Name: Nina Collins
Age: 23
Job title: Events manager
Company & location: Sisters Distillery, Salford UK
Education: Liverpool Hope University, degree in business management.
Why did you decide to go for a career in food? I have always worked in the hospitality industry and loved the social side of it. I love meeting all kinds of people every single day. The career offers a lot of variety and every day is different! I can’t sit still, so a job in this industry is perfect for me as there isn’t much sitting around involved!
Explain your job to us in a sentence (or two): I look after all the events internally and externally for the business. This involves running and hosting all distillery tours, experiences and private events. As I am the daughter of one of the ‘Sisters’, I get involved with lots of different aspects of the company. Working for a small business means you do multiple different jobs, it’s great!
What does a typical day look like for you? A typical day for me would begin with some admin, replying to emails and ensuring everything for the day is organised. I would then start prepping the event that is happening that day, for example if this was our bottomless gin afternoon tea event, I would ensure all food is prepped and ready to be sent out, all garnish for the drinks are chopped, our presentation screen is set up properly and then I would begin hosting the event. This involves telling the story of the four sisters, some fun facts and explaining the art of distillation.
“I’m not a big foodie or drinker but that doesn’t change a single thing about my job”
Tell us about how you went about applying for your job. I sent my CV to the company via email, I then went through a thorough interview process. I wouldn’t say there were any tough questions but there was some roleplay involved – I had to explain how I would react to certain situations.
What’s the best part about working for a food company? Working with likeminded people every day, feeling like every day is a social event and never being bored.
And what’s the biggest misconception people have about working in food & drink? I think the biggest misconception is that you have do a lot of drinking yourself when this isn’t the case! I’m not a big foodie or drinker but that doesn’t change a single thing about my job.
What advice would you give to other young people looking to get into the food & drink industry? Be proactive, look for opportunities and take them. Take yourself out of your comfort zone and throw yourself into the deep end where you can. Have lots of energy and make sure you’re comfortable dealing with the public!
What’s your ultimate career dream? To stay with the company I am currently working for, but work my way up to a senior, key role. I love my job! I work for my family business so I would love to work with my family for the rest of my career!
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