Name: Kirsty Henshaw
Job title: Founder
Company: Kirsty’s
What was your first job? I was a care assistant in a nursing home from the age of 15 to 17, earning £3.60 an hour.
What’s been your worst job interview? I moved down to Newquay on my own when I was 17 and had an interview for bar work. I hadn’t realised it was for a Coyote Bar, so I had to get up on the bar and check I wasn’t scared of heights.
What was the first music single you bought? Wannabe – Spice Girls.
How do you describe your job to your friends? With great difficulty. I’m certain they think I spend my days swanning around my factory like Corrie’s Carla Connor, only making meals instead of knickers.
“People are your greatest asset, but can also be your most challenging”
What is the most rewarding part of your job? Witnessing first-hand how we nurture our employees. I believe in equal opportunities and bringing out the best in people, from whatever walk of life.
What is the least rewarding part? People are your greatest asset but can also be your most challenging. We have brilliant employees, but there has been the odd person over the years who has caused me a significant headache!
What is your motto in life? Our health is our greatest wealth.
If you were allowed one dream perk, what would it be? An annual ‘Slopes & Strategy’ ski trip.
Do you have any phobias? After 15 years in business, I’m no longer scared of anything.
If you could change one thing in grocery, what would it be? Better understanding of the complexities of free-from manufacturing and why offering choice is so important for our loyal customers – many of whom face limited options, often eating the same meals repeatedly or having to cook everything from scratch.
What luxury would you have on a desert island? A cafetière and Rinaldo’s coffee.
What animal most reflects your personality? A honey badger: protective, passionate and brave – but easily aggravated.
What’s your favourite film and why? It’s a toss-up between The Holiday, because I live in hope that Jude Law will turn up drunk at my house one day, and The Intern for its sheer wholesomeness and how it makes me want to better our business every single day.
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What has been the most embarrassing moment in your life? One of my operatives thanked me for allowing her a three-week holiday to go back home. I replied enthusiastically with “no problem at all, I hope you had an amazing time”. To be then informed she had gone home to look after her mother who was really sick. I’m still not over it.
Which celebrity would you most like to work with and why? It’d have to be James Martin. What’s not to love about a straight-talking Yorkshire chef?
What would your death row meal be? Miso black cod followed by vanilla cheesecake.
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