Humans of Hospitality

I so loved my first research chat with Thomas about Regenerative Farming & Carbon Credits that when the opportunity came up to record a podcast I took the chance to travel across the country and meet him face to face. I adore Thomas’s idea and the knowledge he has gained as a fourth generational farmer in Cambridgeshire . In a nutshell Thomas spent a bit of downtime in lockdown pondering how to solve a global problem. But he did that looking out of his window in a very real, local and achievable way, that could have almost instant and measurable results. As is all too often the case it’s the simple ideas that look like they have the greatest opportunity. If any of you listening have seen the ‘kissing the ground documentary’ on netflix then this is the deep dive podcast equivalent of one way to help with the challenge of what is happening to our soil. If any of you have listened to my podcast with Guy Singh Watson about organic farming, where we also touch on how many harvests are left in our soil, then this will be a great follow on episode. For any of you simply interested in offsetting your carbon in your business, Thomas is now providing a measurable, British solution. A solution where you can potentially visit the farm that is saving the carbon and see what they are doing, why they are doing it and the difference it is making. And not only will you be saving carbon, you will be helping that farmer on a transition from intensive to regenerative. Perhaps helping the farmer fall back in love with ecology, and biology and being custodians of the land for a short, but oh so important period of time. And if you are a restauranteur or work in hospitality in general, perhaps just asking questions, and caring more and more about where your food is coming from and who is growing it, is a great start point building momentum to support farmers who really want to be part of a positive movement. I’m utterly confident that Thomas and his Gentle Farming business and carbon credits are going to do well. I’ll be looking into buying some myself and offering support, and I hope you will too. Chat with Thomas on Linked in or follow Gentle Farming on Instagram or Twitter.

We are off to the world of events. Something I’d perhaps inadvertently neglected in my conversations around the world of hospitality. Certainly a part of the sector that todays guest Adam Phelps feels like the government has forgotten when it comes to recognition of the pandemics impact and financial support. Adam has been working at the top end of prestigious events for 22 years. Chatting through some of the choreography and planning required to deliver for clients who expect perfection, and are happy to pay for it was inspiring. 100 meals delivered to the table in perfect synchronisation by 50 model looking FOH members, immaculately presented is just one that creates a vivid picture in my mind. Adam has looked after famous rock stars, the best jewellery and fashion brands and big festivals, but more recently has had to be exceptionally creative to find a way to navigate the impact of COVID. Losses have racked up, but Cellar Society are working hard to keep their team employed and ensure their loyal customer base does eventually come back to them when permitted to do so. It feels fitting to be releasing this episode on the day that the government are once again pushing back full opening from the 21st June and the night club sector and large event companies must not be forgotten. Restaurant and pub garden trade is currently strong, but many in our sector continue to struggle. But this is not a covid specific episode and I think you’ll enjoy the conversation. Much of the story is about Adam and his teams adventures and business journey so far.

Many of your will know today’s guest Nathan Outlaw from his various TV appearances, Michelin stars, all round love of hospitality and the author of 5 well regarded books. Chatting to Nathan you can see why he’s such a popular hospitality human. Relaxed, positive, knowledgeable, with no pretentiousness and happy to chat about the challenges, lows and highs of his hospitality adventure. Nathan was generous with his time in this conversation, where we touch on just how tough an impact the pandemic had with Nathan having to close his restaurants in London, but how it created a positive opportunity for him to revaluate his business and his lifestyle. Nathan is now super excited to be 100% focused on his two restaurants in Port Isaac in Cornwall. And as you’ll hear during this chat Nathan has really worked hard to simplify the business and revaluate the importance of looking after the customer and keeping his chefs creative, with sustainability high on the agenda, rather than worrying about Michelin stars. With decades of experience behind him and a far greater understanding of the business element of restaurants compared to his early years, Nathan now gets to create a set menu at a set price for a set number of covers booked out 90 days in advance. It’s a genius model that really gives him and his team the freedom to enjoy simply creating incredible seasonal dishes that vary depending on what has been caught or farmed locally. A real tale of learning, closing restaurants, opening restaurants and all the time loving the produce and the team around him, I really hope you enjoy this weeks conversation. Check out his business here, find him on instagram, or the business on twitter.

