#226 - Hospitality Meets Phil Shelley - Hospitality in the NHS

This week on Hospitality Meets, I sit down with the brilliant Phil Shelley — Senior Operational Manager at NHS England and Chair of the NHS Food Review. Phil is an exceptional hospitality leader and human being and was crowned Outstanding Achievement Award winner at the 2025 Foodservice Cateys, only last Friday.

Phil’s career is a masterclass in purpose driven leadership. From his early days in hotel kitchens to shaping the future of hospital food, he’s proof that hospitality is about so much more than service, it’s about care.

We talk about how hospitality thinking is transforming the NHS, the power of teamwork in driving real change, and why good food and kindness go hand in hand.

It’s an episode packed with humour, heart, and hope and a well deserved celebration of a man who’s spent his life making food matter.

Key Takeaways

• Food Is Care: The NHS Food Review isn’t just about meals — it’s about dignity, wellbeing, and recovery.
• Hospitality Belongs Everywhere: Empathy, teamwork, and kindness are as crucial in hospitals as in hotels.
• Leadership Through Listening: Real change comes from empowering others, not instructing them.
• Progress Beats Perfection: Keep moving forward — the impact compounds.
• Celebrate the Wins: Recognition matters, especially when it shines a light on meaningful work.

Memorable Quotes

• “I’ve got to say, Phil, I love my job”
• “Always has time for people. And isn’t that the secret of success?”
• “Sometimes those challenges or the times where you really kind of hit a wall, they are the biggest learning areas”
• “You will find a solution, you will find a way together. And sometimes if you do it together, my goodness me, that is powerful”
• “I was thinking it must be Number 10 just down the road from me... and as the call went on, I suddenly realised, oh my gosh"

Final Thoughts

Phil is a living reminder that hospitality is everywhere and when it’s done with purpose, it can transform lives.

This conversation is equal parts inspiring and grounding, showing how leadership, food, and humanity can come together to make a real difference, one plate at a time.

Show Partners

A big shout out to Today’s show partner, RotaCloud, the people management platform for shift-based teams.

RotaCloud lets managers create and share rotas, record attendance, and manage annual leave in minutes — all from a single, web-based app.

It makes work simple for your team, too, allowing them to check their rotas, request holiday, and even pick up extra shifts straight from their phones.

Try RotaCloud’s time-saving tools today by heading to https://rotacloud.com/phil