Humans of Hospitality
139 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 3 years ago - ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsHumans of Hospitality is a weekly podcast, showcasing stories and insights from the world of hospitality – the human beings rather than the big brands behind our food and drink. You’ll hear from the producers of ingredients and the people who combine those ingredients to bring you new dishes and drinks… and the owners of the bars, cafés and restaurants who create memorable settings, so you recall your mouth-watering meals years later. They are the people who bring vibrancy to their corner of hospitality and, who, as a group, make all our lives richer and more interesting.
Each week brings a new inspiring story. We are exploring hospitality in its broadest sense. Farming, politics, culture, cooking, nutrition, welfare, family, business, love and more. Wether you’re a famous figure or total unknown, if you love hospitality and have something important to say, chances are we’ll end up having a conversation. We want to explore the fair production of food, protecting the planet and humanity, whilst tasting awesome. It’s going to be quite the adventurous conversation.
If you want a world of formulaic and dull corporate sameness this is not the podcast for you. If you’d like to learn about amazing human beings who dedicate their lives to making the world of food, drink and hospitality more diverse for our daily enjoyment, please listen.
In showcasing these stories, founder and presenter Mark Cribb, wants to tip the balance back in favour of independent businesses: “Where we spend our money genuinely makes a difference to the kind of world we live in. So let’s at least make our world interesting.”
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Episodes
#136 Thomas Gent - Gentle Farming
June 28, 2021 05:00 - 1 hour - 68.7 MBI so loved my first research chat with Thomas about Regenerative Farming & Carbon Credits that when the opportunity came up to record a podcast I took the chance to travel across the country and meet him face to face. I adore Thomas’s idea and the knowledge he has gained as a fourth generational farmer in Cambridgeshire . In a nutshell Thomas spent a bit of downtime in lockdown pondering how to solve a global problem. But he did that looking out of his window in a very real, local and a...
#135 Adam Phelps - Cellar Society
June 14, 2021 06:57 - 1 hour - 66.8 MBWe are off to the world of events. Something I’d perhaps inadvertently neglected in my conversations around the world of hospitality. Certainly a part of the sector that todays guest Adam Phelps feels like the government has forgotten when it comes to recognition of the pandemics impact and financial support. Adam has been working at the top end of prestigious events for 22 years. Chatting through some of the choreography and planning required to deliver for clients who expect perfection...
#134 Nathan Outlaw - Chef
May 31, 2021 05:00 - 1 hour - 63.1 MBMany of your will know today’s guest Nathan Outlaw from his various TV appearances, Michelin stars, all round love of hospitality and the author of 5 well regarded books. Chatting to Nathan you can see why he’s such a popular hospitality human. Relaxed, positive, knowledgeable, with no pretentiousness and happy to chat about the challenges, lows and highs of his hospitality adventure. Nathan was generous with his time in this conversation, where we touch on just how tough an impact the p...
#133 Stefan Leser - CEO Langham Hotels & Resorts
May 17, 2021 04:30 - 1 hour - 69.6 MBStefan Leser is a bit different to my normal guests on this podcast since he is based in Hong Kong and rather than being a little local independent Langham Hospitality has some big backers and a number of properties spread throughout the globe. It is that global perspective that I was really keen to explore with Stefan. There are some really interesting things we can learn from people like Stefan and Langham Hotels, who are operating across countries and across borders. I wanted to und...
#132 Dan Austin - MD Lake District Farmers
May 03, 2021 05:00 - 1 hour - 63.8 MBI think you are going to fall in love with Dan Austin, today’s guest, and the Lake District Farmers, for a whole heap of reasons. Firstly the Lake District is just an utterly stunning part of the world, so anything we can do to support it, and the way of life that has been going on there for hundreds of years, I personally think is important. Traditional farming, where animals can roam free on the fells for me is a big part of this. Not only does it protect a way of life, and lead to happ...