Stefan Leser is a bit different to my normal guests on this podcast since he is based in Hong Kong and rather than being a little local independent Langham Hospitality has some big backers and a number of properties spread throughout the globe. It is that global perspective that I was really keen to explore with Stefan. There are some really interesting things we can learn from people like Stefan and Langham Hotels, who are operating across countries and across borders. I wanted to understand how different markets across the globe are performing and wether that performance is due to governments taking a different approach on how to manage Covid. We recorded this show a few weeks ago, but at the time Stefan’s hotels across China, Australia and New Zealand were trading pretty well, whilst London obviously was closed. Where his hotels were doing ok, they were aimed at the domestic market only. Many of these countries closed their borders fully very early on in the pandemic. As a result they seem to have kept variants at bay. Whilst being sympathetic to airlines and those in the international market I get the sense from many people that I am speaking with that a summer of domestic trade only would be way better than heading into another lockdown. Certainly with the so called Indian variant now hitting the news, what should we be learning by looking at other countries and seeing how they are managing the situation. Stefan may help broaden our perspectives with his views. And then there is also how the product of hospitality is evolving and changing globally, as well as the customer and their expectation. What does it look like when your customer changes from international to national in city hotels and what do you need to change? We explore all of this and much more as we join Stefan very high up in a Hong Kong high rise. Much as I miss recording these conversations face to face, the ability to hop across the globe in just a few seconds is pretty cool. You can find Stefan on LinkedIn and Langham Hotels and Resorts website here or Instagram.

I think you are going to fall in love with Dan Austin, today’s guest, and the Lake District Farmers, for a whole heap of reasons. Firstly the Lake District is just an utterly stunning part of the world, so anything we can do to support it, and the way of life that has been going on there for hundreds of years, I personally think is important. Traditional farming, where animals can roam free on the fells for me is a big part of this. Not only does it protect a way of life, and lead to happy animals a million miles away from modern intensive production techniques, but clearly it creates nicer animals for the food system too. Lake District Farmers supply most of the best chefs and best restaurants in the country, as you are about to discover. But more than that this is also a tale of perseverance, of business acumen, of learning and making things up as you go, of responding to business catastrophe and adapting fast to keep the business running. Dan and his team's perseverance and commitment comes across in so many of the stories he tells. Wether that’s being found half clothed having slept in the delivery van before meeting an important potential customer, or relocating the entire business over a weekend following a fire or simply realising that if you have a 1 in 100 chance of making something happen, you’ve just got to repeat it 100 times. We also touch on the ethics of meat consumption, and the carbon impact of our diets so plenty in here for everyone. Find them via the website and make sure you check out the INCREDIBLE videos. Follow them on instagram

Less so someone’s journey through hospitality this week, and more of a deep dive into a topic I hope hope you will find useful. Today I’m chatting to Victoria Searl, founder of Data Hawks. I’m fairly techie and I’ve found it frustrating over the years seeing the potential of data in the hospitality sector. Cleary unlike for example selling double glazing, we operate in a social space where people often want to hear from us. Where guests are happy to take photos and share them to social media, where they are happy to check in and arrange to meet friends. And whereby perhaps sharing data on birthdays, or dietary preferences or working patterns to help fill quieter times of the week are all things the customer is happy to share, since they actually want to hang out with us. So with a potential positive relationship with data, the consumer and the business I wanted to explore what is actually possible, is it easy, is it hard, are we doing all we can and what should we do with the information we collate. Victoria has held a number of senior marketing positions in well known brands, as well as an operational career in hospitality. Find DataHawks online or follow Victoria on twitter, or LinkedIn.

Phil Haughton has had a great food adventure over many decades. He has just written a book ‘Food for Thought’ that brings together this journey, combined with recipes and producers he’s met along the way. Phil’s current business is the Better Food stores and cafes dotted around Bristol. That combination of combining the hospitality of a cafe drawing people into the building and then hopefully inspiring them to leave with some exceptionally ethical and delicious food and drink is the evolution of a lifetimes learning for Phil, and now his wider team. Despite Phil’s desire for all organic he is pragmatic enough, particularly after previous insolvency, to recognise you do also have to sell what the customer is willing to buy. Perhaps rather than seeking ethical perfection, we must take people on a journey in smaller steps. An upgrade to free range may sometimes be more palatable than fully organic for some products. Phil has travelled the country finding the best suppliers, has set up and invested in community farms, has lived in a practical commune in Scotland learning how to live off the land, has set up and closed a veg box delivery business, has found the takings from his business in the bottom of a freezer and has defended the ethics to sell meat in a considered and informed way. In essence through a lifetime of learning and business Phil no longer has to think about the provision of food and farming and hospitality in the UK, he really knows how it works. He can see the challenges, but has some great, informed perspectives on what and how we can be better. See Phil on YouTube, or follow Better Food on instagram or twitter

