Name: Eleanor Bridgman
Job title: Director – sales & marketing
Company: Geeta’s Foods
What was your first job? When I was 12, I marched into the local newsagent and asked for a job so I started with the ubiquitous paper round. At 13 I graduated to working in the shop which got me out of the cold, dark mornings!
What’s been your worst job interview? At university, I applied for jobs across different sectors and one of the interviews I landed was for a logistics role. When I got there, I realised I hadn’t a clue what logistics really entailed and blagged my way through. Suffice it to say they didn’t make me an offer.
“I’d like to educate consumers on how to meal plan, shop and cook more frugally”
What was the first music single you bought? I remember going with my sister on our first record shopping expedition and buying Kylie Minogue’s I Should Be So Lucky and The Young Ones’ Livin’ Doll. I can’t recall whether my preference was pop or anarchy.
How do you describe your job to your friends? I say my job is to add more flavour to more meals. My friends don’t believe I get paid to eat and explore Indian flavours all day.
What is the most rewarding part of your job? Getting glowing product feedback from consumers, watching shoppers pick up newly launched products, watching team members grow. There’s so much variety from day to day and so many opportunities.
What is the least rewarding part? Does anyone really enjoy making pivot tables?
What is your motto in life? Find a job you love and never work a day in your life (Confucius or Twain?). I’m a believer in the Japanese concept of ikigai.
If you were allowed one dream perk, what would it be? Stretchy time: a way of cancelling out travel time to be more productive, making dedicated time for volunteering and just fitting more in.
Do you have any phobias? Snakes.
If you could change one thing in grocery, what would it be? An industry-wide consumer education programme for more sustainable living to benefit food poverty, sustainable farming, food waste and health.
I’d like to educate consumers on how to meal plan, shop and cook more frugally with more veggies on our plates, less processed food, more seasonal eating and more nature-based farming.
What luxury would you have on a desert island? A fridge to store the weekly delivery of cheese and wine.
Can I also have unlimited books?
What animal most reflects your personality? My kids said a tiger as I can be fierce and focused but I also like to curl up for snoozes in the sun.
What’s your favourite film and why? Hidden Figures – I love a comedy but this film contains so much I can watch it over and over – history, humour, emancipation, success, technological advancement, sass and a good soundtrack.
Read more for National Curry Week:
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Pukka adds trio of world foods-inspired pastry parcels
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Sharwood’s adds two-step curry kits for ‘less confident cooks’
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Geeta’s launches microwaveable Indian side dishes into Waitrose
What has been the most embarrassing moment in your life? I’ve performed in amateur operatics so it takes a lot to embarrass me. I recall one show where I wore an enormous wig that stayed in the same place whenever I turned my head and my mum weeping with laughter through the whole scene…
Which celebrity would you most like to work with and why? Ryan Reynolds: he’s funny, down to earth, entrepreneurial, and genuine.
What would your death row meal be? A seafood & charcuterie antipasti platter, fresh salad, spaghetti carbonara and a bottle of malbec, topped off with a large cheeseboard – with our mango & ginger chutney! The meal might take me a couple of days to eat.
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