Cookery school closes its doors

The move was revealed in a statement on the cookery school’s website, in which it said it hoped the Taste Tideswell community project would still continue.

The statement added: “Taste Tideswell, the project, came about through a successful bid to the Big Lottery Fund’s Village SOS programme.

“Part of the requirement of that grant was that we had a business element to the project that would allow us to sustain the community part, Taste Tideswell; that business was Tideswell School of Food which opened at the beginning of December 2010.

“We opened in the grip of a recession and whilst in theory that recession is over, it isn’t in the pockets of many people. We were also bound by Big Lottery Fund rules that stipulated we had to spend our entire grant within the first year. This undoubtedly caused us to grow too quickly among other problems.

“Sadly we have now come to a point that without severely cutting the quality of what we do, we are no longer sustainable as a business and we have taken the hard decision to close.

“It is our sincere wish that the community part of the project, Taste Tideswell, can continue - the Food Festival and the Community Kitchen Garden.

“As of October 6, Tideswell School of Food will close and we will begin the process of winding the companies up.”

The statement also paid tribute to all those who have been involved with the project.