Meet the Daylesford Team – Part 2
We wouldn’t be where we are today without our diverse and passionate teams in Kingham and London.
As an organic business that is constantly pushing towards our sustainability goals alongside innovations in farming, food and packaging, we have a huge workforce to help us move forward. Our talented teams that work in our kitchens, Bakery, Patisserie, Smokehouse and Creamery are just as important as our teams on the ground in our farmshops, our farm staff and our office teams that cover everything from events to design and finance.
We are lucky to work with individuals that want to make a positive impact on the environment through organic food and sustainable farming. Here, we talk to a selection of staff who work across the many teams in our business and learn more about their journeys at Daylesford so far.
STEPHANIE JENKINS, TRAINER
Based in our London office
TELL US ABOUT YOUR DAYLESFORD JOURNEY.
“I joined 4.5 years ago as a part time waitress; after falling in love with the product and ethos, I worked my way into senior management before taking on a learning and development role as the Daylesford Trainer. The education I have received at Daylesford has transformed both my professional and personal life. The way I eat, the products I buy, my attitude toward myself and my wellbeing have all been shaped by Daylesford; my old friends don’t recognise me! I take great pleasure in sharing the knowledge I have been given with our passionate team.”
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT HERE SO FAR?
“Creating a new role from scratch. It is both challenging and stimulating to develop a role that didn’t previously exist, I have the freedom to carve out my own future (with some amazingly knowledgeable and supportive people to help me along the way).”
CAN YOU TELL US ONE THING THAT MIGHT TAKE OUR CUSTOMERS BY SURPRISE?
“I could spend all day answering this one. I think people would be shocked at how low standards are in factory farming and how far Daylesford goes to counter that. We don’t just do this for our own business, we also work across the farming community to build more sustainable practices. Buying less meat of a higher quality ensures better standards of animal welfare, is better for the environment, better nutritionally and it also tastes better.”
ALESSANDRO PIZZOCARO, TEAM MEMBER
Based in our Notting Hill farmshop
WHEN DID YOU JOIN DAYLESFORD?
“I joined Daylesford in October 2015, just a week after I landed in London. I am originally from Northern Italy. I was very nervous as being in such a big city was scary and my English was not great, so I started by doing back of house jobs. When it improved, I move to a bar assistant and decided that I knew I could get much further by working even harder. The bar is my passion, and I developed a love for making coffee, cocktails and drinks. After just one year I was promoted to Team Leader/ Head Barista and that has been such a great achievement for me, especially as it is my first job abroad.”
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT AT DAYLESFORD SO FAR?
“My promotion to Team Leader. I never expected to do so well when I first came to England; however over the past four years I have had so many possibilities due to great trust being put in me. I don’t think I could have grown so much and so fast elsewhere. I have moved around the London farmshops; I helped to open the Brompton Cross farmshop; I was the Daylesford Representative to receive the Best Espresso award at the London Coffee Festival in 2018. I will never forget what I gained from my experience and I will always be thankful.”
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE DAYLESFORD PRODUCT?
“Being a barista, my favourite product is our milk. It is of exceptional quality and taste, and making coffees with it is a pleasure. I’d also say our animals like beef and chicken – and their eggs – all superior quality.”
ERIN TYLER, DIRECT SALES ASSISTANT
Based in our Kingham office
TELL US ABOUT YOUR DAYLESFORD JOURNEY.
“I joined Daylesford in September 2013, working part time on the weekends and holidays as a student doing my A-levels, saving to go travelling after I finished. Once I returned from travelling, I came back to Daylesford which has started my growing career. I had the opportunity to apply to the Ecommerce team in the run up to Christmas, which has led me to my role now as Fulfilment Team member in the supply and logistics team.”
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT AT DAYLESFORD SO FAR?
“My biggest achievement at Daylesford would have to be coming from working as a school student on the weekends and falling into my career here at Daylesford.”
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE DAYLESFORD PRODUCT?
“My favourite product at Daylesford would have to be the new organic macaroni cheese – a delicious new meal we have just launched. It is such a quick, simple supper and tastes just like a homemade macaroni cheese!”
ROBERT ZOLKA, ASSISTANT RETAIL MANAGER
Based in our Kingham farmshop
TELL US ABOUT YOUR DAYLESFORD JOURNEY.
“I started at Daylesford in November 2005. When I first started working at Daylesford I was a kitchen porter working in the threshers’ yard. After two years working there, I came to the farm site working in back of house. I then became Assistant Retail Manager in the farmshop.”
WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE FOR ANYONE WANTING TO JOIN DAYLESFORD?
“Have a passion and love for food and enjoy every experience Daylesford has to offer.”
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST LEARNING HERE SO FAR?
“In my 14 years of experience here I have learnt a lot about our company and organic farming which has led me to my biggest achievement: to be Assistant Retail Manager.”
TIBOR KETHELYI, BAKERY MANAGER
Based in our Cotswolds farm’s Bakery
TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF.
“I have been the Bakery Manager since November 2016. I am originally from Hungary and spent 25 years there working in pastry and bakery operation. Starting at Daylesford as a baker in 2011, I was asked to lead the Bakery team after 5 years.”
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST LEARNING HERE SO FAR?
“Learning at Daylesford is endless. Working with all departments on the farm gives us a huge opportunity to create new ideas and products. Through this, we have gone on to win bread awards and create really successful products – everything that we grow on the farm presents an opportunity. We even made bread from nettles that grow on our farmlands.”
WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE FOR SOMEONE WANTING TO JOIN DAYLESFORD?
“Go for it! It’s a great team, great environment and there are plenty of open opportunities.”