Hospitality Meets... with Phil Street

What do a biochemist, a Chinese mansion house, Heathrow Airport, 250 burger restaurants, a pub turnaround, student accommodation, retirement living, and more than a few bottles of Mao Tai have in common?This week's guest... Duncan Garrood.And trust me...You're going to want to hear this one.Duncan's career began in a laboratory as a scientist with a PhD in Biochemistry.It then took him through Unilever, a decade living in China, Heathrow Airport, the Middle East, Punch Taverns, Bill's Restaurants, family entertainment, student accommodation, and now Riverstone Living.Most people spend a career trying to follow a plan.Duncan spent his, basically just saying yes.In this episode we chat about:Why a scientist decided business looked more interestingBeing told on a Wednesday that he was moving to China on SundayLiving next door to 13 Chinese families in a former colonial mansionPutting Walls ice cream on the Great Wall of ChinaThe business lessons hidden inside industrial quantities of Mao TaiWhat airports can teach us about hospitalityWhy great service is often revealed when things go wrongGrowing a business from $150 million to $1 billionRunning out of cows whilst scaling Shake ShackTransforming Punch Taverns during one of the biggest shifts in pub legislationReimagining Bill's RestaurantsUsing people, not capital, to drive growth in leisureTreating students like customersWhy later living might be one of the most exciting sectors in hospitality todayAlong the way we explore leadership, customer experience, entrepreneurship, curiosity, reinvention, and the power of saying yes to opportunities before you're entirely sure how they'll work out.One of my favourite stories came from Duncan's time in China.After fifteen dinners with a potential business partner, countless toasts, and enough Mao Tai to test the resilience of a small nation, the gentleman put his arm around him and declared:You are my little brother."Moments later, he passed out.Business was secured.As leadership lessons go, it's certainly more memorable than most MBA programmes.There are also some absolute gems throughout the conversation:💭 "We're not here to put years on your life, we're here to put life in your years."💭 "If you don't take the opportunities when they come, the things you're missing out on are unknown."And perhaps my favourite takeaway of all:💭 "I've literally never regretted saying yes to any of these opportunities."Because that's really what this episode is about.Not airports.Not pubs.Not burgers.Not retirement living.It's about curiosity.It's about adventure.It's about having the courage to step into the unfamiliar.And trusting that you'll figure the rest out along the way.Funny, thoughtful, insightful and packed with stories.A brilliant conversation with a man who's spent a lifetime proving that some of the best opportunities arrive disguised as uncertainty.EnjoyShow PartnerA big shout out to today’s show partner, RotaCloud — the people management platform built specifically for shift-based teams.RotaCloud lets managers create and share rotas, record attendance, and manage annual leave in minutes — all from one simple, web-based app.It also makes life easier for teams, allowing staff to check rotas, request holiday, and pick up extra shifts directly from their phones.To find out more, head to RotaCloudThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

What do a kitchen porter, a Swedish adventure, a hotel fire, a freezing swimming pool, and the CEO of one of Britain's most iconic hotel groups have in common?This week's guest is John Badley, CEO of Andrew Brownsword Hotels.Today, John oversees a collection of some of the UK's most beautiful and historic hotels.But his story starts somewhere much humbler.A teenage job sweeping a car park for £10, a desperate desire to escape the cold, and a sister who eventually gave in and let him become a kitchen porter.The rest, as they say, is history.In this episode we chat about:🧽 How a car park sweeping job became a lifelong hospitality career🍽️ Starting as a KP and working his way through the kitchen ranks⭐ The pursuit of rosettes and the lessons learned in fine dining🇸🇪 Why a move to Sweden changed his perspective forever👨‍🍳 The unusual role that saw him wearing chef whites and a three-piece suit at the same time📈 The leadership lesson that came from being rejected for promotion🔥 Managing one of hospitality's most devastating crises when a hotel was destroyed by fire🏊 The infamous swimming pool experiment that taught a painful lesson about guest perception🧭 Why every leader needs a North Star🤝 The impact of mentors, including hospitality legend David Guile💡 Why curiosity remains one of the most underrated leadership skills🚀 How Andrew Brownsword Hotels is building for the future whilst protecting its remarkable heritageAlong the way we explore leadership, resilience, commerciality, culture, curiosity, and the extraordinary opportunities hospitality can provide for those willing to keep learning.One of my favourite moments came when John shared the lesson that transformed his career.After being repeatedly overlooked for promotion, he was finally told the reason:"If we promote you, who's going to look after this kitchen?"It was a difficult conversation at the time, but it taught him one of the most important leadership lessons of all:Your success is measured not by what you can do, but by what your team can do without you.Another standout moment came when discussing leadership and performance."Consistency beats intensity."A simple phrase, but one that underpins John's entire approach to leadership, culture and long-term success.There was also a wonderful reminder of the mindset that has carried him from kitchen porter to CEO:"There's always something else I didn't know. So I wanted to go and learn it."And perhaps the most powerful takeaway from the entire conversation:"Make the mistake."Not recklessly.Not repeatedly.But don't become so afraid of failure that you stop trying new things altogether.There are also stories involving Swedish adventures, luxury hotels, thousands of firefighters, frozen swimming pools, and enough leadership wisdom to fill a management textbook.Funny, thoughtful, honest and packed with practical lessons.A brilliant conversation with one of hospitality's most grounded leaders.Enjoy.Show PartnerA big shout out to today’s show partner, RotaCloud — the people management platform built specifically for shift-based teams.RotaCloud lets managers create and share rotas, record attendance, and manage annual leave in minutes — all from one simple, web-based app.It also makes life easier for teams, allowing staff to check rotas, request holiday, and pick up extra shifts directly from their phones.To find out more, head to RotaCloudThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