#131 Victoria Searl - DataHawks
April 19, 2021 05:00 - 1 hour - 59.4 MBLess so someone’s journey through hospitality this week, and more of a deep dive into a topic I hope hope you will find useful. Today I’m chatting to Victoria Searl, founder of Data Hawks. I’m fairly techie and I’ve found it frustrating over the years seeing the potential of data in the hospitality sector. Cleary unlike for example selling double glazing, we operate in a social space where people often want to hear from us. Where guests are happy to take photos and share them to social ...
#130 Phil Haughton - Better Food Stores & Cafes
April 05, 2021 05:00 - 1 hour - 67.5 MBPhil Haughton has had a great food adventure over many decades. He has just written a book ‘Food for Thought’ that brings together this journey, combined with recipes and producers he’s met along the way. Phil’s current business is the Better Food stores and cafes dotted around Bristol. That combination of combining the hospitality of a cafe drawing people into the building and then hopefully inspiring them to leave with some exceptionally ethical and delicious food and drink is the evolu...
#129 Hamish Martin - The Secret Garden - Edinburgh
March 22, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour - 57.6 MBHamish is a brave soul who at the age of 41, with his own business and a career working around the wine and whisky trade decided that his number one love in the world was plants. Not only was he brave enough to sell the business, he was crazy enough to have no idea where his next adventure would take him. He pretty much let the plants decide. He went off on a learning journey meeting an inspirational medicine man along the way. A dream and a country walk and soon enough he’d stumbled acr...
#128 Darren Venables - Estate Manager - Chewton Glen
March 08, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour - 66.5 MBUnusually we recorded this one, with my golden retriever 'Jasper' whilst giving him a walk around a 130 acre country estate. But more importantly I was joined by Darren Venables, the Estate Manager at the Chewton Glen Hotel down in the New Forest in Hampshire. Darren has been working at the Chewton Glen for over 30 years so really has seen a huge amount of change, and as far as the grounds are concerned has curated much of that himself. And our wide ranging conversation typifies the reaso...
#127 Sarah Heward - Real Food Cafe - Scotland
March 01, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour - 62.3 MBSarah has been pretty vocal throughout the pandemic in representing the Scottish Hospitality Sector. I wanted to chat with Sarah in the first instance about how somebody goes from being the MD of a decent sized company in the city of London, to buying an ex Little Chef by the side of an obscure road in rural Scotland. Along the way driving revenue to over £1.7 million per year from a pretty small footprint. And secondly how Sarah had embraced technology to revolutionise how this road sid...
#126 Chris Davies - CEO Harvest London - Vertical Farming
February 22, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour - 66.6 MBChris Davies is founder and CEO of Harvest London, a couple of vertical farms in the city of London. Chris is going to help us understand how vertical farms could be part of the solution to feeding the planet. As Chris puts it, this will be part of the solution and not all food will be, or can be grown this way. But the benefits of growing food where it is to be consumed, rather than potentially 1000’s of miles away, the benefits of harvesting food and getting it to the restaurant door wi...
#125 Tim Hall - Executive Chef - Burgh Island Hotel
February 15, 2021 06:00 - 50 minutes - 46.6 MBIt was quite a few months ago when the opportunity crossed my desk to interview Tim Hall, who is the executive chef at Burgh Island. It caught my eye because Burgh Island is such a unique location, as a tidal island just off the south coast of Devon. I was intrigued to understand a bit more around the complexity of running not one, but three restaurants, on an island that for many hours of the day cannot be accessed at all, or certainly not without its challenges. Add to that Tim’s repu...
#124 Lee Cash - Founder Peach Pubs
February 08, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour - 74.4 MBLee Cash was always driven to become self employed in the hospitality sector. He learnt his craft with some of the best, from Robin Sheppard at Bespoke Hotels and chef Raymond Blanc. But all the time driven and motivated to test himself, to learn all he could and get ready to put into practise the art of perfecting 1000 little details to make his own venues successful. I always enjoy chatting to people who really have proper hospitality in their soul. Who understand how spaces feel. How...
