THE owner of a café in Banbury said she hopes an award recognising its support for breastfeeding mums ‘sets the standard for other places.'

Little Amsterdam Café in North Bar Street, which is best known for its Dutch inspired dishes and pancakes, won silver in the Lansinoh Feed with Confidence Awards 2017.

The scheme, the first of its kind, sought to find and highlight the best breastfeeding places in the UK.

It recognises cafés, shops and other public areas where breastfeeding is encouraged, and the mothers are made to feel comfortable.

Little Amsterdam Cafe makes mothers feel at ease by discreetly offering them complimentary tea and water to rehydrate.

The advice it offers to other business’ which want to become more welcoming to breastfeeding mothers is to ensure staff are trained to be kind and equip staff with training in handling complaints from customers who may object.

Ilja Abbattista, founder of the Dutch inspired café, also has a cookery school situated inside and has 'an incredible team' alongside her, including her husband Lino, who runs the kitchen. Mrs Abbattista said: “I’m a firm believer in breastfeeding and it should be embraced.

“The award is important because it sets the standard for other places and makes breastfeeding not such a taboo.”

"It’s the most natural thing in the world.”

Lisa Craven, UK Marketing Manager at Lansinoh, said: “We have had an amazingly positive response from the British public in the first Feed with Confidence Awards and we’re excited to launch the 2018 awards later in the year.

"The more we encourage openness and acceptance within society, the more confident mums will become – and that’s good news for everyone."

Little Amsterdam first opened its doors in December 2014 and has since won a series of awards, including the national ‘Good Food Award’. It has also been listed alongside Michelin starred restaurants in Where Chefs Eat.