19/10/2026
β€οΈ Meet Rooi (pronounced Roy) β€οΈ
β¨I'm so excited to be back behind a coffee machine!β¨
When we first started Pie & Piper, one of my goals was to have a kitchen where people could pop in, grab a coffee and something to eat, and have a chat while we pottered about. We're finally there! π₯°
πΏπ¦ I have been around good coffee for a fair chunk of my life! Growing up back in South Africa mum had a fantastic little coffee shop called Chinwag which was such a special place right in the center of town. It was my first introduction into how important meeting up over a coffee and having chat can be.
For a while we had family friends roast their own coffee beans in our double garage while they relocated from their farm. They would flavour some of the beans, I can still smell Terbodore Coffee Roasters Dutch Chocolate coffee beans, heavenly! π«
π¬π§ When I moved to the UK I worked many years in hospitality, mostly pubs (including the famous Churchill Arms in Kensington!), before a brief stint in the pension industry. I made some lovely friendships, but it also helped me realise that hospitality was the way forward for me! π
I joined the team at Cobbs Farm Shops Cafe at the Wilton Shopping Village and after a while took on the position of Manager. We eventually moved to Newbury to manage and help set up the new Englefield Cafe. A great opportunity sadly interrupted by COVID.
After a tough decision and a move back to Salisbury, I joined the team at Compton McRae where I worked on the coffee machine, in the kitchen and making cakes.
I left Compton McRae to focus on setting up Pie & Piper and joined the ππππππππ Shop cafe team at for a little while before I was ready for my first maket!
Pie & Piper has been running for over 5 years and in that time I have so missed making coffees, so I am so excited to be back at it. π©΅
I'm even more excited to be working with Origin Coffee Roasters again! Their Resolute blend has always been one of my favourites, and we went with them as the flavour of this blend works so perfectly with our cakes and goodies!
We're so excited for this next step and can't wait to welcome you all in the kitchen!
