The best business decision we ever made

High-quality food is a great morale-booster for any workforce. That's why husband and wife team Andrew Wilson and Carolyne Vale haven't been short of work for their high-end business-catering firm Wilson Vale.

When Andrew Wilson graduated from catering college he worked in a hotel restaurant, but realised it wasn't for him. "I wasn't a very good chef and I hated working nights and weekends." So he switched to contract catering cooking in companies' staff restaurants.

Wilson spent the 1980s working his way up through the management of large catering companies. He met his future wife, Carolyne Vale (pictured), in 1988 at Sutcliffe Catering. The pair's climb up the corporate ladder ended when they joined a breakaway firm, Nelson Hind, set up by two former bosses. "We played a fundamental part in the company's success and began to think it would be nice if we were doing it for ourselves." When Nelson Hind was sold to Avenance, the pair decided to act.

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James McKeigue

James graduated from Keele University with a BA (Hons) in English literature and history, and has a certificate in journalism from the NCTJ. James has worked as a freelance journalist in various Latin American countries.He also had a spell at ITV, as welll as wring for Television Business International and covering the European equity markets for the Forbes.com London bureau. James has travelled extensively in emerging markets, reporting for international energy magazines such as Oil and Gas Investor, and institutional publications such as the Commonwealth Business Environment Report. He is currently the managing editor of LatAm INVESTOR, the UK's only Latin American finance magazine.