AN Italian cafe has dedicated a dish to a ‘wonderful and loyal customer’ who died.

Lynn and John Scibetta, owners of Bellissimo in Burnley, have dedicated ‘Karen’s Zuppa Di Pesce’ in memory of Karen Baron, a regular visitor to the eatery.

Mrs Baron, 57, had been going to the cafe once a week for nine years while she was a cleaner for Burnley Council.

Mrs Baron suffered from a weak heart valve and suffered a stroke a few months ago.

She was put into an induced coma but died shortly afterwards.

Mrs Scibetta, 59, said Mrs Baron was half Italian and loved seafood.

She said: “She was very chatty, she always came in and had her favourite drink, a mocha, with fresh cream on top.

“She was a wonderful and loyal customer, she would always bring in her sister or her mother with her.

“We were distraught when her family told us what happened.

“As a thank you for all her support and custom over the years we felt right to create a dish in her honour.”

The dish included an assortment of fresh seafood, including salmon, mussels, prawns, squid and clams.

It is infused with rice and served with warm ciabatta bread.

Mrs Scibetta said: “Whenever Karen had the chance she had seafood, she loved it.

“Her favourite dish was our tagliatelle marinara.

“With her dish we wanted to do something that was a bit different and add more sea food.

“My husband, John, came up with the Zuppa Di Pesce, which is a lovely mix of soup, paella and risotto.

“It tastes amazing and it is always made to order, so it takes a while to cook, but everyone know’s its fresh and why its on the menu.”

The Parker Lane eatery was recently named the best of its kind in the country at the English Italian Awards, an accolade they previously won in 2015.

This followed a rebuilding process after a neighbouring takeaway caught fire shortly before Christmas last year which resulted in lots of damage.

A fundraising raffle will take place at the cafe to raise money for Pendleside Hospice in memory of Mrs Baron.

The raffle will take place on Friday, December 22 and everyone is welcome to attend.

Mrs Scibetta said: “We hope lots of people attend the raffle and we can raise a lot of money for Pendleside Hospice, in memory of our friend Karen.”