Hamish is a brave soul who at the age of 41, with his own business and a career working around the wine and whisky trade decided that his number one love in the world was plants. Not only was he brave enough to sell the business, he was crazy enough to have no idea where his next adventure would take him. He pretty much let the plants decide. He went off on a learning journey meeting an inspirational medicine man along the way. A dream and a country walk and soon enough he’d stumbled across a beautiful plot of land not far from the city. Well, dilapidated and covered in weeds may have been a better description for most, but for Hamish, it was a vision of beauty and he convinced his wife, 4 kids and five dogs to live in a mobile home on the land and create something beautiful. Now he has a distillery, a cafe, a herb garden, an owl, an actual house and an incredible story to tell. Along with products in M&S, Fortnum and Mason and more. Unlike most in hospitality Hamish sees a herb as medicinal rather than culinary. His description of a dandelion will make you see the plant and the universe through new eyes. His willingness to go on a journey with no plan will inspire you to be brave and take risks and follow your heart, perhaps more than your head. He’s also about to convince you to stop feeling guilty about not mowing your lawn enough, and that alone is a great reason to listen. Whatever you are doing, enjoy the image of Hamish and his owl, in a tree house, overlooking his garden, yet still nailing being yet another wonderful human of hospitality. Find Hamish on the website or on instagram or twitter.

Unusually we recorded this one, with my golden retriever 'Jasper' whilst giving him a walk around a 130 acre country estate. But more importantly I was joined by Darren Venables, the Estate Manager at the Chewton Glen Hotel down in the New Forest in Hampshire. Darren has been working at the Chewton Glen for over 30 years so really has seen a huge amount of change, and as far as the grounds are concerned has curated much of that himself. And our wide ranging conversation typifies the reason for setting up this podcast. To shine a spotlight on what happens behind the scenes of hospitality. So much that the public may never get to hear about, or even imagine is fundamentally supported by the hospitality trade. Developing an orchard of 250 of the rarest trees in the country perhaps, or breeding your own Queen bees, or surveying wildlife on an annual basis, or attracting a wider species of birds into a habit for the first time in decades, to growing food for a cookery school, to planting xmas trees and so so much more. I just hope conversations like these open your mind as to how much awesomeness the independent hospitality sector is responsible for. And remember, where you decide to spend your cash, in supporting these genuinely small and hospitable businesses, really makes a difference to the type of world we are all going to live in. Less dominated by bean counter international chains and more diverse and richer for humanity and the environment. Find Darren on Instagram, twitter or visit the Chewton Glen website.

Sarah has been pretty vocal throughout the pandemic in representing the Scottish Hospitality Sector. I wanted to chat with Sarah in the first instance about how somebody goes from being the MD of a decent sized company in the city of London, to buying an ex Little Chef by the side of an obscure road in rural Scotland. Along the way driving revenue to over £1.7 million per year from a pretty small footprint. And secondly how Sarah had embraced technology to revolutionise how this road side cafe operates. Motivated by the pandemic, but along the way learning some really interesting things that I think the hospitality sector at large is going through. Probably five years worth of technical evolution in one year as we move from ordering from a human, to ordering on an app. Not in evening restaurant service, but very much so across the casual daytime sector. This leads to challenges around the user experience, but some potential big benefits if, as appears to be the case, spend per head increases, whilst labour costs decrease. Sarah also makes some great points about the infrastructure busy tourism destinations are likely to need to have in place if we are to experience the staycation boom most are expecting. It’s not just about business being ready, but car parks and toilets and roads and so much more. Find the Real Food Cafe online, twitter, or instagram