What do dough balls, coffee, Covid crisis meetings, global expansion, and one very determined mum have in common?This week's guest is Caroline Ottoy, Managing Director of WatchHouse.Today, WatchHouse is one of the most exciting hospitality brands on the planet, with 29 locations across the UK, USA and Dubai, and ambitious plans to reach 100 sites globally over the next few years.But Caroline's journey started in a very different place.A teenager destined for a science degree, a year spent slightly losing her way, and a mum who effectively packed her bags and sent her to hospitality university whether she liked it or not.Thankfully, she did.In this episode we chat about:How an agricultural college accidentally launched a hospitality careerSpending a year working in France and becoming fluent in FrenchThe early days of ASK and opening restaurants across the UKLiving above the restaurant and learning hospitality the hard wayThe legendary Dough Ball IncidentGrowing brands from start up to national successThe move from restaurants into Planet OrganicLeading through Covid and creating daily "Cobra Meetings" to keep teams alignedLearning to step up when uncertainty is everywhereOvercoming imposter syndrome and finding confidence on stageThe mentors, cheerleaders and leaders who changed her lifeWhy EOS has become one of the most powerful tools behind WatchHouse's growthThe ambitious journey to 100 WatchHouse locations worldwideSome of my Favourite Quotables"Visions are irrelevant without great people""Everything is about people. Everything""I was a really good waitress. I'm telling you now, I could handle a big section""We didn't really know what we were doing. We were just finding out as we went along"Along the way we explore leadership, resilience, culture, friendship, hospitality careers, and the extraordinary impact great people can have on the direction of our lives.One of my favourite moments came when Caroline reflected on receiving a message from a former team member years later, thanking her for the role she'd played in shaping his career and life.It's a beautiful reminder that in hospitality, we often have a far bigger impact on people than we ever realise.Funny, thoughtful, inspiring and packed with lessons for anyone building teams, leading people, or simply trying to figure things out as they go.And yes...There is a story involving enough dough balls to fill half of Bristol.Enjoy.Show PartnerA big shout out to today’s show partner, RotaCloud — the people management platform built specifically for shift-based teams.RotaCloud lets managers create and share rotas, record attendance, and manage annual leave in minutes — all from one simple, web-based app.It also makes life easier for teams, allowing staff to check rotas, request holiday, and pick up extra shifts directly from their phones.To find out more, head to RotaCloudThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

What do holiday parks, imposter syndrome, accidental career sabotage, and one of the UK's most respected hospitality leaders have in common?This week's guest is Barrie Robinson, National Operations Director at Parkdean Resorts and Chair of the newly launched North Star Competitive Career Accelerator.Barrie's journey into hospitality wasn't exactly traditional.After lasting just six weeks at university ("reading newspapers and pretending to be a tree" wasn't quite the career path he'd envisioned), he started work as a glass collector in his local pub.Fast forward a few decades and he's now responsible for operations across the UK's largest holiday park operator.But the route between those two points is where things get interesting.In this episode we chat about:Why hospitality might be the UK's best-kept career secretWhat makes holiday parks one of the most overlooked sectors in hospitalityTurning a village pub from £500 a week into £6,000 a weekThe power of creating experiences rather than simply serving customersLiving with imposter syndrome, even at senior leadership levelThe boss who became known as "Eff Off, Don't Answer"The unfortunate incident involving a new boss, several pints, and a train journey homeWhy great leaders allow people to fail safelyHow winning the ALMR Operations Manager of the Year award transformed Barrie's confidence foreverThe return of the North Star Competitive Career Accelerator and why it's set to develop the next generation of hospitality leadersAlong the way we explore leadership, community, career development, truth-telling, resilience, and why some of the most valuable lessons in hospitality come from the moments you'd rather forget.Some Cracking Quotables"Hospitality is one of the UK's best-kept career secrets.""People don't come to work to do a bad job.""If you trust the truth, it is always the right thing to do."Barrie is thoughtful, honest, funny, and deeply passionate about helping people realise their potential.And if nothing else, this episode contains one of the greatest leadership stories ever told involving an Audi A6.Enjoy.Show PartnerA big shout out to today’s show partner, RotaCloud — the people management platform built specifically for shift-based teams.RotaCloud lets managers create and share rotas, record attendance, and manage annual leave in minutes — all from one simple, web-based app.It also makes life easier for teams, allowing staff to check rotas, request holiday, and pick up extra shifts directly from their phones.To find out more, head to RotaCloudThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

