Special Interest Episodes

Where to begin with this weeks bonus episode. You might recall from my chat earlier in the week with Mark Lewis that we talked about the fact that the vast majority of humans on this planet are wonderful, just doing their best with what they've got. Well, today, I have two of finest humans alive in Chris Mitchell & Robbie Laidlaw, both of the Genuine Dining Company (https://www.genuinedining.com/). What makes them the finest? Well, if you haven't picked it up from the title, these two mad men a...

There won't be many people in the UK hospitality scene that have not heard of today's guest, and if you haven't then sit back, relax and soak up the brilliant journey of Mark Lewis, CEO of quite fabulous Hospitality Charity, Hospitality Action (https://www.hospitalityaction.org.uk/) Marks journey is possibly a little unexpected (My favourite kind of journey) and we cover off lots including:- Studying English Literature Teaching The Rough Guides The Caterer Travel around Asia Human kindnes...

I love coffee, I mean I REALLY love coffee and coffee tastes even better when it's doing some good (Crediting that line with today's guest 100%). So I thought, let's have a chat with someone in the coffee business as lets face it, where would hospitality be without it? So I got some time with Jonathan Reed, CEO of Coffee Rockstar's and all round doers of great work, Paddy & Scott's (https://paddyandscotts.shop/). This chat is a joy from start to finish as we cover off:- Ambition House The c...

Another year passes us by and just as we thought we were leaving all the drama that Covid brought us, 2022 decided that it wanted some of the action too with a brand new set of challenges. It therefore felt appropriate to bring you a brief moment of joy at the most wonderful time of the year with some more tales of Christmas past with some more previous guests from our 120+ conversations so far, alongside those two legends Chris Fletcher & Kieron Bailey, who always bring the fun. We've got Mar...

This week’s episode is brought to you in partnership with Zero Procure who are here to make procurement simple, offering great value and quality for products and services, all for zero cost. Just click on this link or visit their site at www.zeroprocure.com/podcast to help support both this podcast and your business. One of the many joys of hospitality is that it is a global industry, so imagine my delight when today's guest had his people reach out to my people (I have no people) to see if I'd...

This week’s episode is brought to you in partnership with Zero Procure who are here to make procurement simple, offering great value and quality for products and services, all for zero cost. Just click on this link or visit their site at www.zeroprocure.com/podcast to help support both this podcast and your business I am super excited to introduce today's guest to you all. I've been a staunch advocate of collaboration for nearly as long as I can remember so you can imagine my excitement when th...

This week’s episode is brought to you in partnership with Zero Procure who are here to make procurement simple, offering great value and quality for products and services, all for zero cost. Just click on this link or visit their site at www.zeroprocure.com/podcast to help support both this podcast and your business. I love a bit of networking, and that's what led me to today's guest. I got some time with Greg Früchtenicht, Director of Partnerships at Saira Hospitality (https://www.sairahospita...

This week’s episode is brought to you in partnership with Zero Procure who are here to make procurement simple, offering great value and quality for products and services, all for zero cost. Just click on this link or visit their site at www.zeroprocure.com/podcast to help support both this podcast and your business When I started this podcast, I had no idea as to what wonderful stories it would lead me to. Today's episode is another wonderful story! I got some time with Jen & Seb Heeley-Wiggi...

This week’s episode is brought to you in partnership with Zero Procure who are here to make procurement simple, offering great value and quality for products and services, all for zero cost. Visit their site at www.zeroprocure.com/podcast to help support both this podcast and your business. This week I've got another cheeky bonus for you as we chat about a subject matter that I believe we all need to be paying attention to, regenerative farming. It's certainly a subject that I've found myself d...

This week’s episode is brought to you in partnership with Zero Procure who are here to make procurement simple, offering great value and quality for products and services, all for zero cost. Just click on this link or visit their site at www.zeroprocure.com/podcast to help support both this podcast and your business Before I started recording this episode with Olajide Alabi, Equality, Inclusion & Wellbeing Partner at Turtle bay restaurants (https://turtlebay.co.uk/), I had no idea why it had ta...

Give yourself the gift of happiness Today! With all this sunshine around, what better way to celebrate summers eventual arrival than with a podcast special all about Happiness! What is Happiness? How can we achieve Happiness? These questions and more were covered on my happy chat with the queen of happiness Klaudia Mitura, host of the rather awesome & Happiness podcast (https://www.andhappiness.co.uk/ - also available on all podcast apps). It might surprise you to hear that we talk a little a...

Another cheeky bonus for you this week as I got some time with Mark McCulloch, Founder of Supersonic Inc. (https://www.supersonic.marketing/) and also the brains and energy behind Hospitality Rising (https://hospitalityrising.org/), the largest Hospitality recruitment campaign the world has ever seen. As well as a little bit about Mark's story, we touch on loads in this chat as Mark gives us an in depth update on where things are at with the campaign and how you can get involved. We chat about...