Chris Davies is founder and CEO of Harvest London, a couple of vertical farms in the city of London. Chris is going to help us understand how vertical farms could be part of the solution to feeding the planet. As Chris puts it, this will be part of the solution and not all food will be, or can be grown this way. But the benefits of growing food where it is to be consumed, rather than potentially 1000’s of miles away, the benefits of harvesting food and getting it to the restaurant door within four hours, rather than perhaps four weeks. The benefit of a perfect summers day, every day, no matter the time of year or external weather conditions. The use of tech and automation and the potential for companies to ship their perfect growing recipe to perhaps tweak just a couple of bits of the growing process to grow the perfect leaf. A little more water, 1/2 an hour less light, more blue light than pink light, a slight nutritional change. All of this can effect the flavour of what we grow and eat. And in Chris’s case much of this learning is being done around basil, but can be applied to so much more. And it is clearly a recipe that is working. Chris and Harvest London have just raised over a million pounds of investment, including from the UK governments future fund and demand is fast outstripping supply as they have grand plans for the future. Find Harvest London online or follow them on instagram.

It was quite a few months ago when the opportunity crossed my desk to interview Tim Hall, who is the executive chef at Burgh Island. It caught my eye because Burgh Island is such a unique location, as a tidal island just off the south coast of Devon. I was intrigued to understand a bit more around the complexity of running not one, but three restaurants, on an island that for many hours of the day cannot be accessed at all, or certainly not without its challenges. Add to that Tim’s reputation for excellent food and access to some beautiful foraged ingredients, a new owner of the hotel and a new fish restaurant on the island, and I thought it would make a lovely day out and place to visit. Alas lockdown got rid of the visit element, but it was still nice to catch up with Tim and and learn all things Tim and Burgh. Visit the hotel website, or find them on twitter and instagram

Lee Cash was always driven to become self employed in the hospitality sector. He learnt his craft with some of the best, from Robin Sheppard at Bespoke Hotels and chef Raymond Blanc. But all the time driven and motivated to test himself, to learn all he could and get ready to put into practise the art of perfecting 1000 little details to make his own venues successful. I always enjoy chatting to people who really have proper hospitality in their soul. Who understand how spaces feel. How the lighting, the candles, the music, the team, the furniture, the layout, the space itself and so much more comes together to create somewhere special that people enjoy. I loved Lee’s perspectives about pubs being a great leveller. More so perhaps than restaurants, you are likely to have every type and age of person hanging out at a bar, ordering a decent pint of beer. You’ll get to hear about how Lee and his business partner Hamish bought different skills to the business, and how over the years, at different stages in their growth, these different skills have helped Peach grow into such a fantastic business. You’ll also laugh at the story of Lee going from being so skint one morning that he had to use his passport as a deposit in an Aussie backpackers, to a few hours later saying yes to his first chef job cooking alone on boat full of divers on the great barrier reef. That say yes now, work out how later, kind of attitude that so many driven entrepreneurs have. You can read more about Peach Pubs on the website, or find them on twitter and instagram

We’re going big this week, and actually I don’t mean a big podcast, but a big business, chatting to Jonathan Neame, the chief executive of Shepherd Neame Brewers. With 320 pubs and pre pandemic turnover of £150 million they are bigger than the normal business I chat to on this podcast, but they have a really interesting family history. Having been around for over 300 years, and maintained family ownership I think they qualify as having had a very inspiring independent hospitality adventure. Topic wise Jonathan is clearly well informed on all that is going on in the pub sector. We touch on navigating the pandemic and at least seeing some growth in the grocery and off sales side of the business, the responsibility of taking over a multi generational family businesses, how to navigate out of the pandemic and how different that may be in London compared to a proper community pub. Changing beer trends, sourcing hops, rents as both a tenant and landlord, future support to enable the sector to bounce back and even Brexit all crops up in our wide ranging chat. Read more on the Shepherd Neame website, or follow Jonathan Neame on twitter, or find the brewery on instagram.

