In this episode of the Tech on Toast Podcast, Chris chats with Rob Bowie, co-founder of Marker, the UK’s first standardised sustainability rating for hospitality. Rob shares the journey behind launching Marka with co-founder Chiara, and how their gamified platform is helping restaurants, pubs and cafés take tangible steps toward sustainability—without the overwhelm.💡 What’s inside: • Why Marka is like a “food hygiene rating for sustainability” • How gamification and AI help operators drive real impact • The commercial value of shouting about your sustainability wins • How Marka's rating system works (and what it really takes to get ‘Outstanding’) • The challenges (and wins) of scaling a purpose-led business from NewcastleWe cover the shifting consumer mindset, the reluctance from operators to be first movers, and why sustainability needs to be team-led—not dumped on one overworked person.🍻 Expect plenty of laughs, a few digs at food hygiene ratings, a surprising Hard Rock Café chat, and serious insight into how sustainability can be a differentiator rather than a tick-box.👣 Start your journey at wearemarka.co.uk

In this episode of the Tech on Toast Podcast, Chris Fletcher chats with Archie Heaton, Head of Commercial at Level, the salary-linked financial wellbeing platform that’s making waves in hospitality.

We dive into:

• Archie’s journey from Microsoft and Xbox to startup life

• What on-demand pay really is—and why it’s not a debt trap

• How Level compares to WageStream and why many operators are making the switch

• The real impact of financial flexibility on retention and team morale

• Why hospitality is next in line for a financial wellbeing revolution

• And how Level is now powering platforms for other providers, like US giant Daily Pay

💬 “You only get one chance to mess up someone’s pay. People don’t forget.”

💡 This one’s for the operators, people directors, and GMs who want to do things better—for their team and their business.

🔗 Learn more:

👉 Explore Level on the Tech on Toast Marketplace

📧 Contact Archie: [email protected]

🔍 Follow Chris: @techontoast

🧡 Like what you hear?

Follow the show, leave a review, and share with someone who needs to hear this!

This week on the Tech on Toast Podcast, Chris sits down with the always-insightful Joe Heather, Regional General Manager for Northern Europe at Deliverect, the Order Management Platform powering thousands of digital orders across hospitality and retail.From deep dives into the ever-evolving world of kiosk tech, third-party logistics, and marketplace dominance, to spontaneous chats about dogs, golf, and growing teams across borders, this one is packed with both insights and energy.What we cover:🍕 Why Deliverect is more than an integration platform📦 The retail delivery boom, and how Deliveroo and co-op might just replace your corner shop🛍️ How customer expectations from Amazon and Uber Eats are shaping hospitality tech🧠 Joe’s take on operator loyalty, tech partnerships, and the psychology behind marketplace ordering📊 How Pulse and Dispatch are giving operators more control over downtime, data and delivery🐶 Why a Labrador named Mars might be the best career move Joe’s ever made, seriouslyTop Takeaways: • The mid-market restaurant squeeze is real, and QR, kiosk and speed are winning. • Operators aren’t just thinking about “tech stacks” anymore, they’re thinking about order flow. • Retail’s on-demand revolution is just beginning, and Deliverect is building the rails. • Consumer convenience to price point. And speed is becoming non-negotiable.💬 “If it’s an order, and it needs managing, we want to be the platform to control it.” Joe Heather🔗 Want to connect with Joe? He’s very available on LinkedIn: Joe Heather on LinkedIn🖥️ Learn more about Deliverect: www.deliverect.com🎧 Like what you heard? Hit follow and check out more from Season 12 of the Tech on Toast Podcast, proudly supported by our pals at Lightspeed. For a demo of their all-in-one EPOS, head to lightspeed.co.uk/techontoast

In this episode of the Tech on Toast Podcast, Chris Fletcher sits down with Jonny McKenzie, co-founder and CEO of Bustle, the cafe management platform built by operators for operators. Jonny flew all the way from Auckland, New Zealand, for this conversation—and it shows in the insights shared.Jonny’s story is anything but ordinary. From launching cocktail bars in his early 20s to running a full-service cinema and now building Bustle, he’s lived every shift, every challenge, and every spreadsheet that independent hospitality operators face.☕ What’s in your cup this episode? • Why Jonny left IT to shake cocktails—and how that shaped his tech career • The pain of running multiple venues without visibility—and how Bustle fixes that • Bustle’s “88% Rule” for building features that work for real operators • The myth of rapid transformation: why real clarity takes time • Emotional loyalty vs points-based systems—what real recognition feels like • Why Bustle celebrates when their customers outgrow them • Why most POS systems fail creatives—and what Bustle is doing differently • The rise of bakery as the new coffee shop culture • How price confidence, not just cost control, can help operators sleep at night👀 Who should listen?This one’s for independent owner-operators, hospitality creatives, and anyone who wants to use tech without losing the soul of service.📍Want to meet the Bustle team?Find them at heybustle.com, or pop by their stand at London Coffee Festival (just follow the treasure hunt 👀).💡 “We’re not trying to replace the human behind the counter—we’re just helping them stay in business.”⸻Brought to you by Lightspeed, the EPOS and payments platform trusted by hospitality leaders like Big Mamma, Mallow, Mildred’s and more. Check out lightspeed.co.uk/techontoast to book a free demo—real-time insights and slick service await.🎧 Follow us for more fresh takes on hospitality + tech.#TechOnToast #HospitalityTech #POS #CafeLife #Bustle #HospitalityCommunity

