Veuve Clicquot winner turns unwanted veg in chutney

The founder of Rubies in the Rubble, a company that creates chutneys from surplus fruit and vegetables retailers had previously binned, has been named the country’s leading up-and-coming female entrepreneurial talent in the Veuve Clicquot awards.

Former hedge fund executive Jenny Dawson, founder of the company whose products are now stocked by Waitrose, is already looking to expand the business with a range of health crisps.

Receiving her award on Monday night, 27-year-old Ms Dawson said: “It means a lot that Veuve Clicquot sees the potential in what we are building. I feel incredibly honoured.”

Winner of the main Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year award, which celebrates women in business, was Thomas Cook chief executive Harriet Green, who famously cold-called the then-chairman of the troubled travel business to demand the role in 2012.

The judging panel, which included Luke Johnson, who oversaw Pizza Express’s expansion, and Jojo Maman Bebe, founder Laura Tenison, hailed Ms Green as a “turnaround star”, having boosted Thomas Cook’s share price 950pc.

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