THE former head chef at an Eggleston cafe, which closed in the autumn, has spent the festive period “putting her stamp” on premises in Middleton-in-Teesdale after taking over a popular village eaterie.
After being made redundant from The Coach House Cafe, at Eggleston Hall, Kaylee Carter firstly set up her own baking business, Kaylee’s Cakes and Bakes, promoting and selling treat boxes filled with goodies and her one-off celebration cakes online.
She said: “I set it up so I could keep baking and to gain confidence that I could do it. I did Christmas markets and they went really well.”
A month later, the mum-of-two, from Middleton-in-Teesdale, approached Rumours Cafe owners, Julie and Cliff Harthill, who had advertised the business for sale after a potential purchaser dropped out.
Kaylee added: “I saw the cafe was for sale on social media and I did talk to my husband Ashley about it. But it wasn’t until I saw the advert in the paper that he pushed me to go for it.
“The reaction I got to Kaylee’s Bakes gave me the confidence to go for it.
“I’m so excited and when our offer was accepted, we toasted with Buck’s fizz.”
Keys to the cafe were handed over before Christmas and Kaylee, with help from her family, found time during the festive break to redecorate with the intention of reopening early this month.
The 35-year-old added: “I really wanted to put my own stamp on the place. My sister Nicole was visiting for Christmas so I roped her in to help me redecorate with a display cabinet.
“I have been in touch with all my old work mates and hopefully there are going to be a few familiar faces from Eggleston working here.”
She said: “I am going to change the name of the cafe because I’ve built up quite a following for Kaylee’s Bakes so it will be something along those lines.
“It’s very much going to be a family affair here.
“I can’t wait to get started and once I’ve found my feet, I’ve got plans to put on little events similar to what we did at Eggleston.”
Although the doors may not officially be open yet, Mrs Carter has already taken her first afternoon tea booking.
She said: “When one of my friends heard the news, she called me and asked to make sure she was the first to be booked in.”
Former owner Julie Harthill said: “We’re absolutely delighted that the sale’s going through and it’s great that she’s local.
“I’m certainly looking forward to being on the other side of the counter.”
