True characters

Sarah Gough, founder of Sarah's Wonderful Honey

I work with my mother Eilis. . . We're based in Owning, a small village in Co Kilkenny. There are eight of us working in the company, Mileeven Fine Foods.

We've been in business together since 2007, officially .. . although, like every family business, I have been working there since it started, in 1988.

Working with Mum is. . . great, as we are so different. At some stage I'd like to start my own business as well – I'm very independent.

Mileeven started from a beekeeping hobby. . . but when my parents ended up with about 100 hives, it changed from a hobby to a business, and we now work with local beekeepers for our honey.

I first had the idea to add lovely things to our honey. . . when I heard people saying, "I don't like honey" or "it always tastes the same".

The first things I tried adding were ginger and nuts. . . but it was whole chunks of ginger at that stage, and though it tasted great, I think people didn't find it as easy to use so we went back to the drawing board.

The most successful pairing has been .. . honey with ginger and honey with sour cherries.

Now we have nine different varieties, the newest being honey with dates. . . it was designed specifically for the Middle Eastern market but might be introduced here too, in time.

The Emiratis buy in bulk. . . If they like the look of a product they will buy a full box, not just a jar. During a sheikh's recent shopping trip, he bought 75 jars of the ginger honey and 75 jars of the raspberry. I think he had more in his basket than we had in our whole warehouse at one stage .

People use the honeys in very different ways. . . In the Middle East they eat it at breakfast, dunking bread into a honey and yoghurt mixture. Traditionally in Ireland it was for toast, porridge and when you were sick, but now people are much more adventurous.

The best advice I've ever been given is. . . don't worry about the things you can't control.

If I wasn't doing this. . . I would be doing something outdoors, maybe with horses or water sports.

When I'm not working. . . I am thinking about work or running or doing some other sports when I'm in Ireland.

I'm most proud of. . . achievements in my hobbies as opposed to work. If I achieve something in work, I see it as my job, my responsibility, and even when I achieve it, I'm always looking for the next opportunity. Horses are my real love, but with not enough time for them I've turned to running. My dad is a great runner and inspired me to take it up too.

My earliest food memory is. . . baking flapjacks or brown bread in our kitchen at home with my sister, Siobhán, making a complete mess and eating most of it before it even went into the oven.

The best things I've ever eaten are. . . carpaccio of octopus in Selfridges, a Lebanese meal in Bahrain, and homemade brick in Tunisia

My dream dinner party guests would be. . . Des Bishop, Peter Jones, Cameron Diaz and Graham Norton.

And I'd cook them. . . something spicy.

Five things I always have in my larder are. . . honey, fajitas, vegetables, garlic and olive oil (with that mixture, they probably wouldn't come for dinner again!)

I'm passionate about . . .fostering entrepreneurship, giving young people opportunities, travelling, cultures and living every day fully.

Not many people know this about me but. . . for years I wanted to be a paramedic.

In conversation with Marie-Claire Digby

See mileeven.com