Spotlight on: We talk to Lucy Mackenzie from Lucy’s Dressings about  starting a business from scratch and how she juggles family life with work

So how did you get started?

Starting Lucy’s Dressings from my kitchen meant burning the midnight candle! After I’d put the children to bed, I would sterilise my kitchen, put my hairnet on and lug barrels of oil up from my basement. There was nothing glamorous about it.

Where did the idea come from?

Ever since I was a child I’ve loved making dressings and been fascinated by the challenge of getting the balance of flavours just right. So, I set about creating a dressings company.

Your biggest challenge?

Growing a brand that no one’s heard of and resisting the temptation to reduce the quality of the produce, in order to put yourself in the mainstream. If the products don’t hold true to original values, you have nothing.

How do you juggle family life with work?

Badly! I find it really hard juggling home and family life, I frequently feel I’m not doing enough especially when I miss one of the children playing in a match, or I haven’t got enough achieved in my working day. The truth is I need to be doing more of both. Most of my friends that work either part time or full time feel the same way. But you can only do what you can do in a day and it’s important to try and keep some perspective on life and have some fun on the way.

How has the company changed over time?

The business started as a hobby, which then became serious when we got ourselves into Selfridges. In the last 18 months things have been cranked up as we’re now stocked in Waitrose nationally. We’re also working with some fantastic restaurant groups, which is very exciting.

What’s your top dressing pick for the summer?

My top dressing for summer is the Zesty Mayo, it’s just delicious on so much more than salad – we love it with asparagus, salmon, new potatoes, rice or as a dip for sourdough. It’s not a rich and creamy dressing – it’s tangy and zingy so it compliments so many ingredients at this time of year.

Lucy’s Dressings range are currently on offer until 10th July in Waitrose. Visit your local branch to receive 25% off. www.lucysdressings.co.uk