TRADITIONAL meals will take pride of place on the menu of a cafe at a prize-winning garden.

Mother and daughter Hazel Barker and Caroline Bentham are reopening Ripon Spa Garden's Sun Parlour.

The cafe will be reopened on February 5 by Ripon Mayor Stuart Martin. Mrs Bentham said most of her cooking skills came from her mother, who is a former area manager for North Yorkshire County Caterers.

Mrs Bentham, who is leaving her post as catering supervisor at Ripon Grammar School, said: "Traditional lunches like roast beef and Yorkshire puddings, jam roly poly as well as apple pies will all be homemade. When my mum taught me how to cook I can remember her telling me the secret of producing good scones - and they will be on the menu too with plenty of jam and cream."

The women are delighted to be taking up residence in the Spa Gardens, where the parlour doubles as the booking office for bowls, putting and the nearby tennis court.

The gardens, between Ripon Spa Baths and the city's Spa Hotel, have recently won top awards for their floral displays. As a youngster, Mrs Bentham was a customer at the parlour for ice cream and fizzy drinks, which will be among some of the refreshments again on offer.

Now she teaches the cooking skills inherited from her mother at Ripon College, where she heads a cooking for men session and another one aimed at low-fat dishes.

The parlour is owned by Harrogate Borough Council and being leased to Mrs Barker and her daughter.

They will follow in the 17-year tradition of Sylvia Grice, who won a reputation for her homemade fare at the cafe.