Meet Alison Lockett-Burke a super astute, creative and innovative businesswoman raising two empowered and diligent daughters.
Alison’s company Fig and the Wild curates a dining experience that feels like you’ve been invited round to her home for an incredibly special dinner, created with genuine love. Having never considered her role as a mother about running round after everyone and doing everything for them.
This week Alison opened up to me about her home life and passions for food and travel, alongside summers spent inter-railing around Europe with her family.
READ MORE: Liverpool mum running award winning businesses after leaving 'corporate life'
What's your family life at home like?
"CHAOS! I have two kids, Esmé aged 16 and Ada, aged 10 and a dog called Leonard. It’s just me and them at home Monday to Friday so it can be a bit hectic, especially as my work doesn’t really have set days or hours. I can often end up working 16-hour days at short notice.
"It’s very much an everyone muck in kind of vibe at home. Whether I’m busy with work or not it’s kind of expected that we all run the house together really. I love being a mum but don’t see the benefit to anyone of making that mum role being me running around after everyone, so we all work together.
"Ada my youngest makes a mean breakfast omelette and Esmé is a massive help with everything, a great sidekick and occasional babysitter. Our house is chaotic, different music coming from each room, the dog barking at the window and usually pretty messy. We operate very much on a take us as you find us basis, but we have a laugh and it’s a house full of love."
How do you balance your work and being a mum?
"Honestly? It’s difficult. Having this business means erratic work hours so I’m never really sure if I’m ever striking that perfect balance [if that’s even a thing]. It can be tempting, especially in this line of work to take every job that is offered but I’m getting to the stage now where I’m learning to say no.
"I make a point of blocking off the diary for at least two weeks in the summer even though that’s the busiest time and also block out good chunks of the other school holidays so we can go on little adventures. It’s about trying to find the right balance and then learning from mistakes.
"One year I did hundreds of Christmas graze boxes and a month of 70 hour weeks in the run up, finishing on Christmas Eve. I was wiped out and exhausted for Christmas, which was totally rubbish so I learned from that and so then scaled it back massively the next year.
"Having your own business isn't just about the physical work hours, it’s the back-office hours too - emails, menu designing, planning is almost another full-time job on top. I work really hard but also make sure we play hard too - I work to live and not the other way around.
Where did the idea for the supper clubs come from?
"When I was about 21, I spent a summer working on a farm in Denmark. All the workers camped in a farm field and the farmer had converted a barn to a massive kitchen and dining room. We were all from different places and countries, but that kitchen was where we all hung out and eventually started cooking and eating together.
"Since then I’ve just loved how food brings people together - sitting around a table eating great food is one of life’s biggest pleasures and one of the reasons I started doing supper clubs is to bring people together, but not in a restaurant. People buy tickets and have no idea what the menu will be, so it’s like going to someone’s house for a dinner party but on a bigger scale.
"We always do a welcome drink, some canapés and then a four course feast, trying to stick with the seasons and produce that’s available. Our Liverpool supper clubs have 60 guests and always sell out. They're always at Scale, which is a film and photography studio and events space in the Fabric District and is a beauty of a space.
"Last year we did two sold out nights in a tipi right up in the Scottish wilds and also had a once-a-month summer residency at Bert’s Kitchen garden on the Llyn peninsula in north Wales which is a beautiful place to cook and eat. They’re brilliant events and it’s really nice when you see people chatting to people they might not have met before around the table.
What’s your favourite event to cater?
"I really do enjoy the variety of work that we do so it's really difficult to choose. Cooking for people has taken us up and down the country with events, supper clubs and weddings and I really just love that element of being in different (sometimes challenging) places and spaces to cook from.
"I couldn't do the same job every day because I get bored very easily. Weddings are great because you get to be a part of a really important day and our wedding clients are generally really creative and have really interesting weddings. We catered a full weekend of breakfast, lunch and dinner once for a joint and pretty wild birthday in a huge manor house last year which was memorable.
"The client actively asked us to join the partying, which we happily got involved in but forgot how difficult a breakfast service can be on four hours sleep.
"Going to Bert's Kitchen Garden in North Wales and doing supper clubs there is always magical - I'm Welsh and was brought up not far away from there and there is something extra special about bringing what I do back home and hearing Welsh being spoken at the dinner table. The gang down there are always so welcoming, and their team are such a beautiful bunch of people, it really feels like a home from home whenever I am down there. I'm able to take the kids so sometimes we just stay on for a few extra days and go feral which is one of my favourite things!"
Find out more about Fig and the Wild here.
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