'I run a farm shop in Yorkshire - it's all about celebrating food, farming and hospitality'

I grew up in Riccall near Selby which was a fairly small village in those days and walked the half a mile to and from Riccall primary school four times a day, passing the village green and the beautiful Norman Church.

The village had an amazing community, and I still love to have a drive through the village whenever I’m passing on the A19.

What’s your favourite part of the county? My grandma moved from Rotherham to Filey in the late 1960s. As a child, I spent many school holidays there and have wonderful memories of playing on the beach and in the sea, exploring the Brigg, playing crazy golf and enjoying a knickerbocker glory in one of the many cafés.

Going on the train to Scarborough was always an exciting day out too.

What’s your idea of a perfect day out in Yorkshire?

When I can drag Karl away from the farm or Cedarbarn, we love to spend time at the coast, enjoying family time with our daughter, Chloe, and grandsons Albert and Freddie.

We’ll go for a walk on the beach and have the boys’ favourite meal of fish and chips for tea.

Do you have a favourite walk?

There is a lovely walk from our farm through Thornton le Dale along the beck and up to Ellerburn and we also enjoy going to Hole of Horcum for a lovely walk with amazing views. We are incredibly lucky to have the coast and the moors on our doorstep.

Which Yorkshire sportsperson, past or present, would you like to take to lunch?

Karl has competed in the Macmillan Ride of Their Lives charity horse race twice, and has battled cancer, so we would love to take Bob Champion to lunch.

It would be fantastic to hear about his racing career and how he achieved one of the greatest sporting comebacks of all time when he won the 1981 Grand National on Aldaniti after overcoming cancer.

Which Yorkshire stage or screen star, past or present, would you like to take to dinner?

I would love to have dinner with the wonderful Judi Dench. I could talk to her for hours about her amazing life and career and the people she has met.

My guilty pleasure dinner date would be Jeremy Clarkson. For all he is a marmite character, I think he’d be great fun and have some great tales to tell about Top Gear and Clarkson’s Farm.

If you had to name your Yorkshire ‘hidden gem’ what would it be?

Falling Foss on the moors near Whitby. Our grandsons Albert and Freddie love the 30 foot waterfall, the beck and the Little Beck Wood Nature Reserve.

If you could own somewhere or something for a day, what would it be?

To own York Racecourse for a day would be amazing. We could entertain friends and family for a great day of quality racing, great food and drink and a good catch up.

What do you think gives Yorkshire its unique identity?

Yorkshire has a unique blend of industrial cities, tourist destinations, rural villages, market towns and its amazing historic capital, York, where I spent many happy years studying Business Studies and Travel and Tourism at York Tech and then living there.

There’s something for everyone, from the Dales to the Moors and the Wolds, plus seaside resorts and a spectacular coastline.

Do you have a favourite restaurant or pub?

The White Swan, Pickering. In 1985, I relocated from York to Pickering to be assistant to the late great Ken and Deirdre Buchanan, who were amazing characters and well known on the Yorkshire hospitality scene.

The hotel is still owned by the family, Victor and Marion and their boys, and is a great mix of delicious food, cosy bars and beautiful rooms.

Do you have a favourite food shop?

Apart from our own farm shop, obviously, I do love a wander around Fodder in Harrogate where 100 per cent of its profits support Yorkshire farmers and the countryside through the Yorkshire Agricultural Society.

How do you think that Yorkshire has changed, for better or for worse, in the time that you’ve known it?

Massive changes have seen the demise of the heavy industry that employed family members and the rise of tourism and retail in its place.

For us, with a business that combines retail and tourism, the changes have been for the better, but it’s bittersweet to see the steelworks where my uncle worked turned into Magna Science Adventure Centre.

Who is the Yorkshire person you most admire?

Aside from my husband, Karl, who is an absolute grafter, the most amazing dad and grandad, and totally committed to everything he does, I would say my dad.

The son of a Rotherham miner and the youngest of six children, he left school at 12 and worked hard to provide for my mum and me. In 1973, we lost mum way too early, aged just 44, and dad found himself as mum and dad to a seven year old.

Always fun, cheerful, ever the optimist, he did the cooking, the washing, made curtains and even made me a skirt once!

He was involved in the village institute, helped build a swimming pool at Riccall school in my mum’s name and still worked full time.

As an adult, I am in awe of everything he achieved and how he brought me up. Thankfully, he found happiness again, with Christine, when he was 50. He passed away in 2001 and was an absolute legend.

Has Yorkshire influenced your work?

Most definitely. Cedarbarn is all about celebrating Yorkshire food, farming and hospitality, all of which we have a passion for.

I have worked in and around the hospitality industry since I was 16 and we had a B&B and holiday cottage before we started PYO strawberries in 1995, so Yorkshire as a tourist destination has played a huge part in my work.