. Everyone loves a good chat especially during lunchtime when the café can be so full that our nice background music has quite a bit of competition. It's that lovely, relaxed atmosphere with lots of people laughing and chatting that I've really missed more than anything during the lock-down.

The lock-down has been very difficult for all the businesses in Broad Street and High Street, you always seem to be very happy and friendly, how have you coped?

Yes, of course the lock-down came as an enormous shock. I'd grown used to starting every day at 4.30 am and not finishing until 9.30 or 10.00 pm, sometimes a lot later, every day of the week! (Anyone who thinks they can get by without hard work is kidding themselves. Believe me!) But with lock-down, suddenly my routine had to change as we restructured the business. Like so many companies we had no option but to close on 20th March. Then, after thinking things through carefully, we realised we could re-open offering an exclusive Take-Away and Delivery service. In a way, the word-of-mouth recommendations of so many customers held us in good stead for the changes. We had to weigh up a lot of options before deciding how best to provide a Delivery Service, in the end choosing to partner with UberEats. It's early days, but already we've been pleased to take a number of quite large orders from our UberEats Top 20 Menu.

Can you say something about your customers – do they tend to be regulars or people, perhaps, coming in for a special treat once a week or just love your cakes and pastries?

Our customers come from all over London and beyond. Often they're from nearby Wimbledon or Putney, but we also have regulars who travel from North London, because Teddington is the sort of place people love to visit to meet up with friends. Lots of people come here for a holiday with friends and relatives. I've had letters from Spain and even India. Someone connected with NPL wrote to me saying how much he was missing our muffins and Pastel de Nata. And another customer keeps in touch by postcard from Canada.

Regulars often pass by in the evening and either wave to me through the window, or stop for a chat. Most of the time they'll be ready for a laugh and a joke. Recently one of my regulars bought a cake for his wife and, with a twinkle in his eye, said he'd have to take another one for his girlfriend! The next time he came in he introduced me to his wife, with a big grin. I've received all kinds of presents too: pictures, copper kettles, jugs and little gifts. It's nice to know how much it means to people to come here. Sometimes it turns out that customers have Polish relatives who settled in England years ago. It can be quite emotional hearing them explaining how much they appreciate our dishes like Pierogi and Bigos. It's not just that they like the food; it reminds them of an important connection with their parents and grandparents.

You obviously work very hard – what do you consider to be the three most important qualities/strengths to help you run your own business.

I'm always here at 5.00 am to start checking everything, and I do the same every evening staying until 9.30 pm to make sure we're ready for the next day. Keeping on top of every detail is essential for me. I can't imagine how anyone could run a business if they weren't prepared to put this much into it. Every day I make whatever cakes we need. In a way it helps me stamp my personality on the business. But it's just as important for me to be the friendly face greeting new customers as the bell rings and they walk in. I like to see them to their table, guide them through the menu and blackboard choices, including any specials of the day, and just make them feel at home so that whatever they select it's always easy and enjoyable. I treat everyone the same. It doesn't matter where they're from or who they are. Honestly it's all about trying to ensure that when someone leaves the café they're happier than when they came in.

Do you feel the council/government should do more to support smaller businesses like yours and, if so, what would help the most?

Well I just like to get on with my work. I don't give much thought to political questions. Maybe there's a chance now for Business Rates to start to come down. I hope so. I think all small businesses would welcome that. And if my VAT demand wasn't quite so high every quarter that would be nice too. But really I'm a practical sort of person - I want my rubbish to be collected on time, the streets kept clean and safe, and to be free to get along nicely with all my neighbours. That's all. In business it's no good wasting time and energy worrying about what's going on in government. Far better for me to keep on trying to make Gosia's Café & Deli the best it can possibly be. And, believe me, I have plenty on my plate doing that!

Gosia's website