If you want to improve your profits in your restaurant, Pilar is your go-to expert. She is the Founder of Pendulo, which supports independent restaurants, pubs and cafes to be more profitable with our software, consultancy and tailor-made solutions. In this interview, we explore why so many businesses operate on losses, Pilar’s experience of “starting from scratch” after losing all of her customers’ data, the power of building strong relationships, and the importance of supporting your local com...
May 25, 2023•58 min•Ep. 212
Hotel owner and author of the book ‘A Bridge Not Too Far’, Deepak Ohri, joins the show for the second time. He is the CEO and Chief Happiness Officer at lebua Hotels & Resorts, Bangkok-based luxury hotels and restaurants company with locations in Thailand, India, and New Zealand. We reflect on how he came to run a hotel and discusses the importance of balancing material desires with principles. Deepak also talks about his new book and how he applies these principles in his everyday life, and...
May 18, 2023•56 min•Ep. 211
Today I’m joined by a fellow Dane – Rie Kattrup Lorentzen. She is currently the UK Head of Food at Ole & Steen, and has previously worked for some amazing brands like Wagamama, Whitebread and Bills Restaurants. It’s fascinating to learn about her incredible journey as a chef and working in a male-dominated industry. The conversation sheds light on the challenges that women face in the culinary industry and the impact that they can still make despite the obstacles. Tune in as we un...
May 11, 2023•56 min•Ep. 210
Matt Tebbit is spearheading the University of Reading’s emphasis on human and planetary health by using the Menus of Change guiding principles and by supporting cross-institutional collaborations for both learning and research. He is currently the university’s Head of Bars and Dining. We delve into the university's approach to food and menus, particularly the Menus of Change, a ground-breaking initiative by The Culinary Institute of America and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The conv...
May 04, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 209
Polly Robinson is a coach who specialises in leadership coaching for hospitality businesses. She joins the show to share her story and explain how she works with clients, including running leadership development workshops and participating in a government-funded program. Find out about the impact of leadership coaching for business growth, working in a VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity) environment, and the importance of challenging oneself and others to reach their p...
Apr 27, 2023•53 min•Ep. 208
Today we get an insight into what can be achieved when a business is used as a force for good and makes significant changes in their food supply chain – through cage-free eggs. We are joined by expert two guests: Yulia Bolotina, the Global Head of ESG at Gategroup – a global leader in airline catering, and Hannah Surowinski, the Global Corporate Relations Manager at The Humane League, an international nonprofit that is ending the abuse of animals raised for food. In this episode, we touch on the...
Apr 20, 2023•51 min•Ep. 207
Time is a concept many of us are obsessed with, but it’s totally subjective. Jacob Dahl joins me to unpack the nature and experience of time for a better life. He was, until recently, a Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company, after spending 26 years at the global consulting firm. Today, he is a board member of a leading international bank and continues to be a serious student of science. We find out about his journey and how he became obsessed with time. Jacob shares insights about time manage...
Apr 13, 2023•54 min•Ep. 206
Today we explore the role of food in physical and mental performance. We are joined by Eleanor Rees, a nutritionist whose goal is to help everyone improve their overall health and lifestyle. Her areas of expertise include assisting with weight loss, helping with muscle gain or guiding those transitioning from amateur to professional sport. In this episode, we discuss the benefits of scratch cooking, the importance of plant-based foods, and how nutrition impacts mood and brain function. Eleanor a...
Apr 06, 2023•59 min•Ep. 205
Based in Staffordshire, Parogon pub group is a privately owned, independent company started in 2007 and led by 5 local friends with a wealth of industry and business knowledge. It’s their mission to provide fabulous restaurants for local and surrounding communities to visit, enjoy and receive excellent customer service. We are joined by Richard Coldlough, the MD of the business, to learn how they have been expanding over the years. In this conversation, Richard talks about creating a winni...
Mar 30, 2023•57 min•Ep. 204
The Irish start-up rezexe helps operators who want full capacity by reducing the number of no-shows. Through their technology and data, they can enable trade in places on reservation and on waiting lists. It saves restaurants lost revenue and a lot of frustration. Ross joins the show to talk about the marketplace of reservations that benefits everyone. In this episode, we discuss the impact of no-shows, the need to be transparent with data, the psychology behind paying a premium, the importance ...
