Almost 2 years ago to the day, I was lucky enough to get the industry legend that is Danny Pecorelli on the show to tell his story. Within that story we got talking about a very special event that was about to happen called Back to the Floor and he kindly invited me to join his table.

What unfolded at that event was what undoubtedly makes Back to the Floor one of the most celebrated events on the hospitality calendar. Fun and Carnage in equal measure, all whilst raising some much needed funds for those legends over at Hospitality Action.

2 years on, and it's nearly time for 2024's version to take centre stage, this time hosted at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge. With all that in mind, I thought it'd be great to shine a light on the event again through the GM of that very hotel, James Clarke.

In this special we talk about

• James' Story
• Park Plaza Westminster Bridge
• The history of Back to the Floor
• What to expect on the night
• The auction prizes
• What it’s like as a waiter or sommelier at the event
• Stories of the Carnage
• How to support the event

No doubt James has his work cut out for him keeping scores of our industry's finest under control for the evening but 2024's Back to the floor promises to be quite magnificent.

Enjoy!

To get behind this quite magnificent event, head to https://www.hospitalityaction.org.uk/events/2024/april/back-to-the-floor/

Today marks the end of season 5 of the show and we are signing off with a bang. I welcomed Hamish Anderson to the show, CEO of Tate Enterprises. This episode was a totally joyous education from the outset and represents another wonderful corner of the industry, where art and hospitality collide, in glorious fashion (Have I just inadvertently written a tagline for next years fashion week?).

Hamish is brilliant, he oozes effortless passion for hospitality all the way through and with some cracking stories too.

We cover:-

• January
• The many enterprises of Tate
• Early career
• Getting into wine
• Stock taking evolution
• Bibendum
• Writing a book about wine
• Climbing the ranks at Tate
• Deep thinking
• Leadership Lessons
• Finding a bottle of Dubonnet for the queen
• Magnums of Bollinger
• The evolution of Tate

And so much more.

I can't sign off season 5 without thanking you all for listening, this has been the most incredible season of the show, climbing into the top 1% of all podcasts and more of you are listening than ever before which I'll be forever grateful for. A huge thank you also goes to our Headline Sponsor, RotaCloud. Without the support of sponsors, it makes it very difficult to run the show.

I'll be back in the summer with more fun and shenanigans from the world of hospitality.

Enjoy!

The Guest

Hamish Anderson is the CEO of Tate Enterprises, a diverse business running Tate's commercial activity - Events, F&B, Retail, E Commerce, Publishing, Merchandise, Product & Image Licensing, a coffee roasting business (Coffee by Tate)

The Sponsor

Today’s episode comes to you in partnership with RotaCloud, the people management platform for shift-based teams.

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

It makes work simple for your team, too, allowing them to check their rotas, request holiday, and even pick up extra shifts straight from their phones.

Try RotaCloud’s time-saving tools today by heading to https://rotacloud.com/phil

Another treat for you this week as I got some time with the wonderful Zoe Watts, Managing Director of Bennett Hay

Zoe's rise to MD has seen her take in some quite amazing places to work. In addition to her journey we also get through:-

• Exploring being a nurse
• The BHS Coffee Shop
• Off to Uni
• Beefeater Restaurants
• Savill garden Restaurant
• Becoming a GM
• The people who see something in you
• The Royal Society of Arts
• Tate
• Events
• The Adaptability of Hospitality
• Meetings with Royalty
• The move to contract catering
• Bennett Hay

And a whole lot more. Zoe's got some great stories up her sleeves which she recounts with us and in amongst all of that is a just wonderful career journey so far.

Enjoy!

The Guest

Zoe Watts is the Managing Director of Bennett Hay, an independent contract caterer specialising in workplace catering.

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/zo%C3%AB-watts-fih-96613615/

The Sponsor

Today’s episode comes to you in partnership with RotaCloud, the people management platform for shift-based teams.

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

It makes work simple for your team, too, allowing them to check their rotas, request holiday, and even pick up extra shifts straight from their phones.

Try RotaCloud’s time-saving tools today by heading to https://rotacloud.com/phil

Time for a cheeky bonus and this week I welcomed the absolutely epic, and my good friend, Dr Lizzy Bernthal who is a resilience specialist to chat through work place Toxicity and how to eradicate it (Amongst other things).

Lizzy has an amazing story of how she ended up specialising in this under discussed, but relevant topic and we cover a lot including:-

• The Army
• Fighting back against Toxicity
• Resilience
• Forms of Toxicity
• The Drama triangle
• Empowerment
• Language
• Choices
• The signs of Toxicity
• Culture & Values
• Coaching

And so much more. If you're in place that's toxic or just want to learn more about improving your resilience, Lizzy is THE person to ignite this within you.

Enjoy!

The Guest

Dr Lizzy Bernthal is a resilience coach who is on a mission to help 1 million purpose driven business owners and leaders to find their confidence and resilience already within them whilst working with values driven businesses to flourish in line with their vision and purpose

Website - https://rypotential.co.uk/

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizzybernthal-resilience-specialist/

The Sponsor

Today’s episode comes to you in partnership with RotaCloud, the people management platform for shift-based teams.

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

It makes work simple for your team, too, allowing them to check their rotas, request holiday, and even pick up extra shifts straight from their phones.

Try RotaCloud’s time-saving tools today by heading to https://rotacloud.com/phil

It's Valentines day and so I got to talk to someone about a subject I LOVE! That being, People!

