A Transylvanian delicacy has landed in St Ives this month at new coffee shop, Oana’s.

Known as chimney cakes, the tall sweet treats are a Romanian street food, brought to 18 Bridge Street by shop owner, Dean Castel, 39.

“It’s always been a little dream of owning my own coffee shop,” he told The Hunts Post.

Dean was made redundant from Tesco and decided to set up the business, named after his wife, thanks to support from enterprise agency, Nwes.

After helping him put together a business plan and secure funding, Dean opened the shop on March 9 just weeks after his wedding.

“We got married in February then opened the shop two weeks and a day later,” he said.

“It was exhausting, but exciting at the same time.”

Complete with extended counters and new décor, the shop also sells paninis, milkshakes and soft drinks.

The chimney cakes are the main attraction though, and have to prove for an hour every morning.

The sweet yeast dough is then rolled into metre-long strips, wrapped around wooden cooking rolls and covered in sugar, with toppings like hundreds-and-thousands added after.

In fact, Dean has a purpose-built oven for the treats, and can make them to take away in just 15 minutes.

The shop is open from 8am to 6pm from Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm on Saturday and 11am to 5pm on Sunday.