Husband and wife duo running The Olive Tree Kitchen in Forres with ‘supportive, loyal community’

Gill and Weller de Oliveira have been running their Forres cafe, The Olive Tree Kitchen, for almost a year now.

The couple are familiar faces around Forres, having run the cafe at Logie Steading between 2009 and 2022, and a food truck in Findhorn too.

It was in March 2024 that they opened The Olive Tree Kitchen on the High Street in Forres.

“Our favourite thing about running the cafe is being able to continue working together,” says Gill.

“And keeping that connection with our customers that we’ve known for so many years.”

‘People are really drawn to’ the homecooked food at The Olive Tree Kitchen, Forres

Gill and Weller’s love for good food and drink started in childhood.

“We both grew up in environments surrounded by food, and I think that’s where our passion lies really,” Gill tells me.

“Growing up, we never ate anything that wasn’t homemade.”

The same ethos is key for the couple at The Olive Tree Kitchen.

They serve up homemade hot soup daily, and paninis as well.

Plus fresh baking every day, cheesecakes, brownies, pastries and shortbread.

There also sell homemade frozen meals from the shop.

“It’s a really small place but we try to fill it with as much as possible,” adds Gill.

And this focus on making food from scratch has helped the couple to build a strong core customer base.

“I think they know that we make everything ourselves,” Gill says.

“There’s no one in the background, we’re not buying food in from anywhere.

“People are really drawn to that now. They really appreciate that what they’re eating is wholesome and it’s not going to do them any harm.

“They’re willing to support that, and I think it makes a huge difference.”

‘As a business owner, you don’t really ever switch off’

It is a lot of work for the couple to run the Forres cafe on their own, and the business occupies their thoughts most of the time.

“We both do everything,” says 44-year-old Gill.

“We don’t have any staff so we’re in charge of it all: we do the baking, cooking and serving ourselves.

“It’s a bit of a balance, we’ve got three kids as well.

“Our younger two, who are 15 and 10, they keep us occupied at home.

“It’s the same for most people who own a business. As soon as they’re in bed, the chat is back on what we can be doing next for the café, how we can improve.

“Usually we do a lot of cooking in the evenings too, as we have homemade meals in the freezer in our shop.

“As a business owner, you don’t really ever switch off.

“But we do when the kids are around.

“I think we stay motivated because we enjoy what we do.

“And we’re not worrying about sustaining staff; it’s just the two of us, and we’re in it for our family, so I think that helps with the motivation.”

‘It’s such a supportive, loyal community’ around the Forres cafe

Over the years, Gill and Weller have developed strong friendships with some of their loyal customers – and since opening up the High Street cafe, they have gotten to know new regular customers too.

“The customers are so nice and supportive,” says Gill.

“We’ve continued with a lot of our regulars that we’ve always had for years, so that has been really, really special.

“A lot of them are now really close friends as well because we’ve known them for so many years.

“They really do support us. They keep coming, and wherever we go, they’re there.

“It’s such a supportive, loyal community. And it’s the nicest feeling.

“And you catch up with people whenever they come into the shop, and hear their news, which is really nice.

“It’s just lovely. You feel like you know your customers super well. And that helps the experience on both sides.”