I welcomed the quite superb Jo Harley, Co-founder of Korero and Hendrick & Hyde, to the show. Jo was nervous about coming on the show as she's never had the confidence to do this sort of thing before but she needn't have worried as she brought her natural, chatty self and we laid into a lot, including:-

• Brewdog Waterloo
• Marketing
• Measures of success
• Coming to work
• What good looks like
• Leisure Management Degrees
• Cheerleading
• Greece
• Working in bars
• Hospitality as National service
• Fun
• Inevitable evolution
• Korero
• Resting bitch face

And so much more. Jo is the very epitome of a people person and she brings the fun from the outset in what is another wonderful career within hospitality.

Enjoy!

The Guest

Jo is the Co-Founder of Korero, a new standard in career conversations and Hendrick & Hyde, who help businesses become great places to work.

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jo-harley/

Email - jo@hellokorero.co

The Sponsor

Today’s episode comes to you in partnership with RotaCloud, the people management platform for shift-based teams.

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

It makes work simple for your team, too, allowing them to check their rotas, request holiday, and even pick up extra shifts straight from their phones.

Try RotaCloud’s time-saving tools today by heading to https://rotacloud.com/phil

On a cold January day in 2024, I whisked myself off to enjoy the hospitality offered by the wonderful Tej Walia, Managing Director of Foxhills Collection. Whilst there, Tej and I had a chat about his career story so far, and what a story it is too.

We get through:-

• Golf
• Hotel Management as 2nd choice
• Working through the departments
• Impatience
• The foundation years
• Guernsey
• Sweating
• Hilton
• Confidence and leadership
• The Many forms of Mentoring
• Fawsley Hall
• Dartington estate
• Foxhills
• Evolution to MD

And so much more. I called this episode "Getting the foundations set" as we talk about the importance of the what Tej calls, "the Foundation years" as they really can set the tone for your career ahead.

It's another wonderful chat with someone who cares deeply about the world of hospitality.

Enjoy!

The Sponsor

Today’s episode comes to you in partnership with RotaCloud, the people management platform for shift-based teams.

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

It makes work simple for your team, too, allowing them to check their rotas, request holiday, and even pick up extra shifts straight from their phones.

Try RotaCloud’s time-saving tools today by heading to https://rotacloud.com/phil

I properly love the people this little show has introduced me to and today you are all the wonderful benefactors of listening to my chat with "wee Scottish livewire", Rachel Thomson.

Rachel really brought the triple threat (Passion, Energy and Fun in abundance) to our chat, leaving nothing but gold in her wake. She's got great lessons all the way through in addition to that A game on fun.

We get through:-

• Christmas
• Managing a pub within the first year of her career
• The pub life
• Drive & Resilience
• The early career lessons
• The Foodie inspiration
• Abu Dhabi & Dubai
• Making the Women in F&B Power list
• Recognition
• Being true to yourself
• Hospitality Careers
• Ops Director Skill Set

There really is so much to love about this chat and there's no wonder that she was recognised on that Middle East F&B Power List!

Enjoy!

The Guest

Rachel Thomson is an Operations Director. Having spent years in the UK and Middle East, she has had the pleasure of having quite a diverse career span. Brought up in a fishing village in East Fife, Scotland, who would not be delighted that your mum and you went every Saturday to the fish shed to collect fresh scallops! She has worked with some large corporate companies and some independents so has tasted both worlds of doing your own P&L's to having the most advanced systems in the world! She wouldn't change it for the world.

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelthomson727/

The Sponsor

Today’s episode comes to you in partnership with RotaCloud, the people management platform for shift-based teams.

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

It makes work simple for your team, too, allowing them to check their rotas, request holiday, and even pick up extra shifts straight from their phones.

Try RotaCloud’s time-saving tools today by heading to https://rotacloud.com/phil

Up until around 2 years ago, I can't say that I'd even heard of the company that today's guest comes from, but when I learned what they do and how well they are doing it, I just had to get him on.

I welcomed Max Lawrence, Director of Hospitality Assured to the show and we get through a lot, including:-

• What is Hospitality Assured?
• Knowing what you want to do
• The privilege of giving service
• Learning the ropes with Holiday Inn
• Accounting
• Fascinating challenges
• Moving to Independent business
• Forensics and hospitality
• Starting business
• Business Challenges and Survival
• Taking on a hotel
• Attention to detail and consistency
• The IOH and Hospitality Assured
• Hospitality is everywhere
• Inverness Airport

And so much more. There are some twists and turns in Max’s story and some things I thought I’d never hear mentioned in the same breath as hospitality. The work that Hospitality Assured is doing is exactly what the industry needs right now and I wish Max and the team all the best for the year ahead.

Enjoy!

The Guest

Max Lawrence FIH MTMI, is an Assessor & Director of Finance at Hospitality Assured. Hospitality Assured is the quality standard created by the Institute of Hospitality specifically for customer facing businesses. They inspire and enable organisations to maximise their full potential by following world class processes, customer service standards and enhancing employee engagement. They help all businesses offering a service.

Instagram Max - @maxlawrence14

Instagram Hospitality Assured - @ha_hospitalityassured

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxlawrenceuk/

The Sponsor

Today’s episode comes to you in partnership with RotaCloud, the people management platform for shift-based teams.

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

It makes work simple for your team, too, allowing them to check their rotas, request holiday, and even pick up extra shifts straight from their phones.

Try RotaCloud’s time-saving tools today by heading to https://rotacloud.com/phil