What is the most interesting aspect of your job?

Woolworths strives to offer customers a comprehensive range of fresh produce, meeting their needs for great value, delicious, innovative and quality food for every season. I relish the opportunity of being part of a team, including a vast network of mostly local suppliers, tasked with delivering this vision.

What is your job title?

Fruit buyer for Woolworths.

How did you get into retail?

I have always been excited by retail. I did a Retail Management course at the Cape Technikon. This was followed by in-service training at Woolworths which I believed is the best the retail industry could offer.

Have you always been interested in food?

Absolutely. Working with food is definitely a natural fit.

What is your favourite restaurant and why?

Borruso's in Kenilworth, Cape Town. They make the greatest pizza, the service is good and the atmosphere is down to earth.

Being a food buyer, do you get to taste a lot of different foods?

Absolutely. I work with the technical and product development teams to review samples from suppliers. The tastings we do are very technical. We analyse sugar levels, flavour, eating quality and other variables.

What is the most delicious thing you've ever tasted?

I love Woolworths Sabrosa strawberries. They've got the most intense flavour and a wonderful firm texture. They also happen to be exclusive to Woolies.

What is the most disgusting thing you've ever tried?

I would say lemons are rather sour, but not disgusting!

How do you decide what culinary items will sell well to customers?

We're focused on meeting our customers' needs. There is a lot of research to gain insight into what they would like to see in stores.

Tell us one thing that makes your job difficult?

Managing inflation and our price value offering is a challenge.