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