Life behind the SQUARES with Sarah Anderson

I'm not sure about you, but every time I go to the store, the price of food seems to rise. I'm not talking every month or every couple of months either, recently it has literally been every visit. A couple of weeks ago I nipped to grab a few bits and got our usual loaf which was 85p, visiting the following week I picked up the exact same loaf at £1.15 - a 35% increase in literal days! 

I was so, so excited to take Alfie there recently as part of his home education, and all the way there I was telling him about this amazing display as you walk into the building, got him all excited and buzzed for it, to arrive and for it not to be there. 

"Erm, where is the dinosaur, mum?" He said. 

Each person attending will require a ticket and the experience includes a savoury bun or sweet treat elf-endorsed sugary breakfast plate (or lunch box) at our eatery. Included in the ticket price is a chocolate themed (of course) reusable gift, a NICE list certificate, activity sheet with colouring, and of course your private photo opportunity with the big man himself in our fully decked out, cosy Christmas grotto. You can take as many of your own photos as you want. 

During your session the shop will also be closed to the general public, but open to you, so if you wish to use your hour to stock up on last minute gifts or to get those bits and bobs to add to Christmas Eve boxes, we will have the tills on and be ready to serve. 

This would be an amazing opportunity to relight the magic in older children who are on the cusp of believing - we had overwhelmingly positive feedback last year, with everyone who attended telling us he encompassed everything you'd imagine the real Santa to do so... real beard included! He has the voice, the glasses, even the twinkle of fairy lights in his eyes (this might be a reflection of the decor in the shop, but still 👀🤣) 

We decided to start hosting gluten free events at the shop earlier this year, after noticing an increase in customers asking for our gluten free goodies and meals at general service times. 

What are Sarah's Chocolate Kitchen gluten free nights?

They are essentially evenings set aside to serve goods that have no gluten in them, so anybody attending knows that everything on offer is suitable for them to eat without having to check the menu top to bottom, back to front and inside out, and without worrying about cross contamination. 

On top of that, really, there's a part of me that just thinks it's... rude?

I can understand taking your own little picnic with you on a day out to the zoo, where the main income for said venue is the animals, not the food. But to bring your own food into an establishment that sells food, and relies entirely on that food being sold to keep afloat, cover costs, pay wages and pay bills, results in substantial loss of income. 

So, in short, we don't accept food being brought onto the premises because of the risks associated with doing so. We are a very flexible place to eat, the majority of our foods can be made to suit, for specific dietary requirements and optional food choices. 

You'll notice if you've followed me for a while that I'm nowhere near as present as I used to be when it comes to lives on social media. It just doesn't feel right anymore. People sit and accept abuse knowing that the more interaction they have, the further their reach will go - all press is good press, if you will, even when its bullying and soul destroying. Who cares if you're winning the battles and making the money, right?