Pair take plunge and cook up a change of career

Tuesday 26 June 2012

WORKING as a chartered surveyor Neil Johnson was never short of things to do during the property boom.

HUMBLE PIE: Husband-and-wife team Neil and Lisa Johnson have built a successful catering business which includes a cook school in the village of Kingston near North Berwick.

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After leaving Larrik Property in London he took a post with City of Edinburgh Council's arms-length property development company EDI Group in 2006.

But in 2009 he was made redundant as EDI drastically reduced its staff numbers in the midst of the global financial crisis.

Mr Johnson, an Aberdeen University graduate, tried to secure full-time and consultancy work in the property sector but "there just wasn't a lot around".At the same time his wife Lisa had been doing some catering alongside her freelance radio production work for the BBC.So the pair decided it was time to take the plunge and concentrate on building a catering business.Now more than two years later Humble Pie has invested around £50,000 in its own kitchens and a cook school in a converted primary school in the village of Kingston near North Berwick.It has also expanded out of Edinburgh and the Lothians to cover events across Scotland in venues such as Winton House, Dunglass Estate, Kinkell Byre and Kirknewton House Stables.Alongside weddings and private parties it has worked for companies including Brewin Dolphin, Urban Outfitters, Chiene and Tait, Savills and Boden.Mr Johnson, 43, said: "Initially we thought of Humble Pie as being a way to put bread on the table and it has done that."Things have been going really well and we are building a good team here."The business also tries to support the local economy by sourcing ingredients from nearby suppliers.Fruit and vegetables come from the Crunchy Carrot in Dunbar, meat is bought from butchers in Haddington and Eyemouth, while fish is brought in from Musselburgh.

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Pair take plunge and cook up a change of career

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