#259 - Hospitality Meets Caroline Ottoy - Dough Balls & Big Dreams

What do dough balls, coffee, Covid crisis meetings, global expansion, and one very determined mum have in common?

This week's guest is Caroline Ottoy, Managing Director of WatchHouse.

Today, WatchHouse is one of the most exciting hospitality brands on the planet, with 29 locations across the UK, USA and Dubai, and ambitious plans to reach 100 sites globally over the next few years.

But Caroline's journey started in a very different place.

A teenager destined for a science degree, a year spent slightly losing her way, and a mum who effectively packed her bags and sent her to hospitality university whether she liked it or not.

Thankfully, she did.

In this episode we chat about:

• How an agricultural college accidentally launched a hospitality career
• Spending a year working in France and becoming fluent in French
• The early days of ASK and opening restaurants across the UK
• Living above the restaurant and learning hospitality the hard way
• The legendary Dough Ball Incident
• Growing brands from start up to national success
• The move from restaurants into Planet Organic
• Leading through Covid and creating daily "Cobra Meetings" to keep teams aligned
• Learning to step up when uncertainty is everywhere
• Overcoming imposter syndrome and finding confidence on stage
• The mentors, cheerleaders and leaders who changed her life
• Why EOS has become one of the most powerful tools behind WatchHouse's growth
• The ambitious journey to 100 WatchHouse locations worldwide

Some of my Favourite Quotables

"Visions are irrelevant without great people"

"Everything is about people. Everything"

"I was a really good waitress. I'm telling you now, I could handle a big section"

"We didn't really know what we were doing. We were just finding out as we went along"

Along the way we explore leadership, resilience, culture, friendship, hospitality careers, and the extraordinary impact great people can have on the direction of our lives.

One of my favourite moments came when Caroline reflected on receiving a message from a former team member years later, thanking her for the role she'd played in shaping his career and life.

It's a beautiful reminder that in hospitality, we often have a far bigger impact on people than we ever realise.

Funny, thoughtful, inspiring and packed with lessons for anyone building teams, leading people, or simply trying to figure things out as they go.

And yes...

There is a story involving enough dough balls to fill half of Bristol.

Enjoy.

Show Partner

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

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

It also makes life easier for teams, allowing staff to check rotas, request holiday, and pick up extra shifts directly from their phones.

To find out more, head to RotaCloud

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