As you all know, occasionally we like to shine a light on those who are doing something just that little bit special. Today's guest is one such person. I chatted to Chris Gamm, The Springboard Charity CEO (https://springboard.uk.net/). We get through so much including:- Getting into Hospitality early Advancing through Pizza Journalism Generational experiences Taking the reins at Springboard Taking over from a legend Staying focused The positives of Covid Springboard into 2022 Careersc...

Happy International Women's! And to celebrate that, we have the wonderful Emily Goldfischer, Founder and Editor in Chief at Hertelier.com - celebrating all that is brilliant about the female workforce in Hospitality. We get through loads including:- Winning awards Falling into PR Moving in house Moving to London Argentina Founding Hertelier.com Women doing incredible things Sustainability Women and innovation Telling stories Women in F&B Women blazing a trail The roundup Dogs Pu...

Let's face it, we maybe thought we were going to get through Christmas 2021 unscathed. Covid had other ideas so in an effort to lift some spirits, even if for only a moment, I'm rereleasing the 2020 Christmas Special episode where I pulled in people from all over the industry to tell us all a tale of Christmas past from within Hospitality. We've got Cyrus Todiwala, Kellie Rixon, Cat Pengelly, Simon Taylor, Hayley Connor, Kellie Rixon, Elsa De Jager, Liam Wood, Kate Nicholls and Andrew Scott wh...

It has arrived. I can't quite believe we got here but episode 100 has landed! And to do something a little bit different, I've taken a look back at some of the best stories from season one (The longest ever season on any show in any format no doubt). There's some crackers in here:- First day mistakes - Jon Dawson Gnomes being stolen - Anne Golden Getting the "Craic" with Arnold Schwarzenegger - Shane McHugh Being Thrown in Jail - Debra Ward Bob Geldof impressions - Phil Street Guests mak...

I can't believe it's taken this long for me to chat to today's guest, especially as she played her part in why this humble little podcast exists in the first place. So I finally got some time with Monica Or, Founder of Star Quality Hospitality (https://starqualityhospitality.co.uk) and author of 3 wonderful books. We get through a lot including:- Springboard pantomime Podcast influencer Education Cruise ships Life at sea A move into recruitment Practical v Academia Qualifications Londo...

Time spent with today's guest is time well spent indeed! I once again got Jim Knight back on the show to chat about his recently released "Leadership That Rocks" (Available here - https://www.knightspeaker.com/product-page/rock-n-roll-with-it). Jim is a previously published author and Public Speaker extraordinaire around Leadership and Culture and is a special friend of the show. We get through:- Florida Covid in the USA Changing culture Music Ideas inspiration Book writing Gaining more...

I love how some things work out, you read an article and then you are immediately captivated by someone's story. I stumbled on today's guest through a late night LinkedIn feed trawl. And boy, am I glad that I did. Inspiring from start to finish, I got some time with the inspirational and absolute force of nature that is Amber Staynings, CEO of Bums On Seats (https://bumsonseats.org/). It's all action from the get go as we cover off:- Frogs in throat Moving to Guildford Being a glass half fu...

What a delight I have for you this week as I delve into the world of wine with one of the best in the business, non other than Shane McHugh, Group Wine Buyer at the glorious Goodman Restaurants. Shane is very open with his time and his stories and we get through loads including:- Transport Links Post pandemic positivity Family ties The Celtic Tiger Family hospitality Starting out in hotels Supportive parents Going to America Opening rare and expensive wine Passion v knowledge Wine sto...

Ahhhhhh Culture. What is it? How do we achieve a good one? All this and more when we got some time with today's guest, Benjamin Drury AKA the Culture Guy! As you might expect, there's a lot of chat around culture but a whole lot more too including:- Receiving Parcels The Culture Guy The Inner workings of a company What is Culture? Creating Cult like status Values Sanity check Trust Hiring for cultural contribution Simplifying business Bringing the emotion Job Adverts Creating a saf...

Today's guest is doing something special. If you are an independent hospitality business and you are just getting started (Or even if you are not) then focus on your strengths and let Liam and his team support the rest. We chat to Liam Jones, CEO and Founder of Foursquare Group, A support services consultancy based out of Liverpool. Our chat is rammed full of business intelligence and in addition we get through:- World Heritage Jewson Corporate Life Health & Safety The many hats of Hospit...

The variety of opportunity in hospitality is something I bang on about all the time (You'll no doubt know that by now). Today's guest is another example of that. I chatted to James Lemon, Founder of the awesome Mentoring platform Otolo (www.myotolo.com). It's a packed chat, as always, covering off:- Wimbledon Cowes Giving up your bed Selling books door to door Recruitment Strategy Big business Small start-up Downturns Otolo Attitude and Values Intrapreneur Damon Hill driving boats...

In the next of our Bonus Episode's we chat to the brilliant Ken McGarrie, Passionate hospitality advocate, Founder of Korgen Hospitality in Chicago, USA and author of the superb "The Surprise Restaurant Manager". We get through loads including:- The career start Finding “A real Job” How people arrive at being a restaurant manager Where the book came from Asking for help I have the time The power of language Being alert to the first impression Being aware of your guests mood The compla...