“You’re only as good as you think you are”

WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING IF YOU WEREN’T IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY?
I always knew I wanted to be in the food industry and have been working in kitchens since the age of 16. It’s difficult to think what else I’d be doing, although I know it would have to be something creative. I love graphic design and I think it’s so amazingly clever, perhaps I could make something work there!

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB?
Washing olive barrels at the age of 14 for my mum’s friend’s business. It was pretty oily but such a great feeling having your own money! I loved being independent from an early age.

WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
Doing something useful that I believe benefits others gives me inspiration. We love providing our customers with delicious meals cooked from scratch, so when they are super busy they can simply open the freezer and discover a library of carefully prepared meals that can be heated up in a flash.

WHAT’S THE WORST JOB YOU’VE DONE?
Working at Boomtown festival. I was working with a catering company trying to produce three-course menus on no sleep, no running water and hardly any staff. It was really gruelling and a long hard week in a field, but we managed to pull it off somehow.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE PART OF THE JOB?
I love creating new recipes. I think every chef loves creating and I find it especially rewarding when we are able to invent a new vegan dish as they are a bit more challenging for me. Recently I have only been developing vegan meals and I’ve really enjoyed the hard work and discovering new and fresh ingredients to work with.

AND YOUR LEAST FAVOURITE?
I think it has to be the accounts and anything to do with that side of things. It’s really not my strong point.

TEA OR COFFEE?
Neither. I strangely don’t like any hot drinks, I know I’m weird!

WHAT WOULD BE YOUR LAST SUPPER?
It would have to be handmade pasta with shaved truffle and Parmesan, I’m having a real love affair with pasta right now.

WHAT’S YOUR MOTTO?
You’re only as good as you think you are. I think it’s so important, especially as a woman in business, to be confident and to not let others make you feel insecure about things. We can be our own worst enemy, so we need to remain positive and believe in ourselves more.

WHAT’S THE WEIRDEST THING YOU’VE EVER EATEN?
I had an ant the other day. It was sitting on fudge and I ordered it at the restaurant Native. It was actually really delicious and had a lemon flavour!

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK?
The most recent book I read was Red Notice: How I Became Putin’s No. 1 Enemy. A great foodie book I am reading at the moment is called Blood, Bones and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef.

SWEET OR SAVOURY?
It has to be sweet through and through. I have a major sweet tooth!