Day is choc a block getting chocolate orders delivered in Limerick's Milk Market

What time do you get up?

I get up at 7.00 or 7.30 every day to get the dogs out for a walk before I head to the chocolate factory to start at 9.00!

What is your normal breakfast?

I have to confess that I am partial to granola (which I should make myself but never have enough time) and I will put into that some berries and homemade yoghurt which my husband makes and sometimes I’ll grate some of our 99% cocoa solids bar onto the bowl for a little extra kick!

Do you go for a walk or to the gym before/after the office?

I walk my two dogs, sisters Puca and Casidhe, every day before work as there’s usually not enough time in the evening after work and they are always waiting outside the door in the morning so I can never skip the walk as they would be so disappointed!

How many cups of coffee/tea would you drink a day?

I usually limit myself to four cups in the day, three before lunch and one extra decaf at about 9 in the evening. Occasionally, I’ll be tempted to have an extra cup in the morning if we are testing out some new bar recipes which we developing!

What is normal lunch - do you have a favourite place?

I try very hard to eat a veggie only lunch, even though I am not a vegetarian, as this light lunch suits my working day and it’s always nice to have dinner with the family to look forward to when I get home in the evening!

Do you have you have many meetings during the day?

I have several meetings a week with new customers looking to stock our range of chocolate bars or with tour guides planning a visit to our chocolate factory in East Clare. And every Friday is crazy busy too, when we try to make all of our deliveries to our Limerick Chocolate shop and to our other shops in Doolin and Dingle. However I do seem to spend a lot of time answering emails and managing our social media platforms and website as well.

What time do you finish up at?

The chocolate factory closes at 6pm but I usually finish the day at 6.30 to 7 which gives me a last minute to finish up some paperwork and importantly make a list of all of the jobs we have to do the next day.

Do you watch much television?

I do watch some TV, mostly in the evenings for history or science documentaries or the evening news on RTE. I am a bit more of a radio fan and would get most of my news from the morning news and current affairs programmes.

Do you read the newspapers?

I have to confess I stopped reading newspapers a good few years ago as I found I never had enough time to get through all the pages. I will catch up on stuff on Twitter or listen to radio news and current affairs!

What do you do to relax?

I would be an avid reader and spend far too much money on ebooks and audiobooks, and I like to get in some yoga practice too as it’s very good for settling the anxieties of the day!

Are you able to leave the office behind?

I can manage to finish thinking about the chocolate factory most days but I do two nights a week at home on paperwork just to keep up with the load!

What is a perfect work day?

The perfect work day for me is actually hard to pinpoint as most of my days are different. But I do love Saturdays in the Milk Market as you get a chance to meet up with our Limerick customers who are very loyal to the Limerick Chocolate Shop and it’s a really great feeling when I can just pop their ‘usual’ in a bag before they even ask for it.

Do you ever ‘lose the cool’ and if so what would make you annoyed?

Trying to get through to any service provider on the phone and you get into a long call centre queue before you even speak to a human being is very frustrating. I do stop myself from shouting down the phone as this usually only makes the situation worse!