How did your new sustainable lifestyle brand Ecofetes come about?
“It was born out of frustration, really. I started thinking about the whole sustainability issue more than ten years ago when my daughters Lauren [24] and Maddy [20] were small and I saw so much single-use plastic and wastage at children’s parties. It was carnage! As a vegetarian, I was also increasingly uncomfortable about serving meat-based food that I wouldn’t eat or thought was unhealthy. There was so much wasted food and even flowers that were thrown away after events.
“I was first introduced to the benefits of organic food and beauty when I worked with Jo Wood on her Mrs Paisley’s Lashings pop-up dinners in 2009. We were doing organic meals together at a time when no one else was interested. It all came together on the food side when I met Justin, who creates organic menus that are zero waste, seasonal and locally sourced. He was the cherry on the cake!”
What were some of the challenges you faced becoming an eco-event organiser?
“My business completely changed about six years ago. At the beginning, I lost clients because I had to put my money where my mouth was and think, ‘I can’t be working for clients who are not green’. I had to have a bit more integrity. The girls said, ‘Mum, you can’t do this without being accountable yourself’. I dropped beauty brands and car companies but they’re coming back now because they’re all trying to be more eco-conscious.”