Ready to get quizzical? 🧠🍻

In this laugh-out-loud episode of the Tech on Toast Podcast, Chris Fletcher sits down with ✨ Mark Walsh ✨ – the fashion-journo-turned-tech-founder behind Kwizzbit, the interactive quiz platform shaking up the pub game across the globe!

From loading up fashion mags in the 90s to loading quizzes into over 47 countries, Mark’s journey is anything but ordinary. He shares how his love of music, people, and pub culture led to creating Kwizzbit – a platform where anyone can run a full quiz night from their phone. No pens. No paper. No faff. Just proper fun.

In this episode, we chat:

✅ From fashion journalism to hospitality tech

✅ How Rock and Roll Bingo paved the way for Kwizzbit 🎸

✅ Why the smoking ban created opportunity, not chaos

✅ How venues can drive footfall, capture data & boost sales with one smart quiz

✅ What it means to build tech that your mum could actually use 👵📲

✅ Plus: Chris joins a live quiz mid-show (and rates himself a bit too highly)

Mark also shares:

🔧 Why they built Kwizzbit to be plug-and-play

💸 How hospitality venues can try it for £60 for 3 months – unlimited quizzes included!

📺 What’s coming next: Kwizzbit Live and Quizbit Solo (spoiler: it’s big)

Whether you’re a pub operator, restaurant group, hotelier or just nostalgic for those classic quiz nights – this one’s for you.

👉 Try Kwizzbit: www.kwizzbit.com

📲 Follow Mark on LinkedIn: Mark James Walsh

🎯 Explore the Tech on Toast marketplace: www.techontoast.com

💬 As ever, brought to you by our mates at Lightspeed – the platform powering over 165,000 venues to scale at, you guessed it, the speed of light. ☕✨

Tune in, laugh along, and maybe even beat Chris in the quiz (it’s not hard).👇

🎧 Flex Appeal: How YoungOnes Is Flipping Hospitality Staffing

Guest: James Medd, COO, YoungOnes

Host: Chris Fletcher, Tech on Toast Podcast

Recorded at BrewDog Waterloo, this episode explores how flexible staffing is reshaping hospitality.

Chris sits down with James Medd to uncover how YoungOnes, the freelance staffing platform, is empowering operators to find vetted, on-demand talent in minutes — and giving Gen Z more control over when, where, and how they work.

In this episode:

✅ Why flexibility is the future of hospitality staffing

✅ How Gen Z and side-hustle culture are changing the game

✅ Why YoungOnes isn’t an agency — and why that matters

✅ How operators are cutting labour costs and improving service quality

✅ The tech James wishes existed…

Whether you’re scaling a team or freelancing for freedom, this one’s packed with insight.

🔗 Links

🌐 YoungOnes

💼 James Medd on LinkedIn

⚡ Explore Lightspeed EPOS

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 – Intro

02:15 – What is YoungOnes?

06:42 – Freelance lifestyle & Gen Z work culture

10:00 – How it works for operators

14:25 – Trust, ratings & smart matching

18:40 – Planning vs panic: The flexi-labour approach

23:10 – The future of staffing

28:00 – The tech James wants to see

31:00 – Where to find YoungOnes

🎙️ Subscribe for fresh conversations every week with the sharpest minds in hospitality & tech.

#HospitalityTech #FreelanceWork #StaffingSolutions #TechOnToast #YoungOnes #FlexibleStaffing

Welcome back to the Tech on Toast Podcast, where we serve up fresh conversations with the sharpest minds in hospitality and tech.

In this episode, Chris sits down with the brilliant Catherine Allan, Head of Sales at Beds & Bars – and former NHS children’s nurse – to explore how empathy, agility and tech have shaped her unique approach to driving results in hospitality.

From revamping bookings with +180% growth to cutting system admin time by 87%, Catherine’s story proves that real connection beats pushy sales tactics every time. Whether you’re an operator overwhelmed by too many platforms or a tech company looking to genuinely support venues, this one’s packed with sharp insights and big laughs.

