Pinch in Kelsale owner Alice Norman named in top 30 by CODE

Alice Norman opened Pinch in the spring of 2021 on Maple Farm in Kelsale, near Saxmundham in east Suffolk.

Though tucked away, the café has grown from strength to strength and will be opening at a slightly larger site on the farm three years after launching, in spring next year. 

The crullers draw customers in from all across the county (Image: Newsquest)

Best known for its delicious range of crullers, a deep-friend doughnut-like pastry, and the delightful homemade gelato, Pinch is a much-loved café that attracts customers from all over Norfolk and Suffolk.

Owner Ms Norman, a former Mayfair chef, has now been featured in a guide of the top hospitality workers to watch by CODE, a prestigious community of industry workers. 

The café will be moving into a bigger premises in spring 2024 (Image: Newsquest)

"Fig leaf and black sesame? Honey and bacon? Cinnamon sugar?" reads the biography under the announcement.

"These are the difficult decisions you face as you pick your cruller at Alice Norman’s modest café and coffee shop adjoining Maple Farm Shop in Kelsale, Suffolk.

"The correct response, obviously, is one of each.

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"Suffolk native Norman, former head chef of Emilia in Mayfair, started her business in the spring of 2021, selling restaurant-quality food to go before opening up the café to sell coffee, homemade gelato and crullers, those deep-fried choux pastry rings with which le tout Suffolk is smitten.

"In spring 2024, Pinch moves to a bigger space on the farm where Norman will be slinging Roman pizza made with grains and vegetables grown on-site."

Pinch is open through December from Thursday to Sunday, 9am to 2pm, before closing for the whole of January.