#123 Jonathan Neame - CE of Shepherd Neame Brewers
February 01, 2021 06:30 - 40 minutes - 37.7 MBWe’re going big this week, and actually I don’t mean a big podcast, but a big business, chatting to Jonathan Neame, the chief executive of Shepherd Neame Brewers. With 320 pubs and pre pandemic turnover of £150 million they are bigger than the normal business I chat to on this podcast, but they have a really interesting family history. Having been around for over 300 years, and maintained family ownership I think they qualify as having had a very inspiring independent hospitality adventure...
#122 Tim Lloyd - MD Captains Club Hotel
January 25, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour - 67 MBFrom honing his skills in hotels on an employed basis, to learning the art of the restauranteur with his own venues, to taking all of that knowledge and finally getting to apply it in his very own hotel with his partner Rob, Tim has been on a great hospitality journey. And the captains club is a special kind of place. Wether simply attracting the locals for a light lunch, or a few cocktails as the sun sets on the river, or mingling with famous guests such as Hugh Grant or the Gallagher br...
#121 Michel Roux Jr - Media Chef, Author & Le Gavroche
January 18, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour - 69 MBMichel Roux Jr is a true 'Human of Hospitality' who was practically born in a kitchen when his Mum went into labour whilst working in his Dad 'Albert Roux's' restaurant. Michel is well known, partly simply through the recognition of his Dad and Uncle opening Le Gavroche in 1967 and becoming the first British restaurant to be awarded 3 Michelin stars, but also via his extensive work on television through shows such as Masterchef the professionals, and most recently 'remarkable places to eat'...
#120 Richard Ball - Executive Chairman Calcot Collection
January 11, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour - 66.5 MBRichard is a great example of a 'Human of Hospitality' having worked in the sector almost all of his working life. Richard started the business with his Dad and his family, and recognises all that his family risked, even selling grandmas house to purchase a run down manor, covered in vines and a somewhat dilapidated air. They started small with only 7 bedrooms, but had a vision and a yearning to create something special and to look after people. That journey was tough in those earlier yea...
#119 Emma McClarkin - CE British Beer & Pub Association
December 21, 2020 06:00 - 1 hour - 66 MBEmma has had a fascinating career working in the heart of government in the EU, in part negotiating trade deals. Great timing for a chat that starts with Emma’s thoughts on the EU and our opportunities and risks as we hurtle towards departure. You’ll be pleased to hear Emmas is pretty optimistic on post EU trade, particularly where the export of exceptional British beer is concerned of course. We also chat about Emma’s experience liaising directly with the government on the behalf of t...
#118 Minister for Hospitality - Various Guests
December 13, 2020 11:39 - 1 hour - 74.3 MBA very different style of episode this week. Rather than a detailed conversation with one awesome human of hospitality we have 9 great humans, most of whom have been previous guests. And we have just one topic of conversation. Why they are supporting the campaign for a Minister for Hospitality. This campaign was launched by Claire Bosi but had been sat languishing at around 38k signatures on the government petition website. To be debated in parliament 100k signatures are required. Rob...
#117 Naomi Duncan - CEO Chefs in Schools charity
December 07, 2020 06:00 - 1 hour - 71.1 MBSurely schools are the place to improve knowledge on food, on what we should eat, to inspire a life long love for whole food and to understand the difference between real food and processed food. To understand that food is essential for life, and that in the modern world nobody should be going hungry. To try and fathom how on earth it is possible for the same areas struck be food poverty and lack of access to food to at the same time be suffering from diabetes and obesity due to the shocki...
#116 Carly Trisk-Grove - B-Corp, OPOP & Cafe in the Park
November 30, 2020 06:30 - 1 hour - 65.5 MBI love Carly’s story and her energy and ethos and her general hospitality adventure. As you will hear Carly went from a small wooden hut, to an expensive hobby, to raising 1/2 a million pounds and building a beautiful cafe in the park. Along this journey Carly realised that people were the key to all that she was achieving. Carly, her husband 'Ian' and their team won multiple awards for their cafe. Particularly around employing disabled team members and looking after the local community,...
#115 Dan Rose-Bristow - The Torridon Resort
November 23, 2020 06:30 - 1 hour - 78.6 MBSet in 58 acres of parkland at the end of a magnificent sea loch, The Torridon has one of the most spectacular and idyllic locations in the country. What Dan, his wife Rohaise and the team have created in the Torridon is awesome. So remote with the challenges of staffing and weather and access and much more, yet they have an incredible reputation. As treasurer of the Master Innholders, Chairman of Pride of Britain Hotels and Director of Luxury Scotland Consortium Dan’s also got a pretty b...
#114 Zoe Wangler - Setting up an ecological farm
November 16, 2020 06:30 - 1 hour - 71 MBZoe is from the 'ecological land cooperative' (ELC) - a 'Not For Profit' trying to solve some of the problems of excessively large farms, often mono-culture dominated and using too many chemicals, having a very detrimental impact on the land and ecosystem. I speak to many people being inspired to enter the world of hospitality, not only to sell better quality more ethical food to the consumer, but also interested in how to grow this food and actually produce it in the first place. If you'...
#113 Rocco Bova - GM Chablé Yucatán - Mexico
November 09, 2020 06:30 - 1 hour - 73.1 MBRocco Bova is living quite the hospitality adventure. I wanted to catch up with him for a few reasons. Firstly he’s running a health resort in Mexico, a fascinating country. Sometimes a reputation for drug cartels, kidnapping and more recently a catastrophic impact of COVID-19. But Rocco loves Mexico, and he’s lived in enough countries to be able to make an objective decision. Secondly, with people maybe questioning why they work in hospitality and wondering what the future might hold...
#112 Nicholas Dickinson - Congham Hall Hotel
November 02, 2020 06:30 - 1 hour - 76.5 MBIf you don’t know his name, you’ll certainly know some of the venues Nicholas has worked and some of the businesses he’s developed. Nicholas without a doubt is a bona fide 'human of hospitality'. It’s been his life’s work. From cutting his teeth at the Chewton Glen working for the likes of Robin Hutson, to becoming the MD at Le Manoir and being Raymond Blanc’s right hand, man whilst working in partnership with Richard Branson and the virgin group. And having learnt from some of the most ...
#111 David Begg - Founder Real Kombucha
October 26, 2020 06:30 - 1 hour - 79.4 MBDavid Begg is one of those hospitality obsessives regular listeners will know I love to meet. Another one of those humans that has a little tiny seedling of an idea, that turns into an obsession that turns into an utterly awesome product that then enhances all of our worlds of food, drink and hospitality. And this time I’m talking about Kombucha. But not just any Kombucha, but the sort that is now sitting on the menus of many of the finest Michelin starred restaurants around the country ...
#110 Ollie Hutson - Group Head Kitchen Gardener - The Pig Hotels
October 19, 2020 05:30 - 1 hour - 64.5 MBI love the Pig Hotels and their obsession on the best local produce. This extends to their beautiful kitchen gardens where group chef James Golding gave me a tour in a previous podcast episode. After a recent chat with Ollie's Dad and CEO Robin Hutson, I was excited to arrange to go to the Pig nursery in the New Forest and meet Ollie face to face and get to peruse his mother of seed planning spreadsheets. You’re going to learn just how much work goes into creating a kitchen garden for a ...
#109 David Chenery - Object Space Place - Sustainable Design
October 12, 2020 05:30 - 1 hour - 71.6 MBFinally, we are doing a sustainability episode. And I say finally because regular listeners will know that sustainability comes up alot in my conversations when we think about farming and plant based diets and the impact on the environment of what we eat and drink. But what I’d not touched on thus far was the sustainability deep rooted into the actual design of venues and the business itself. Because surely it all starts there. If the restaurant itself is smashing its way through unneces...
#108 - Gregorie Marshall - Blackthorn Scottish Sea Salt
October 05, 2020 05:30 - 1 hour - 62.2 MBGregorie, from Blackthorn knows an incredible amount about salt. His family have been involved in salt for over 140 years. His Dad’s Dad Dad set up the business, but this latest venture is their first foray into the actual production of salt. You should probably pause this episode at this point and go to blackthornsalt.co.uk and take a look at this crazy big tower of thorns they have built on the edge of the ocean in Scotland. It will help you visualise what we are about to chat about. ...
#107 José Pizarro - Spanish Chef & Restauranteur
September 28, 2020 05:00 - 59 minutes - 55.3 MBJosé and I recorded this remotely and I really wish I’d gone to actually sit with him in his restaurant since he oozes hospitality out of every pore. José is famous for his 3 London restaurants and championing Spanish produce for many decades. José touches on his books and extensive travels through Spain and just how much he loves meeting other great humans and ensuring that their recipes are recorded and handed on to the next generations. We chat about his upbringing and some lovely m...
#106 Hugh Lambert - Shanty Seaweed Botanical Vodka
September 21, 2020 06:22 - 1 hour - 67.5 MBFor over 20 years, Hugh Lambert travelled the world as a TV cameraman, director of photography and editor. Often he’d find himself in some of the remotest parts of the world, perhaps living with a local tribe. On each trip he’d try different foods. Some of them were quite out there, in terms of taste combinations and ingredients. (I’ll let Hugh reveal what the roasted figs he ate one day in the jungle really were.) With that broad-minded approach, it isn’t surprising that Hugh has crea...
#105 Gary Jones - Le Manoir aux Quat'Saison
September 14, 2020 05:30 - 1 hour - 74.6 MBI think most people with a keen interest in incredible food and hospitality are aware of Raymond Blanc's Le Manoir and its reputation. They’ve churned out over 30 michelin starred chefs, had two Michelin stars themselves since 1981 and their organic certified kitchen gardens are legendary. I was very excited to finally get to go and visit. Helped by a sunny day the hotel and grounds looked stunning. Executive Chef 'Gary Jones' was generous with his time, chatting freely and took the time...
#104 Ellen Streatfield - Denhay Bacon
September 07, 2020 05:30 - 1 hour - 63.2 MBBack to learning this week as we are off to discover the wonderful world of bacon production from someone whose family have been producing it since the early 1990's. Whether you eat meat or not, there is something about bacon. Perhaps it’s the smell as it cooks, or the fact that it’s an integral part of the full English. But has our long-term familiarity of this staple grown a bit of contempt? Sausages seem to have a higher status: more and more breakfast menus mention the provenance ...
#103 Simon Potts - Managing Director The Alchemist
August 31, 2020 05:30 - 1 hour - 64.9 MBI wanted to chat to Simon because the Alchemist has such an exceptional reputation and I wanted to find out more about what makes them and Simon tick, but also because with 20 cocktail bars and restaurants dotted around the UK I knew he would be a good barometer of what is happening in different geographical pockets. We touch a little bit on lockdown and the subsequent closure of one of their venues, we discuss some of the fast tracking of initiatives, particularly around technology such ...
#102 - Ben Tish - Culinary Director Norma & Stafford
August 24, 2020 05:30 - 1 hour - 57.5 MBAlthough originally from Skegness, Ben is more captivated with Sicily and one day would like to move there. Sicily has had a huge influence on his favourite style of food and he’s even written an awesome book called ‘moorish'. Ben is actually only a chef because of fellow Skegness buddy Jason Atherton who got Ben his first chef job at the Ritz. We touch on Ben’s time at the Salt Yard and how a big influx of cash that he hoped would sort out his financial and restaurant dreams ended up r...
#101 Adam Handling - Restauranteur & Chef - The Frog
August 17, 2020 05:30 - 1 hour - 59.8 MBYou have to be impressed with today’s guests energy levels. Adam Handling works hard, has achieved a lot and is not short of an opinion or two that he’s quite happy to share. Adam joined me just 48 hours after re-opening The Frog, his flagship restaurant in Covent Garden. He’d been through a particularly traumatic closure period where he’d lost four of his venues and learnt a great deal about the business side of running restaurants. Adam speaks openly and honestly about the financial, ...
#100 Robin Hutson - CEO Limewood and Home Grown Hotels
August 10, 2020 05:30 - 1 hour - 94.5 MBFor my 100th episode I really wanted to get a bit of an industry super star in my eyes. Robin Hutson has been on my list of people I’ve wanted to chat to since day one of launch. I live within a pretty easy cycle of two of Robin’s PIG hotels - Pig on the Beach in Studland and Pig in the Forest in Brockenhurst. I LOVE what Robin has created. I’ve seen Robin talk at a couple of hotel events and in essence he just knows his stuff. He oozes common sense and his attention to detail is ...
#099 Robin Sheppard - Chairman Bespoke Hotels
August 03, 2020 05:30 - 1 hour - 64.5 MBRobin Shephard is the Chairman and co-founder of Bespoke Hotels. Bespoke look after over 5000 hotel rooms, 6000 team members and £500 million pounds worth of assets. But they particularly interested me, because many of you will know I love the independent hospitality sector. Bespoke are fascinating, because although they’ve become a significant player, they keep their personal brand and business very much behind the scenes. Most of their venues are independently owned, and bespoke simp...
#098 Danny Pecorelli - MD Exclusive Collection
July 27, 2020 05:30 - 1 hour - 61.4 MBExclusive is a superb example of what can be achieved in the genuine world of hospitality when not dominated by venture capitalists or short term city demands. Exclusive is family owned. They take a long term view, are not hugely leveraged and as you’ll hear in this conversation Danny is a genuine human with a sincere love of the hospitality sector. Danny has also been very helpful in helping England win the Rugby Wold cup, but I’ll let him tell that story. We touch on Danny’s role as ...
#097 Tim Maddams - Chef, Teacher, Presenter
July 20, 2020 05:30 - 1 hour - 72.6 MBThis episode was recorded just before COVID lockdown, so is not referred to in the episode, but it's a great chat, so I wanted to finally get round to releasing it. Thanks. By the time Tim Maddams had reached the end of his first year as a professional chef, working in a restaurant kitchen, he came to a crazy realisation: he had cooked more meals in those 12 months than most people prepare in an entire life time. For a while, working hard with luminaries like Alastair Little and Mar...
#096 Tim Wookey - Co Founder - Amamus Speciality Coffee
July 13, 2020 05:30 - 1 hour - 87.3 MBThis episode was recorded just before COVID-19. At the time we had no idea what was about to come. During the pandemic I’ve been focusing on time specific conversations, but now as hospitality re-opens I want to release a few great conversations that have been patiently waiting for their time. Tim knows a great deal about coffee, but rather than being a roaster or venue, he’s got a unique slant on trying to get better coffee in the places many of us spend time, but generally have low exp...
#095 Andrea Rasca - Founder Mercato Metropolitano
July 04, 2020 10:04 - 1 hour - 56.7 MBAndrea is a walking philosopher with some very strong opinions on the ethics of business and the community around food and drink. I’ve interviewed Andrea before about his business and journey, but today we focus on the recent opening of his latest venue in an absolutely stunning old church in Mayfair. I’ll let you listen to andrea’s eloquent description of that stunning space. Andrea stayed open in some guise throughout the lockdown since their business is pretty diverse from a deli, bake...
#094 David Simms - Restaurant Associates 'Culinary Director'
June 30, 2020 06:00 - 1 hour - 59.6 MBNow whilst to your average human Restaurant Associates is not particularly a consumer facing brand, you will certainly know many of the venues that David Simms and his team operate, from Somerset House, to Edinburgh zoo, to Michelin starred restaurants like Jason Atherton’s City Social and Michelle Roux’s Parliament Square. I chat about David’s history in the podcast, so I’m not going to list it here, but fundamentally just be reassured that I was really excited to get to chat to David ...
#093 Karl Chessell - CGA Data & Insight
June 27, 2020 06:00 - 1 hour - 61.8 MBI first saw Karl speak at an event in March where I was impressed by some of the insights and data that he and the CGA team had collated. It was nice to see so many of the thoughts and impressions that I had of the sector backed up by some scientific data and commentary. Now seemed like the perfect time to put some data behind the theory of what re-opening may look like. Karl and I go on a bit of a journey in this conversation, and it is worth noting that it was recorded about a week be...
#092 Kris Gumbrell - CEO Brewhouse and Kitchen
June 23, 2020 05:30 - 1 hour - 56.2 MBKris is a very experienced operator who has had both a successful corporate, as well as more entrepreneurial career in hospitality. We briefly touched on Kris’s early career but spent more time chewing the fat on a broad range of hospitality topics. From EIS funding schemes and some great perspectives on why debt is quite often not the answer. We also have a great conversation around hospitality as part of the rejuvenation and placemaking of towns and cities. Quite often they are the v...
#091 Griff Holland - Friska Founder
June 20, 2020 06:00 - 52 minutes - 48.2 MBI’ve spoken to Griff Holland from Friska before in episode 47 and I love his love of food and drink and humans. After a crazy couple of months of lockdown I thought it was a great time for a follow up. We touch on how trade had been in the 6 months before lockdown and how he’d been navigating Brexit indecision, multiple elections and a stormy winter. We look at the rollercoaster of shut down itself and how Griff pretty much nailed his plans in one emergency covid meeting, rather than ...
#090 Sally Beck - Royal Lancaster & Hotelier of the year
June 16, 2020 06:00 - 1 hour - 58.3 MBThis weeks guest is yet another true inspiration of hospitality. Sally is the General Manager of the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London and the 2019 hotelier of the year, joining some legendary predecessors of the award. We have a pretty wide ranging conversation all the way from chickens, to my relief that Sally was not actually born in a pub, to how a 40 million pound refurbishment actually turned into an 85 million pound refurbishment, as well as Sally’s desire to create the happiest ho...
#089 David Abrahamovitch - Grind London
June 13, 2020 06:30 - 57 minutes - 53.1 MBDavid from Grind London, a collection of coffee shops, cocktail bars and restaurants, started his hospitality journey by inheriting a mobile phone shop, where he loved the building but not the business. Fast forward and David has managed to walk that tricky operational and design tightrope where his venues are both a great stop off for a daytime coffee, but also a sit down meal, and by night transform into a busy cocktail bar. Not an easy feat, but something that feels so effortless when ...
#088 Robert Walton MBE - President Restaurant Association
June 09, 2020 16:23 - 1 hour - 56 MBRobert has an MBE, is a Restauranteur, a patron of Hospitality Action, president of the Restaurant Association, founder of the Nth Degree Global, and has even been covered in the FT as a power dresser with his very dapper suit collection. He’s also got a very active instagram account where he also interviews a number of other great humans of hospitality. We have a fantastic chat about his past experiences in hospitality, which have been many and varied. Robert gushes about London’s plac...
#087 Nat Alexander - China - Homeslice Pizza
June 06, 2020 07:13 - 56 minutes - 52.5 MBWe are looking to china for some inspiration as they are running a good couple of months ahead of us from a pandemic timeline perspective. Nat is from London, but has been living in Shanghai for a number of years and runs Homeslice Pizza across 3 local outlets. He was therefore very well place to discuss the operational aspects of coming out of the other other side of lockdown in the hospitality sector. I found Nat’s descriptions of the challenges of acquiring PPE in china fascinating, i...