THE HULSTONE’S TAKE ON NEW TORQUAY VENTURE

Simon Hulstone, chef proprietor at The Elephant in Torquay, has recently taken over the running of Burridge’s Cafe Tearooms in partnership with his father, Roger.

The harbourside cafe and tearooms was purchased by Simon’s wife, Katy Hulstone and will be run as a partnership between Simon and his father, fellow chef Roger.

Customers can expect the same high standards as of The Elephant but with a focus on high class, traditional English afternoon teas. The cafe has 48 covers inside and 12 covers outside, the plan is to secure an alcohol licence and to extend the opening hours during the summer months.

The team opened the doors of Burridge’s at the start of the busy Easter weekend. Under its new owners, Burridge’s will receive a repaint and staff will be given new uniforms but there will be no significant changes to the decor in the short term. The opening hours are currently 10am until 4.30pm but these will be extended during the summer period.

Says Simon, “I’ve always been an ambassador for Torquay and have been thinking about a new venture here for a while. With all the recent investment and redevelopment, it feels like the right time to be starting out with a completely different style of venture but with the same values and commitment to quality as with The Elephant. Due to its size and location, Burridge’s is a very adaptable site but we are going to see how it goes as a tearoom to begin with with a view to extending the menu and hopefully taking on a third venture in the coming months.

He added, “The first weekend was a challenge and we learnt a lot but we were very encouraged by the number of people who came in to see us and who’ve wished us well.”