This is the latest in a regular series of Business Q&A features published weekly. This week, we spoke to Sarita McDermott, owner of Realitea on North Street in Ripon.

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

Realitea is an Indian tearoom that serves 30 varieties of tea, seven of which we blend ourselves right here on the premises.

We also serve Indian brunch and lunches, and everything is homemade.

What does it require to be successful in business?

Very, very, very hard work, dedication, honesty and kindness. It's not about money in the food industry – you won't make much. For me, it's about serving the community, with passion.

Ripon is a small city and everybody's really nice. A lot of our older customers are lonely and don't just want tea and cake – they want a chat. So we chat, and it makes them happy – and that's really important.

What drives you to do what you do every day?

Passion. It's not just food to me – it's memories. My mum, my grandmother and auntie are all cooks, and my brother's a chef. I make things according to recipes I learned from my mum and grandmother, when I was growing up in Delhi.

I make mango and cardamom cake, and marigold cake, which has coconut, mango, pumpkin seeds and our own house blend of spices.

Our most popular cake is Indian summer cake, which has pistachios, cardamom, cloves and rosewater. It's a childhood memory cake for me, and I'm keeping the tradition alive.

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

Finding the right staff. In India, 10 people apply for one job; here, you only get one person applying for 10 jobs!

But I'm sorted now – I've got Jane, who looks after front-of-house and is lovely. She treats all our customers nicely.

We also hire lots of adults with special needs from Jennyruth Workshops. I don't look at their disabilities – I look at what they can do. I also teach them Indian dance; dancing is good – you don't need language to understand it.

Which other local firms do you most admire and why?

On one side of us, there is the Storehouse, and on the other, there's Oliver's Pantry. We don't compete – we work together – so when one of us is busy, we send any extra customers to the others. 

Once, we had some customers who wanted different things from different places, so they sat in Oliver's Pantry and ordered food there, but we also delivered what they wanted from Realitea, so they could eat it together. 

And if people need to wait for a table to come free, we might send them to Saint Michael's, so the charity shop gets some custom too. It works for everybody.

There's no need to compete – you can work together as a community. Just give 100% – that's all that matters in life.

Who are the most inspiring local leaders?

My friend Liz owns Karma, an Indian shop near the cathedral. She works very hard but also gives the workers who make the products in India a fair price, so she's looking after them. They're people, not numbers, and it's important to treat them well.

Everybody needs to make money, but you can make it in a nice way. Ripon is a small city, but it has a big heart.

What could be done locally to boost business?

Parking in Ripon is bad – it's quite congested and people have to pay a lot to park. So it would be nice if we could do like Northallerton does around Christmas, when they make parking free at certain times to bring in more people.

Best and worst things about running a business from Ripon?

Ripon is wonderful. There are good schools, lovely people and lots of opportunities. You're never going to be rich, but you just have to dedicate yourself to your job.

The downside is the lack of certain shops. We could do with a greengrocer, a children's clothing shop and perhaps another butcher's.

What are your business plans for the future?

I don't know what my plans are for tomorrow! I just go with the flow. I don't know what's happening next week, and I don't want to know. I just word hard and keep going.

What do you like to do in your time off?

Dancing and watching Bollywood movies.

Best place to eat and drink locally?

There are plenty – it depends on what you like. Mario's, Valentino's and Prima are all nice Italian restaurants.

Oliver's Pantry, Café in the Park and the Storehouse are all very good, all individual, and well worth going to.

That said, I don't go out much – I'm here most of the time, baking and cooking!

If you know someone in business in the Harrogate district and you'd like to suggest them for this feature, drop us a line at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.