We also hear how Catherine’s new venture, Tidr, is on a mission to reduce reactive labour and boost ROI by helping operators manage their third-party platforms more efficiently. Want to join the pilot programme? Grab a free trial here 👉 tidr.co.uk/techontoast

• Catherine’s journey from NHS nurse to sales powerhouse

• Why empathy is the secret sales superpower

• What most people get wrong about booking platforms

• How Beds & Bars doubled auto-confirmed bookings

• The truth about tech adoption (and how to actually roll it out)

• What “Data Detangle Day” revealed about internal comms

• Why operators must update their listings or risk wasting time

• Launching Tidr to tackle reactive sales chaos, Tidr aims to improve efficiency and increase ROI to third party private hire listing platforms

• Catherine’s dream venue (yes, Jessie J is involved)

• And why caring might just be the ultimate KPI

👉 Try Tidr for free: tidr.co.uk/techontoast

👉 Book a Lightspeed demo: lightspeed.co.uk/techontoast

💬 Like what you hear? Don’t forget to follow, rate and share this episode with your team.

🎧 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere else you get your audio fix.

#TechOnToast #HospitalitySales #EmpathyInTech #HospitalityInnovation #TIDR #HospitalityTech #DataStrategy #SalesLeadership #HospitalityOperators

🧠 What we cover in this episode:🔗 Useful links:

In this episode of the Tech on Toast Podcast, Chris Fletcher is joined by JP Kloppers, Managing Director at Omnisient, to explore how hospitality operators can unlock the hidden value in their customer data—without compromising privacy.

JP explains how data collaboration works when it’s done responsibly, and how encrypted, anonymised data can create entirely new revenue streams, enable smarter AI adoption, and improve consistency across operations. Whether you’re running a multi-site group or managing a single site, this episode breaks down where AI and data intersect—and why this matters more than ever in a sector under pressure.

👉 Topics covered:

• Why AI adoption in hospitality is still under 5%

• What encrypted data collaboration actually looks like

• The real-world value of restaurant CRM data

• How to automate guest profiling and team support with AI

• The role of large language models in streamlining operations

• How retailers and banks are already collaborating—and why hospitality should follow

💡 “Every operator is sitting on a goldmine of data—they just don’t know how to activate it yet.” – JP Kloppers

In this episode of the Tech on Toast Podcast, Chris Fletcher is joined by Jo Morgan, Operations Director at The Other House, for a brilliant conversation on how modern hospitality is evolving — and what it really takes to scale a hybrid hotel model that blends flexibility, technology and heart.

Jo shares her journey from Yorkshire pot-wash to cruise ship director, through to leading one of London’s most exciting hospitality concepts. They talk scaling without losing culture, how tech like Mews and Lightspeed power better experiences, and why warmth and human connection still matter most.

🔍 Topics include:

• Life at The Other House and the launch of Covent Garden & Belgravia

• Why hospitality needs flexibility — for teams and guests

• The real role of tech (hint: it’s not all QR codes)

• How to nurture and promote your best people

• What AI could mean for the future of hotel teams

🎧 Whether you’re a hotelier, tech provider or just love great operational stories — this one’s for you.

🧠 Powered by our friends at Lightspeed

👉 Book your demo: lightspeed.co.uk/techontoast

📍 Hosted by Chris Fletcher

📨 Connect with Jo on LinkedIn

I'm excited to share our latest episode of the Tech On Toast podcast, where we dive deep into the world of technology in the fine dining industry.

This week, we had the pleasure of visiting Benares in Mayfair, a Michelin-starred Indian restaurant, and speaking with Shubham and Mark from TISL. Together, we explored the challenges and triumphs of implementing technology in a bustling restaurant environment.Here are three key takeaways from our conversation that I believe are crucial for anyone in the tech or hospitality sectors:The Importance of Support: One of the standout themes from our discussion was the critical role that support plays in the success of technology implementation. Shubham emphasised how TISSL's support team is always just a phone call away, ready to resolve issues in real-time, even during the busiest hours. This level of accessibility not only alleviates stress but also ensures that operations run smoothly, allowing staff to focus on delivering exceptional customer experiences.Simplicity is Key: In a fast-paced environment like a restaurant, simplicity in technology is paramount. Both Shubham and Mark highlighted how TISSL's system is designed to be user-friendly, enabling staff to manage orders and make adjustments quickly, even from their phones.

This agility is essential for maintaining efficiency and minimising errors, especially during peak service times. It’s a reminder that technology should enhance operations, not complicate them.Building Strong Relationships: The relationship between Benares and TISSL is a testament to the power of collaboration and trust. After a brief period with another provider, Benares returned to TISSL, citing the reliability and support they received as key factors in their decision. This episode reinforces the idea that successful partnerships are built on understanding, communication, and a shared commitment to excellence.I invite you to listen to the full episode to gain deeper insights into how technology can transform the dining experience and the importance of having the right support system in place.Thank you for tuning in, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this episode! Let’s continue the conversation about how we can leverage technology to create better experiences in our industries.#TechOnToast #Podcast #Hospitality #Technology #Support #Simplicity #Relationships #FineDining