From honing his skills in hotels on an employed basis, to learning the art of the restauranteur with his own venues, to taking all of that knowledge and finally getting to apply it in his very own hotel with his partner Rob, Tim has been on a great hospitality journey. And the captains club is a special kind of place. Wether simply attracting the locals for a light lunch, or a few cocktails as the sun sets on the river, or mingling with famous guests such as Hugh Grant or the Gallagher brothers, they’ve really found a way of becoming the heart of their local community. Tim is very humble and easy to chat to about his journey. He makes it all sound too easy, with a detail here, and the right team member there. But Tim and Robert have an attention for detail and a genuine love for their crazy hospitality adventure, no matter how challenging it gets. And they’ve had their challenges, from planning permission impacting the business model leaving them just £1 million pounds short in enough money to open up. And then having finally got the doors open wondering if they’d run out of cashflow before they could turn their dream into a success. But 14 years later they are still going strong, or at least they were until the pandemic struck. But in typical Tim style he’s taking it in his stride and whilst nervous about the future, he and Rob are investing in the property and more than hoping, they are planning on re-opening for a busy summer. I hope you enjoy this chat about perseverance and the meandering journey life can take sometimes, but how, if you simply take the first step, then the adventure can be pretty rewarding and exciting.

Michel Roux Jr is a true 'Human of Hospitality' who was practically born in a kitchen when his Mum went into labour whilst working in his Dad 'Albert Roux's' restaurant. Michel is well known, partly simply through the recognition of his Dad and Uncle opening Le Gavroche in 1967 and becoming the first British restaurant to be awarded 3 Michelin stars, but also via his extensive work on television through shows such as Masterchef the professionals, and most recently 'remarkable places to eat'. Michel has also been on his own impressive culinary adventure working throughout Europe and even Hong Kong before taking over the helm at Le Gavroche in 1991. In this conversation we get to touch on Michel’s family connections and following in the family legacy, we’ll chat about the business side of being a chef and the importance of knowing your numbers and that successful restaurants are rarely only about the quality of the food. We explore what else it takes and how you need to make a customer 'feel' to really enjoy their visit and want to return regularly. And we explore some of the cultural differences between France and the UK, as well as the differences in the casual dining sector, and even the street food scene, and wether we’ll ever see Michel in his own street food truck. And of course we cover the pandemic and Michel’s hopes for the future, both in business, but perhaps more importantly with his daughter and grandson. You can follow Michel Roux Jr on twitter, or visit his online shop and read more about Le Gavroche on the website or via instagram.

Richard is a great example of a 'Human of Hospitality' having worked in the sector almost all of his working life. Richard started the business with his Dad and his family, and recognises all that his family risked, even selling grandmas house to purchase a run down manor, covered in vines and a somewhat dilapidated air. They started small with only 7 bedrooms, but had a vision and a yearning to create something special and to look after people. That journey was tough in those earlier years and he very nearly lost it all before the adventure had really even properly started. But the stars aligned and through working hard and never losing site of the vision, and in many ways fulfilling his destiny through partnership, investment, continual improvement and not being in a hurry to expand, Richard and his team have created something beautiful. Regular listeners will know that I have a love of the independent side of the sector. What Richard has created would not be of interest to the global brands of the world. It’s too small and eclectic and complicated and challenging to run. A number of properties, arguably with not enough rooms to make operations easier in the traditional sense of operating hotels and restaurants. But the properties look stunning and it takes people like Richard to create and operate such miniature beauties. I hope his story, along with the those of the likes of Robin Hutson and Gerrard Basset sleeping on the sofa in the bar because they could not afford to employ people overnight, will inspire others to know that you don’t have to start a business with unlimited resources to invest. We touch on re-wilding land, the early benefits of naivety, 18% mortgage rates, the dangers of michelin stars, running venues as satellites, wider challenges and opportunities for the sector in 2021 and our mutual hope that people will strive for a more simple, perhaps less luxurious life, where time with other humans is the greatest priority over and above material items. See more on the Calcot website, or on instagram or twitter and find the Sally Beck podcast we mention here.

Emma has had a fascinating career working in the heart of government in the EU, in part negotiating trade deals. Great timing for a chat that starts with Emma’s thoughts on the EU and our opportunities and risks as we hurtle towards departure. You’ll be pleased to hear Emmas is pretty optimistic on post EU trade, particularly where the export of exceptional British beer is concerned of course. We also chat about Emma’s experience liaising directly with the government on the behalf of the BBPA’s members, representing over half of the pubs in the UK (that’s 20k) and 90% of the brewing industry. They are an important voice, and we discuss how it felt like as the relationship between government and the sector was very strong in spring, but really broke down over the summer recess period. We also touch on wether a minister for hospitality would make the ear of government better or worse, why on earth the government is being so slow in extending support into next year as is happening in Europe, and some of the longer term issues such as Beer Duty and business rates that have been negatively skewing the sector long before COVID appeared on the scene. You can read more about the BBPA here, follow Emma on twitter or join her community here with LinkedIn.

