#246 - Hospitality Meets Conrad Brunton - Cockroaches in the Bloodstream

Show your support for Hospitality Sector Letter to the Chancellor

What happens when two people who love a bit of unstructured behaviour get together for a structured conversation?

The answer?

Lots of unstructured conversation

This week I sat down with Conrad Brunton, founder of Tonic Talent, passionate hospitality advocate, charity champion, networking powerhouse… and a man who clearly believes that if you’re going to do something, you might as well do it properly.

Before we get into his journey. Conrad is seeking your help. If you have even a tiny sliver of love for Hospitality, please follow the link at the top of the page and put your name to support his open letter to the chancellor

To his story, From washing pots at 14, to running the best fish and chip shop in England (Genuinely), to bankruptcy, to building a respected recruitment business and one of the Midlands’ most influential hospitality networks, Conrad’s story is packed with resilience, humour, honesty, and a few brilliant war stories.

Including… dropping a potato down the shirt of a senior British politician just before he went on stage

Yes. That actually happened.

But underneath the laughs is a deeper conversation about pride in your work, why hospitality people are wired differently, and the importance of standing up for an industry that so many of us love.

In this episode, Conrad and I get into…

• Starting in hospitality at 14 as a KP and discovering the “buzz” of kitchens

• The concept of restaurants being “a cockroach in the bloodstream” (credit: Sir Terence Conran)

• Working at incredible places like Simpsons, Malmaison and the Fat Duck

• Opening a fish and chip shop, and eventually being named the best in England

• What bankruptcy really teaches you about resilience and self-belief

• Why recruitment is really about conversations, not CVs

• Building Tonic Talent, now celebrating 10 years in hospitality recruitment

• Why great recruiters should feel like an extension of your brand

• The importance of culture, accountability, and simple things like a good checklist

• The incredible power of hospitality communities and networks

• Why the industry needs to stand up for itself right now more than ever

Some cracking quoteables from Conrad

“Restaurants are like a cockroach in the bloodstream, once it’s there, it never leaves”

“If you’re going to do something, do it to the absolute best of your ability”

“I don’t actually like recruitment… I like the conversations”

“Treat people the way you’d want to be treated, it’s not complicated”

“Hospitality people love what they do. Not many industries can say that”

Why this episode is worth your ears

Conrad’s journey is a brilliant reminder that hospitality careers are rarely straight lines.

They’re messy.

They’re unpredictable.

Sometimes they knock you flat.

But if hospitality gets into your bloodstream…

You tend to find your way back.

And along the way you might build something pretty special.

Just try not to drop a potato down anyone’s shirt.

Show Partners

A big shout out to the first of 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

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