Mar 23, 2023•52 min•Ep. 203
Today we explore actionable business intelligence and forecasting for restaurants. We are joined by Christian Mouysset, Co-Founder of Tenzo, who is currently revolutionizing restaurant operations. The restaurant management and sales forecasting app works with leading brands such as The Breakfast Club, Pizza Pilgrims, and Nando’s. In this episode we discuss Tenzo’s goals for long-term growth, addressing the major industry issue with food waste, using AI to experiment, how Christian gets comfortab...
Mar 16, 2023•51 min•Ep. 202
Stoicism, the ancient Greek school of philosophy, resonates today more than ever. It maintains that your thoughts and beliefs create the world you inhabit, not external circumstances, so you need to take responsibility for your mind. Find out in this episode how this can be applied directly to hospitality. We are joined by Jamie Ryder, Founder Of Stoic Athenaeum, who has a philosophy-led approach to his content marketing business. Tune in as we discuss learning to suffer less, three practices al...
Mar 09, 2023•54 min•Ep. 201
Welcome to the 200th episode of the Hospitality Mavericks podcast! Today’s episode is a timely conversation, as we are joined by Kate Nicholls, CEO at UKHospitality, a trade group that represents the UK hospitality and tourism industry. With all the big issues that we’re facing – debt, energy, inflation, and so on – how can we not just survive, but thrive? Kate answers this question and so much more as we reflect on the impact of global economic pressures. We also discuss strategies for hi...
Mar 02, 2023•50 min•Ep. 200
There is a massive business case and social responsibility to ensure that your digital presence is accessible for all. Denise Pane joins the show to run through what you can do to help 25% of the worldwide population who require better digital accessibility – from ADHD, trembling hand, epilepsy, and more. She is the Founder and CEO of Access Design Studio, a web development agency that knows how to create websites that convert to people of all abilities. In this episode we explore some of t...
Feb 23, 2023•41 min•Ep. 199
Today we’re joined by the first ever guests of Hospitality Mavericks – Ed Brown and Griff Holland, Founders of Zedible. There was a lot to catch up on since I interviewed them in 2018, and it was fascinating to learn more about their platform Zedible, which helps food and hospitality businesses map and track their carbon footprint from the supply chain. Find out how you can make carbon reduction a hard-core KPI in your business. We also explore setting up businesses as a force for change, ...
Feb 16, 2023•53 min•Ep. 198
Ludovica De Pieri is a Public Health Nutritionist and the Founder of Reveal My Food. Her speciality is in Behaviour Change applied to food allergies management and weight loss intervention in the adult population. With Reveal My Food, it’s Ludovica’s mission to measure the impact that the hospitality sector can have in shaping healthier lives. In this discussion we explore the trends around how important allergens and nutritional information are when making a restaurant decision. We also talk ab...
Feb 09, 2023•54 min•Ep. 197
The hospitality industry is in a state of reinvention. Today we unpack how with Co-Founder and Managing Director Corbonate, Candace MacDonald. The brand communications and creative services agency specialises in food, beverage and hospitality, and for the last 15 years, have been producing free trend reports for the industry, which we delve into in this episode. Tune in as we also explore solving some of the biggest challenges in our industry, the future of plant-based and what it means fo...
Feb 02, 2023•58 min•Ep. 196
Gavin Rothwell is a food retail analyst who specialises in the food-to-go market. He supports businesses in creating better food experiences and has a passion for traveling the world to see the different food and retail aspects of different countries. Gavin joins the show to talk about the food-to-go market and some of the opportunities that lie in the future. Tune in as explore overall trends in the UK food retail industry, what Gavin has learnt from his food safari programs, the power of...
Jan 26, 2023•52 min•Ep. 195
Breezeway is a leading property operations and services platform for short-term rentals. The CEO and Founder, Jeremy Gall, shares his entrepreneurial journey and how it led him to launching Breezeway. It’s an interesting conversation about why property management is at the beginning of a massive shift, and how all businesses can learn from the vacation rental industry. In this episode we discuss our relationship with technology, what we can learn from the most successful operators, understanding...
Jan 19, 2023•47 min•Ep. 194
Ally Gordon has over twenty years of experience helping business leaders, professionals and individuals realise their potential. Through his past experience as a Senior Manager and Director in a number of high profile businesses, Ally has led the growth and redirection of junior management through to board level, in sole traders, start-up businesses right through to global corporates. Ally joins the show for the second time to share how we can all set better goals for ourselves – and how we can ...
Jan 12, 2023•57 min•Ep. 193
Through consultation, programmes and speaking engagements, Dr Vikki Barnes supports organisations across industries in making the most of people and creating cultures that people are proud to be a part of. It was an honour to have Vikki return to the show for the second time, as we find out what she has been up to since we spoke in July 2020, including some insights from her latest book ‘Free Happiness’. In this episode, we explore how organisations can build a happy culture for their people, wh...
Jan 05, 2023•48 min•Ep. 192
Today’s guest, John Mason, has a deep purpose of trying to make learning better and easier for everyone. He is the founder of Sideways, a hospitality learning and knowledge-sharing platform that helps teams to get better every day. We dive into John’s story and why he built Sideways, and how John struggled with the traditional ways of learning in school and the early parts of his career. This was a fascinating conversation where John shares their company philosophy of “Help One Help Many”,...
Dec 29, 2022•41 min•Ep. 191
Paul McCarthy is the CEO and Founder of Snapfix, which is the simplest Facilities and Maintenance Platform in the world. Paul’s background is in software development, and in parallel he has always been involved in managing buildings as part of a family business – both residential and commercial buildings. Tune in to this episode as we explore how Snapfix can assist the operations team in gaining greater visibility and completing tasks more quickly and effectively. We also touch on keeping ...
Dec 22, 2022•45 min•Ep. 190
There are only two kinds of companies: the one that has been hacked… and the one that hasn’t yet. To find out how to keep your hospitality business secure, tune in to this episode as we are joined by Mathieu Gorge, CEO and founder of VigiTrust. The award-winning provider of Integrated Risk Management (IRM) SaaS solutions helps companies around the world in the hospitality, retail, transportation, higher education, government, healthcare, and eCommerce industries. This is a fascinating episode as...
Dec 15, 2022•55 min•Ep. 189
Myles Downey is an authority on Performance Coaching and Leadership. He was the founder of The School of Coaching, for many years, a much-respected provider of coach training and executive coaching in the UK and Europe. Myles is the author of ‘Effective Modern Coaching’, ‘Effective Coaching’ and ‘Enabling Genius – a mindset for success in the 21st Century. I truly enjoyed this reflective conversation as we explored tapping into your own leadership style. Tune in to this episode as we discuss red...
Dec 08, 2022•56 min•Ep. 188
Profit Hound was founded by Simon Elliott in 2020 to help food businesses become more profitable. From being the only boy in Home Economics at 13, to his career in food profit consultancy for 25 years – and then launching Profit Hound – Simon has achieved a lot along his journey. Tune in to this episode as Simon shares some practical tips on how you can boost profitability – from upselling, simple menu changes and keeping consistent. He also shares some common myths about cutting costs, as...
Dec 01, 2022•51 min•Ep. 187
Whether you are a global organization or a small independent, we all need an Employer Brand that reflects the business authentically. Bryan Adams is the CEO and founder of Ph.Creative, a global employer branding agency, working with clients like Continental, Apple and Nike. Bryan is also co-author of two books, ‘Getting Goosebumps’ and ‘Give & Get Employer Branding’. In this conversation, Bryan and I discuss how to make your brand stand out, shape your reputation, and bring clarity to ...
Nov 24, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 186
Loreca is a startup that helps hotels rank higher on travel search engines using an algorithm that today’s guest, Bart-Jan Leyts, had designed – and boosting the revenue of a hotel or Bed and Breakfast by approximately 24%. I had to invite Bart-Jan on to the show to learn more about this platform, and explore the overall bigger picture of tech in the hospitality industry. It was fascinating to hear what Bart-Jan has learnt from working closely with both big and small operators. In this conversat...
Nov 17, 2022•38 min•Ep. 185
You don’t need Kim Kardashian or Joe Wicks to promote your business – but micro-level independent influencers who resonate with your audience. Nibble was launched in 2021 to make influencer marketing simple and quick for restaurants and influencers. The platform connects brands with the right local influencers to get more customers through the door. Today we’re joined by co-founder Michael Radley to discuss why all hospitality brands need to leverage this marketing channel – and where to get sta...
Nov 10, 2022•51 min•Ep. 184
Today I am joined by a fellow Scandinavian, Annica Wainwright, to talk about her business 2Forks, and how she has been able to elevate her business and brand through copywriting. 2Forks offers copywriting, content strategy and consultancy services. They help restaurants and brands connect with consumers through engaging food and drink content. It was great speaking with Annica in person in the Brighton studio. In this episode, Annica talks about the core principles of persuasion, how she t...
Nov 03, 2022•47 min•Ep. 183
