Let's meet Séverine Besson, manager of Bastet Café in Albi and discover her tea room with cats.
Introduce yourself and tell us where the idea of setting up this concept came from?
I am Séverine Besson and at 46, I wanted to embark on a project that I like where I feel good after more than 20 years in the social environment. When I was younger, with my mother we joked about the idea of opening a tarterie where my parents live. I've always loved cats, I have 2 at home and even though I opened a cat bar, I don't consider myself as such. I'm a tea room and the concept I worked on for a long time was to create a bubble, a place where you feel safe. Also being in a house was an integral part of the project. When you have a little blues, where do we go? At his grandparents', we go to drink a little hot chocolate, a little cake in the living room, we discuss or not… in short, it's just a place where you feel good, safe.
Cats have always been part of the project, but for me I am a tea room “with” cats. I don't have a lot of them, they have to be good, they need room, space. As a result, they have always been part of this place, it is their home, it is a place where people come to spend an unpretentious moment while eating out if they wish.
Here you will find friendliness and the feeling of being at home.
The origin of the name
Bastet represents the goddess of good health, serenity, there is a whole link with motherhood. She is a goddess who benevolently watches over the home and the logo represents the cat “Rhapsody”.
What do you offer your visitors?
We opened in June 2021 and have always had the same desire to “work with locals” on the gourmet offer. I work with l'Aromate, which offers organic and fresh products, even in terms of juices and preferably from Tarn. At lunchtime, I always offer a vegan starter, then classic but also vegetarian quiches for the main course and finally the family recipe desserts: the clafouti is my grandmother's, the crumble is my mother-in-law's.
You will find 7 very cuddly cats.
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