Farewell Sophie!

Earlier this month we waved goodbye to one of our well loved members of staff, Sophie Mokler. Sophie has been a staple of The Courtyard for twenty years and has been a real joy to work with. Her infectious smile and friendly personality meant that she was well loved by staff, patrons, and members of the public alike and anyone who was lucky enough to work with, be served by, or be friends with Sophie will really miss her happy smiling face around the building!

Sophie’s time at The Courtyard began back in 2006 when she landed the part of Gretl in The Sound of Music. Since then she has been no stranger to The Courtyard stage, taking part in countless pantomimes, and playing the role of Lucy in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe back in 2011.

From 2015 – 2021 Sophie worked as a Bar and Catering Supervisor in The Courtyard Café Bar, which she loved. Alongside this, she also completed a Bakery and Patisserie Technology degree in Birmingham where she achieved a first class honours!

In November 2021 Sophie plucked up the courage to start her own business, Fabulously Free From. She caters for most but wanted to go down the specialist baker route as Sophie has been gluten free for 8 years now and noticed a gap in the market for specialist gluten free baked products, feeling she was always the one to miss out when meeting friends for coffee and cake.

Alongside this, Sophie started working as the Head Pastry Chef in the Courtyard kitchen where she worked for over a year, and where some of her fondest memories lie.

This year, Sophie felt her business is now in a position where she needed to put her all into it and give it the time and effort it deserves. She supplies two cafés at the moment: Camperdown Lane in Hampton Bishop and Bloom and Grind in Pembridge alongside personal orders. As a result, Sophie made the decision to leave The Courtyard and give her business a real shot. We highly recommend Sophie’s delicious bakes, get your hands on some sweet treats if you can!

A real gem, we wish Sophie all the very best in her new venture, she will be greatly missed. Thank you Sophie, for your time at The Courtyard!