The vegetables grown in Henrietta Morrison's allotment were loved so much by her dog, Lily, that she became inspired to create a pioneering pet food range that incorporated the best of British ingredients. 

Prior to producing pet food, Henrietta had founded and run a publishing company, which she sold in 2007.  An avid gardener, she was keen that her next business focused on something that was nature related.  At the same time she was having difficulty finding a food that Lily would eat.  After much deliberation, conversations with vets and despair at seeing Lily's skin condition worsen, Lily's Kitchen was born in November 2008.

Henrietta spent two years gathering ingredients and supplies from farmers and co-operatives who agreed to supply her on an ongoing basis. She was adamant that her range of pet food would taste and smell delicious with no artificial additives.  Committed to making a difference to the environment, all Lily's Kitchen packaging is recyclable or compostable. Lily's Kitchen has recently been named as the ‘Best Pet Food Company in the UK 2010’ – for the second year in a row by the Ethical Good Shopper Guide. The initial range has been extremely popular, recently growing from nine to thirteen recipes.  Henrietta lives and works in Hampstead and has a 13 year-old daughter.

• Why do you do what you do?
  I love my dog so much that I decided I had to do something to improve her quality of life after all the illnesses she went through due to her previous diet. I simply love what I do. We make honest, tasty, nutritious foods for pets.  They deserve good and healthy food just as much as we do.


• What achievement are you most proud of?
  Being named the UK's best pet food company within two months of launching.


• If you were Prime Minister, what one thing would you do to encourage more people to eat British food?
  Give small grants to villages to encourage them to have monthly markets, whereby everyone brings what they have grown or cooked from local produce.


• What is your favourite food and why?
  I love British cheeses.  There is such an amazing array of delicious cheeses now in the UK.  The landscape of British food has changed beyond recognition in just a few years.


• What are your predictions for the future of British food?
  It can only get better and better. There are so many demands now for our food to be exported around the world - we are becoming a major player in the gourmet food market now.


• If you were an advertising executive, what slogan would you use to promote British food?
  Beautiful food from Britain - a recipe book of tastes on your own doorstep.


• Beat the recession tip?
  Make your own sauces. Go out for a walk and come back with a basket full of wild delicious foods - wild garlic is available everywhere, even on Hampstead Heath, for example. I know there are St George's Mushrooms out there somewhere too.


• What's on the menu this evening?
  Nettle soup and monkfish with wild garlic and morels.


• How can people get hold of your produce?
  You can buy online from lilyskitchen.co.uk. There is also a list of stockists on the website.