Meet the Team

Ruth Gretton

Practice Manager

Ruth qualified as a Registered Nurse at the Bath School of Nursing in 1980 before working in the NHS at St Martin’s Hospital in Bath in acute medical care for older people where she was promoted to Ward Sister.

Further qualifications followed with a Diploma in Nursing (Distinction) from the University of London in 1995 and a BSC Hons in Specialist Palliative Care from the University of West of England in 2008.

From 2004 Ruth worked at Dorothy House Hospice near Bath as Ward Sister of the Inpatient Unit until her retirement in 2020 as Director of Patient and Family Services.

Throughout her nursing career, Ruth cared for patients experiencing the life-changing impact of chronic ill health. It, therefore, seemed fitting to her that she came out of retirement to work on the creation of the Combe Grove Metabolic Health Retreat, a proactive way to help people improve personal metabolic health thereby reducing the risk of developing life limiting metabolic diseases.

Dr Emily Porter. PhD.

Practice Manager

Before joining Combe Grove as Practice Manager, Emily worked as a Clinical Dietician for the NHS for 3 years.
Emily has a background in Veterinary Medicine but developed an interest in human health. Emily's specialist area is gut health and how everything is interlinked within the body from the mind to the gut, to the immune system.

Dr Campbell Murdoch

Consultant GP

Campbell is a GP with a special interest in metabolic health. He works within the NHS as a GP in Somerset and delivers programmes with Preventative Healthcare Group to support people to take control of their health.

Having undertaken over 100,000 patient consultations it became very evident that poor metabolic health is the modern-day challenge, causing health conditions that affect most of the population. This spans type 2 diabetes, prediabetes, dementia, high blood pressure, some cancer, fertility problems, heart disease, musculoskeletal conditions, infection risk and many more. Poor metabolic health can also affect mental health and general physical wellbeing. But it’s a problem that cannot be fixed with more pills. The solutions lie in addressing the root causes. Through doing this the expectation is people can reverse prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, improve blood pressure, lose belly fat, and feel well again.

Campbell also has a background in Sports and Exercise Medicine, Quality Improvement, and Teaching. He is a clinical advisor to the Royal College of General Practitioners and a scientific advisor to the Public Health Collaboration.

Dr Rebecca Hiscutt. PhD.

Registered Dietitian

Rebecca has worked in nutrition for 20 years since graduating from the University of Surrey with a 1st class degree in nutrition and dietetics. She began her career as a research dietitian investigating five popular weight loss diets. Over 6 months Rebecca helped to support 300 people to make significant lifestyle changes and improve their metabolic health.

Rebecca continued researching the effects of nutrition on metabolic health during her doctoral research investigating the effects of low carbohydrate diets on cardiovascular risk factors. Throughout her PhD, Rebecca was a partner in a private dietetic practice providing personalised nutrition advice to help people with metabolic syndrome, gastrointestinal conditions and weight loss.

Rebecca has also worked as an obesity specialist dietitian for the charity Weight Concerns and had dietetic roles in both NHS and private hospitals.

For the past 8 years, Rebecca has run a nutrition and wellbeing company to help people discover how to use food to enable them to thrive. This has involved running nutrition, yoga and mindfulness retreats, providing nutrition coaching to individuals and running nutrition training sessions for organisations.

Oliver Pratt

Nutritional Therapist

Oli has been practising combined healing for over thirty years following his journey to a more holistic way of life after a virus in his late teens impacted his own physical and mental health. A qualified Nutritionist, Mindfulness Meditation Teacher, Reiki Master, mBIT Coach and Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), Oli uses his unique combination of skills, knowledge, and life experience to help support others to make meaningful and sustainable changes to find their best health and wellbeing.

A strong advocate of the Combe Grove Food Ethos, Oli was the pioneering Executive Chef for Bristol’s iconic Watershed, developing and delivering The Plot to Plate Ethos and transforming the catering operation with ethically sourced, nutrient dense, food at a commercial level. Today Oli uses his love of fresh, locally sourced ingredients and culinary skills as an important element in providing nutritional health to his clients.

In his private practice and at Combe Grove Oli works on the basis that we are all individual and unique and therefore require individual protocols, plans and tools based on the Five Roots of Metabolic Health to facilitate personal change.

Emma Patch

Dining Room Team Leader Nutritionist

Emma gained her nutritional experience from working in the food industry. She has also worked with children aged between 5-15 and their families. Emma works across three different sections; leading the Dining Room Team, developing menus and updating nutritiics with the Chefs and working with retreat clients on 1:1 consultations.

Chris Spreadbury

Coach House Manager

Chris has recently returned to his hometown of Bath having spent the last 10 years in Kent gaining a vast amount of experience in both Nutrition and Fitness. He has a BSc in Exercise, Nutrition and Health and is an active Nutrition Society Member.

Chris spent 7 years working as a Paediatric Nutritionist in Primary Schools across Dartford and Gravesham helping establish the success of the Don’t Sit Get Fit Program. He is a very experienced NWK Crossfit Coach and has managed a Crossfit gym, staff, and members for the last 7yrs. He has worked privately as an adult nutritionist, helping community members and athletes whilst working closely with healthcare professionals, physiotherapists, osteopaths, personal trainers and nutritionists.

Invaluable to his role as Coach House Manager, Chris has practical metabolic health experience from recently heading up a new pilot scheme in Kent working closely with GPs as a Health and Wellbeing Coach seeing patients on a one-to-one basis to help improve blood sugar levels, BMI, blood pressure and weight, as part of a healthy lifestyle.

