Senior Manager

Diane has been working at the Guardhouse for over 9 years now. She is our most experienced manager and seems to know most customers (and their dogs!) by first name.

Despite taking the job on the condition that she didn’t have to cook, Diane is adept in the kitchen and is responsible for first introducing our homemade American pancakes and Paella evenings. Her passion for quality and consistency requires occasional sampling of cake and (especially) checking that the wine is not corked.

Sometimes she gets to enjoy her tea while it is still hot.

For many years Diane worked on long-haul British Airways flights and it is rare to find a country she has not visited. She has since tried a wide range of careers, including running a sandwich van and a hotel, teaching, and was responsible for importing Ugg Boots to the UK for the first time! She lives in Brixham but enjoys chasing her two delightful daughters across the world on their travels.

Chef

Emily is from New Jersey and moved over to the UK in 2016 after meeting and marrying Aaron (at the time they met, he was in the navy, but she maintains that his uniform didn’t make a difference…).

She loves living in Brixham and taking coastal walks, but says that some things just aren’t the same in the UK, in particular Macaroni Cheese just doesn’t have the same synthetic taste.

She joined us in 2017 in a front of house role, and over the next year she turned her passion for food into her job, becoming one of our wonderful chefs. In 2019 she and Aaron began their family; Emily always seems astonishingly calm and refreshed despite this!

Senior Manager

Alex moved down to Brixham with Lucy in 2014; previously they were based in Milton Keynes (but he is really a northerner). He enjoys wearing shorts every day and being able to walk along the coast path, and strangely doesn’t miss the roundabouts and concrete cows.

Alex graduated as a chemical engineer and worked for seven years as an improvement consultant helping mostly industrial companies to make their processes faster, more efficient or less wasteful. This took him to varied locations around the UK, Australia, Germany, Holland and Belgium with clients ranging from chemical plants to hospitals. With Lucy he decided to completely change his lifestyle by moving down to Devon and being based in the same place each week. The Guardhouse offered the perfect opportunity at the right time.

In the café Alex is responsible for keeping out of everyone’s way as much as possible so that they can get on with their amazing work without him causing trouble. He has an unhealthy love of spreadsheets.

In 2017 baby Rosalie came along, and was subsequently joined by Tilly and Rafe. Strangely Alex doesn’t seem to get much time to himself any more.

Chef

Amy has worked with us since 2016 when she got a job at the weekends to give a break from school work. Always up for a challenge, she agreed to begin training in the kitchen and has become a wonderful chef.

Amy always enjoys a laugh and singing along with the music when closing the cafe at the end of the day. Her dance moves are legendary! Perhaps this is how she won the affection of another of our long-term staff Doug, who she now lives with…?

Amy thinks she wants to become a teacher, and is currently finishing a degree in History and English at Plymouth University whilst working part time with us.

Manager

Lucy moved to Brixham in 2014 when she and Alex wanted a change of life and to spend more time together. After studying German and Italian at university she worked for several years in Italy and the Alps in jobs involving walking, skiing and cooking. The most recent role involved taking groups on incredible walking tours around various parts of Italy. Her favourite spots are Sicily, where she studied for a while and where the rugged scenery is unspoiled by tourism, and the Dolomites where she first met Alex in 2010.

Lucy was born and grew up in Northern Scotland on the side of a sea loch. The local community was so sparsely populated that there were only 12 children in her entire primary school!

Her passion for food developed through her childhood and eating plenty of fresh fish, scallops and oysters surely played a part. When travelling abroad she learned a lot about the regional food in Italy and always loves to experiment with new flavours and ingredients. She is one of the people who always chooses the item off the menu which she has never heard of, just in case it is the best thing ever.

Since 2017 Lucy has played a less visible role at the Guardhouse, as her children Rosalie, Tilly & Rafe arrived. However she still plays an important role behind the scenes and on rare occasions is found in the kitchen or helping with the washing up!

Front of House, Manager

Jackie started working with us in the beginning of summer 2019. You will usually find her front of house making everyone feel welcome and happily chatting to our customers with her charming Midlands accent. She enjoys going out for walks with her grumpy old dog!

Head Chef

Stacey, our Head Chef, joined us in 2018 after working in a number of local restaurants. She is passionate about food, a great cook, and a fantastic leader for our kitchen team. She has built an amazing collaborative kitchen team who share ideas, work together to create menus, and push the standards ever higher.

Some people say that Stacey is a tad competitive… she loves gig rowing and is in the Brixham ladies’ team which has had great success in recent years.

With her husband Mark, Stacey lives in Brixham with their son and a second baby on the way later in 2023.

Head Barista

Laila joined our team in the middle of the summer 2019. She learnt fast how to make beautiful coffees and is now our Head Barista, responsible for maintaining standards within the coffee team as well as her own busy days. She also has a great handwriting which you can see on the specials boards!

Laila loves travelling. She and her boyfriend try to get away for at least one long trip each year in their trusty van (sometimes it doesn’t even break down!).