Alan has a background in cooking and hospitality. He has worked as a chef in numerous restaurants before transitioning into becoming a food stylist, props master and set decorator in the film and television industry. After a successful career in media Alan decided to return to his culinary roots and run the kitchen at the Black Duck Café.

Both Sarah and Alan have a strong appreciation for the natural world and have educations in Biology and Water Resources respectively.

Sarah is currently in the process of becoming an accredited Master Gardener.  This love of nature has culminated in our extensive garden and the foraged local foods and teas that appear seasonally on the menu as well as in the sourdough and other natural fermentation techniques used in some of the dishes. 

The building that houses the Black Duck dates back to the 1860s. William Tracy, and later his son Oscar, opened the first café in the building over a hundred years ago and served coffee and teas along with local food from the garden to townsfolk and college students alike. The building has almost continually had some form of café since this time and the Back Duck is proud to carry on this tradition.