Alice White

Nutritionist

After school Alice took some time away from education to train as a full-time athlete with her forte in rowing. Throughout this experience, Alice took an active interest in how the human body functions in peak performance and in particular the role of good nutrition which became an obvious career choice when stepping away from rowing due to an injury.

Alice gained a 2:1 in nutrition at the University of Surrey whilst simultaneously being an intern at the Surry Human Performance Institute (SHPI) focusing on health and fitness testing in people from the general population to elite athletes supporting the research project at the university and involved in school education and interaction days.

Alice is currently finishing her MSc in Applied sport and exercise nutrition at Oxford Brookes. Her MSc research is currently on CBD and sleep but Alice also has an interest in nutrition and how it can improve inflammation in the body.

Alice has worked in sports for a number of years in both rugby and cycling at a professional level. Since leaving the sport at an elite level, she has seen how nutrition and movement can be positive for the mind and soul. Alice took up open-water swimming to give herself a new challenge and has built her awareness of how the body and mind can overcome any challenge it’s faced with.

Alice studied metabolic health as a module at university which grew her interest in the human body and how metabolic health can empower people to be in the best health possible, live life to the full and be able to appreciate the way their body can work for them.

Nancy Lunnon

Coach House Team Leader Nutritionist

Nancy graduated from the University of Leeds with a first-class degree in food science and nutrition. She then went on to complete a Masters in sports and exercise nutrition with distinction. Nancy is accredited with the British Dietetics Association and is a member of the sports nutrition group.

Since graduating, Nancy has worked in a secondary school leading the sports department, teaching the healthy lifestyle sections of the PSHE curriculum and providing pastoral support.

In addition to her role at Combe Grove, Nancy works with a professional football team and runs her own freelance nutrition company working with recreational and elite individual athletes and providing nutrition education workshops for schools.

Nancy believes improving metabolic health is fundamental to leading a happier, healthier lifestyle. She is passionate about educating individuals on evidence-based strategies that will improve their nutrition and exercise habits and support them to make long-term lifestyle changes.

Jules Lowrie

Coach House Studio Team Leader

Jules has been teaching popular movement classes at Combe Grove for over 15 years and has enjoyed taking a proactive role in the evolution from Hotel to Centre for Health and Wellbeing.

With level 2 qualifications in Fitness Exercise to Music, Body Pump, Body Balance Advanced and Yoga Teacher Training Jules’ interest in metabolic health is a given. Her other interests include walking, playing tennis, swimming and skiing.

Jules’ advice for clients starting out on their metabolic health journey is to always be ready to try new challenges and make a turnaround in their life.

Jenny Service

Coach House Team Leader Nutritionist

Jenny has trained as a Naturopathic Nutritionist specialising in sports performance and plant based nutrition. Jenny is passionate about fitness and has a body systems approach.

Marco Appel

Head Chef

Marco grew up in the Netherlands where he attained his Cheffing Degree before relocating to England.
Marco brings a wealth of experience with him to Combe Grove and is passionate about home cooked, quality food, having worked in some widely recognised restaurants in Bath, including the Green Park Brasserie, the Hole in the Wall, The Olive Tree and the Northey Arms.

Rachel Milsom

Sous Chef

Rachel trained in General Senior Catering and Patisserie at college in Bristol. Since then she has won prestigious awards as part of a team including Taste of the West at Bath Soft Cheese and Chefs of Distinction for Desserts.
Rachel has previously worked with Chef Marco at Taste Buds Catering.

Felicity Andrews

Practice Manager - Operations

Felicity is one of Combe Grove’s longest-serving and most beloved members of full-time staff. Having come from a background of over 12 years in front-of-house roles Felicity has worked across departments at Combe Grove but always comes back to her first love of hospitality and customer service. Never without a beaming smile and can-do attitude, Felicity welcomes getting to know all guests who visit the Estate and helping them to make the most out of their time. She is exceptionally proud to have mentored 5 Apprentices in Business Administration during her time at Combe Grove and looks forward to supporting many more in the future.

Felicity has a BA Honours Degree in Fashion and Textiles and a lifelong passion for Irish Dancing in which she competes nationally. Competing in such a high-intensity discipline has given Felicity a true appreciation of how important it is to take good care of all 5 roots of metabolic health – nutrition, movement, sleep, mindset and environment.

Hilary Woods

Team Leader

Hilary has been a calm and welcoming presence at Combe Grove for the past five years. Familiar to both club members and Metabolic Health Retreat clients alike, if there’s something you need to know Hilary can help.

After University Hilary trained in Law before moves to the Middle East and then the Far East led to some fascinating roles including English Secretary to The Minister of Agriculture based in Yemen before retraining and pursuing a rewarding career as a teacher.

On returning to England Hilary used her years of multi-tasking and customer interaction to set up and run an award-winning guest house near Bath instilling her love of good hospitality.

Hilary has always been interested in health and nutrition, especially in the essential role it plays in the prevention and treatment of cancer and diabetes.

Jon Main

Team Leader

Jon has been a familiar face on the Combe Grove Estate for the past 13 years working in many customer-facing departments including Banqueting, Conferences and Concierge. With a total of 18 years in hospitality, Jon particularly enjoys finding ways to tap into the mindset of customers and developing his skillset accordingly whilst creating a peaceful grounding environment for members and guests alike.

Jon enjoys his role being immersed in a place of such historical beauty and significance where he can combine his interests in customer psychology and history. Frequently found with a metal detector exploring the Estate recent finds have included Roman commemorative coins and a Celtic terret ring from a chariot.

Fitness and wellbeing come high in Jon’s daily focus with running as his main passion and cycling and general sports diversifying his time.