This is the latest in a regular series of Business Q&A features published weekly. This week, we spoke to Linda Aikman, co-founder and director of the Harrogate Food and Drink Co in Ripon.

Tell us in fewer than 30 words what your firm does.

In a nutshell, we're a wedding and events outside caterers. We cater for private parties as well as large festivals, so we cover all genres of event.

What does it take to be successful in business?

You need a good, strong team behind you. You also need to change your ideas every so often and keep up with what your competitors are doing.

We have a good team of chefs who periodically look at our menus and give them a tweak.

Trends in wedding especially change, not just in how things taste – sharing boards have become very popular – but also in how things look. There's been a move away from wedding reception at hotels in favour of barns and country houses. One week, we can be working in a stately home, the next in the middle of a field.

We catered for the MOBO Awards last year in Newcastle and this year in Sheffield, which was exciting. We provide food for the lighting, rigigng and technical crew for the first two days, and then also for the artists on the third day. You get to meet some very nice people.

We'll be in Wales at the end of the month for the Eisteddfod, and catering for the Burghley Horse Trials in September.

We get to see quite a lot of the British countryside, and quite a lot of carparks – that's the unglamorous side of film and TV!

What drives you to do what you do every day?

I like the flexibility of what we do – it's not a nine-to-five. I used to work in finance, and this is not like that at all – no two days are the same here.

Ultimately, we'd like to retire early and play more golf, but we're a while off that yet!

What’s been the toughest issue your business has had to deal with over the last 12 months?

The worldwide economy situation means we now really have to work harder to win business from people who often have more restricted budgets than they used to. Weddings have got a bit smaller since covid. We put a lot of work into getting work.

Which other local firms do you most admire and why?

I admire Nomad, the catering company based at Cardale Park. They're bigger than us and do a similar thing, and they really put themselves out there, especially on social media.

Who are the most inspiring local leaders?

Jackie Crozier, the founder of Little Bird Artisan Markets, is very inspirational. She does great things for Ripon as a city, looks after her traders, and as Mayor of Ripon shows great leadership.

What could be done locally to boost business?

For businesses in Ripon, the BID [business improvement district] does a lot, but we're outside the BID area, so I honestly don't know. We're outside the city centre and we move around a lot, so I don't know what you could do to help businesses like ours.

Best and worst things about running a business from Ripon?

The best thing is the flexibility. We mainly work from home, and we store a lot of our stuff in a barn at Asenby. Both are close to the A1(M), so the location is great.

What are your business plans for the future?

Our five-year plan is just to keep on going, and building our business by catering for more festivals and weddings.

What do you like to do in your time off?

Andi likes to play golf, and I'm chair of RAOS Musical Theatre Company [formerly Ripon Operatic Society]. Our home is the Ripon Arts Hub on Allhallowgate, which is also a base for Ripon Youth Theatre and Ripon Theatre Festival, so we're pretty busy.

Best places to eat and drink locally? 

Manchega in Ripon. Tapas is our favourite thing to eat and there's a really good atmosphere. It also serves nice wine and has a great chef. Perfect.