A very different style of episode this week. Rather than a detailed conversation with one awesome human of hospitality we have 9 great humans, most of whom have been previous guests. And we have just one topic of conversation. Why they are supporting the campaign for a Minister for Hospitality. This campaign was launched by Claire Bosi but had been sat languishing at around 38k signatures on the government petition website. To be debated in parliament 100k signatures are required. Robin Hutson, CEO of Home Grown Hotels organised a call last week with over 100 very well connected hospitality professionals, and working with some of his graduate trainees as well as some well known faces of the hospitality sector such as Tom Kerridge and Angela Hartnett, launched the ‘seat at the table’ campaign. These nine people, who between them employ tens of thousands of people, but represent an industry of millions, will give you their perspectives on why they want a better seat at the table. Whilst recognising the great work that Kate Nichols and UK Hospitality have achieved, we’d like someone on the inside, as well as the outside of government. I hope you’ll enjoy hearing their perspectives and I hope you will be motivated to visit www.seatatthetable.org.uk where you can find a link to the petition and support the other social media accounts around this campaign. Whilst the petition has now exceeded 100k we want to significantly exceed this target to give every chance of this being successful and a senior minister, rather than token gesture being appointed. 4 min 50 sec - Robin Hutson - CEO The Pig Hotel & Limewood Hotel Visit 12 min 20 sec - Simon Potts - CEO The Alchemist Visit 23 min 20 sec - Danny Pecorelli - MD Exclusive Collection Visit 30 min 20 sec - Juliane Caillouette-Noble - Acting MD of Sustainable Restaurant Association Visit 38 min 50 sec - Sally Beck - GM Royal Lancaster London Visit 47 min 10 sec - Andrew Stembridge - Executive Director Iconic Luxury Hotels Visit 56 min 20 sec - Robin Sheppard - President Bespoke Hotels Visit 1hr 5 min 20 sec - Peter Ducker - Chief Executive Institute of Hospitality Visit 1hr 5 min 25 sec - Gary Jones - Executive Head Chef - Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons Visit

Surely schools are the place to improve knowledge on food, on what we should eat, to inspire a life long love for whole food and to understand the difference between real food and processed food. To understand that food is essential for life, and that in the modern world nobody should be going hungry. To try and fathom how on earth it is possible for the same areas struck be food poverty and lack of access to food to at the same time be suffering from diabetes and obesity due to the shocking quality of the food that may be available. It’s just so bloody obvious. How on earth have we allowed ourselves to have an education system that spends so little time on the one thing we put in our bodies every single day that nourishes us. That gives us energy, that fuels our bodies and our minds. We cannot achieve our potential either individually or as a collective unless we fuel ourselves efficiently. Naomi Duncan and the charity Chefs in Schools are right at the beating heart of this debate and trailblazing some of the improvements that can be made. They will soon be working with over 70 schools, predominantly in London, but with grand plans to work with, or inspire a transformation across thousands, if not tens of thousands of schools. In this chat we dive into understanding what the problem with school food is, how have we ended up here, what should be done, what can be done and what is being done. The impact that Naomi and the Chefs in Schools team are having is exceptional and very exciting. Wether helping get fully trained restaurant style chefs into schools, or working with existing teams, they are focused not only on providing better food in canteens, but working with the curriculum in educating children and inspiring them around what good food can look like. But whatever you do, don’t call the food healthy, since they have learnt the hard hard way, that can turn the average teenager off. I hope many of you listening will be inspired to speak to your local schools. If you are a parent perhaps you can ask better questions of your kids school. But if you work in the sector, why not reach out to your local school and see if you can help. I’ve personally found working with my local primary school in inspiring and teaching children about real food and seasonality and presentation and the ethics of food has been hugely entertaining and exceptionally rewarding. Read about the School Food Plan and visit Chefs In Schools online or follow them on instagram or twitter