International Women’s Day – International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality.
To help celebrate women’s achievements and increase their visibility Women Talking meet Holly King. Holly Joined the family fine food business, King’s Fine Food in 2013. Having a passion for food Holly has found the journey of this ever-changing industry has been and will continue to be an eventful one.
Tell us about your journey so far.
“I first started working for Kings Fine Food when my mother, founder Laura King asked if I would go in and help with a few odd jobs. I was in between College and figuring out what career path I wanted to take at the time. What turned into a few odd jobs has been my career for the last 9 years. I have grown up in the hospitality industry as my father was a chef and my mother has been in the Caviar industry for 30 years. I started as a coffee runner and now I am part director as well as a sales executive for King’s Fine Food and a trustee for the John King Brain Tumour Foundation Charity.
“I have a huge passion for the business as not only is it my family name, but we deal with the finest products in the world. No day is the same as you get to meet so many amazing people from all walks of life as well as visit some of the best Hotels and Restaurants in the UK.
“King’s Fine Food is the largest importer of caviar into the UK, I feel it is important to educate my generation on caviar as it is a food that has such a huge stigma of only being available for the super-rich when this is not the case. I think being able to pass on my knowledge is very rewarding and there is nothing more satisfying than seeing a chef or waitress who has never tried caviar before getting to try it for the first time and their faces light up.
“I feel very proud and grateful to be able to continue the family business and grow what is already a successful business into an empire”.
Who inspires you?
My mother is my inspiration and role model. She is a formidable force of nature who decided to start her own business when I was 9 and my brother was 4 years old. She has taken massive risks in her career but has never given up or lost hope. Her determination to drive the business into the next phase is like none I have ever seen, and I hope one day I can be just like her. She is also incredibly selfless and always puts others before herself. My father sadly passed away in 2016 from a brain tumour. My mother decided to set up a charity in his name and the Charity has already raised close to 1 million pounds with hardly any administration fees. I am lucky enough to be a Trustee and have done many fundraisers from climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to doing a wing walk which I would never recommend doing. Especially if you hate flying like me!
Why did you pick the food/hospitality industry?
“I wouldn’t say I picked the food industry as I honestly had no idea what I wanted to do! I guess I kind of fell into it really! Going to help in the family business for what was only meant to be a few months. But now I could never see myself not working in the food industry.
“Food is one of life’s greatest pleasures. Being able to supply some of the best food in the world to hotels, restaurants, and private individuals is very rewarding. I also love learning about where the food comes from, how it is produced, and why it is the best in the world”.
Poppy Watt