Woodruffs Organic Café

Holly was lucky enough to be born and bred in the hills of Gloucestershire.  She began working from the young age of 13 as a waitress at a pub in the village of Bisley where she lived. She soon developed an interest & enthusiasm for preparing the starters & sweets, which led her to the kitchen & sowed the seed of her passion for food. Coming from a family where home cooked food was top on the menu she was inspired from an early age.  Throughout her teenage years Holly had a couple of jobs as an assistant cooking in pub kitchens.

A stint working in Sunshine Health Food Store in Stroud helped to develop Holly’s awareness and knowledge of organic produce and whole foods, which led her naturally, to Woodruffs. She started as a counter assistant and progressed into the kitchen, where she worked alongside two very creative and inspiring cooks from whom she learned a great deal over the next three and a half years, whilst also completing a diploma in Nursery Nursing (NNEB).

Whilst travelling France, Spain, Morocco & Portugal Holly was inspired by the different tastes & flavours of the markets, street food & cafes.  Using only a wok and a small gas camping stove in the back of a land Rover she began experimenting with different ingredients & developing new business ideas for her return to England.

Holly returned to the area and re-connected with her love of organic whole food, like-minded colleagues & friendly, environmentally conscious customers whilst working in the Organic Farm Shop in Cirencester. Convinced that this was a way of life she wanted to continue, she bought Woodruffs in March 2003 and has run it successfully ever since.