On the Spot with Jacqueline Cooper

I've worked since the age of 11 having a paper round, then progressing to washing up in my local Italian restaurant on a Friday and Saturday night when I was 12.

If you weren't in your present job, what would you like to do?

If I was unlucky enough not to have this job I'd like to be a personal shopper/stylist.

What was your worst mistake?

On a personal level, I once congratulated someone on being pregnant. She wasn't, she was just fat around the belly.

On a business level, lots, although I don't see the word "mistake" as negative.

What's your ideal day away from the office?

Probably some retail therapy in the Victoria Quarter in Leeds, a little lunch and fizz at Harvey Nic's, then off to Lush at their brand new spa. Oh, I'm so shallow.

Name one person you would like to have dinner with and why?

That has to be Jamie Oliver; not only is he a fab cook but he'd also wash up, wouldn't he?

What was your best subject at school?

In high school, the teacher I respected the most was the one who got the best results out of me. I'm still unsure what I will do with my O-level in religious studies.

What are your hobbies?

All the girly stuff necessary after childbirth to try to re-claim the life before jelly belly – so that's yoga, pilates and fitness training.

What's your top time-saving tip?

Decide what you are going to wear the night before, and stick to it and take your mobile in the bath and make your longer catch-up calls from there.

What's your favourite time of the day?

That depends on where I am in the world; I love early evening sunsets in Spain, complete with a large mojito. Alternatively, at home in Huddersfield, it has to be early doors out walking with my dog, Pippa, which allows me to clear my head and focus on my objectives for the day.

What would you like your epitaph to be?

"Queen of hearts" friends would say. Always there on a rainy day.

Jacqueline Cooper, operations director of coffee wholesaler and distributor Cooper's Coffee, based in Huddersfield.