This week I sat down with Jonny Bramwell, Regional Head of Operations for Rosa’s Thai — a man responsible for 22 restaurants, thousands of miles of motorway, and quite possibly the most unexpectedly philosophical conversation we’ve had on Hospitality Meets in a while.What starts as a chat about pubs, restaurants and leadership quickly becomes a brilliant conversation about burnout, ambition, balance, accidental life lessons, and why sometimes the best thing that can happen to your career… is getting sacked from your first hospitality job.There are stories of legendary £4.50 breakfasts, pub landlords who accidentally become life mentors, entrepreneurial chaos, brutal kitchen lessons, and one particularly wonderful moment involving a manager solving Phil’s chronic lateness problem with the revolutionary concept of… buying a second alarm clock.Groundbreaking leadership.Along the way, Jonny talks openly about the moments where hospitality nearly broke him, the dangers of arrogance disguised as ambition, and how learning to understand yourself is just as important as learning how to run a business.It’s thoughtful, funny, honest, slightly chaotic at times… and packed full of gold.In this episode, Jonny and I get into…• Why a bike accident and a few days in hospital unexpectedly sparked a fascination with medicine• Falling into hospitality almost by accident — and immediately becoming obsessed with food, drink and learning• Getting fired from his very first hospitality job… then finding his career-changing mentor in the pub next door• The magic of great pubs and why community operators still matter so much• How the right leader at the right moment can completely change someone’s life• Why hospitality relationships become so deep and enduring• The difference between management and true leadership• Burnout, arrogance, ambition and learning difficult lessons early in your career• Why some jobs teach you more in one year than others teach in ten• The brutal but brilliant education of kitchens and gastropub culture• The changing role of modern operations leadership in hospitality• Why coaching matters far more than fear• Work-life balance… or just “balance” full stop• How hospitality can become both your stress and your safe place at the same time• Why being comfortable isn’t always a bad thing• The importance of recognising what actually matters in your life before it’s too late• The joy, madness and sheer unpredictability of hospitality careersSome cracking quoteables from Jonny…“If you enjoy food and drink, it’s probably a pretty good industry to be in.”“I accidentally built roots in Reading.”“The enemy of your enemy is your friend.”“It’s a school of hard knocks.”“You’re one great day away from having a crap day.”“Hospitality became my place of joy.”And perhaps the most important leadership breakthrough in modern history:“If one alarm clock isn’t working… buy a second alarm clock.”Revolutionary stuff.Why this episode is worth your earsThis one feels incredibly human.Yes, there’s loads in here about hospitality operations, leadership, career growth and team culture… but underneath all of that is a really honest conversation about figuring yourself out while trying to build a career at the same time.Jonny speaks brilliantly about the moments where things didn’t go well, the leaders who shaped him, the mistakes that taught him the most, and how hospitality has evolved from old-school fear-based management into something far more people-focused.It’s funny, reflective, occasionally chaotic, and full of the sort of stories that remind you why this industry gets under people’s skin in the first place.Also…Any episode featuring:• Pub philosophy• Angry chefs• Ping pong bars• A grammar school kid discovering kinaesthetic learning• And the phrase “the avenue of arsehole is a two-way street”……was probably always going to be a good one.Show PartnerA big shout out to today’s show partner, RotaCloud — the people management platform built specifically for shift-based teams.RotaCloud lets managers create and share rotas, record attendance, and manage annual leave in minutes — all from one simple, web-based app.It also makes life easier for teams, allowing staff to check rotas, request holiday, and pick up extra shifts directly from their phones.To find out more, head to RotaCloudThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy