All Episodes

Welcome to this special podcast series, Digital Titans, brought to you by Vita Mojo and Hospitality Mavericks. Tune into Amie from Vita Mojo who is excited to take you on this journey, as we explore the digital transformation within hospitality. During this series, you’ll hear from industry leaders from the likes of Leon, the Azzuri Group and Amazon. We’ll talk through how they transformed their business with digital solutions while meeting the changing needs of the market. If you have not ye...

There’s one thing using technology in your business, and there is another thing implementing it. The Food and Beverage Global Business Unit at Oracle helps organizations connect every guest interaction to your back-of-house operations. With me today is Tim Brown, the unit’s Vice President of Global Solution Engineering. He leads an international team of experienced technical sales consultants dedicated to devising and deploying pioneering IT solutions that accelerate innovation for food and beve...

The Dubai Opera House, Four Seasons, Hard Rock, the Atlantis resorts – these are just a few of the notable projects designed by EDSA, a planning, landscape architecture and urban design firm founded in 1960. Dialling in from the US is ESDA’s Principal Richard Centolella, where he leads the Baltimore studio and oversees operations in New York City. He is a true maverick when it comes to designing functional, realistic, and engaging places for people. This conversation brings to light how we need...

Throughout this series, we’ve explored the impactful ways of running a hospitality business, but the ultimate key to any business is to truly embody a diverse organisation. We are on a huge journey of learning when it comes to diversity and inclusion, and there are some clear blindspots as white men, so we needed to bring on Diversity and Inclusion expert Lorraine Copes as our guest. Lorraine is the founder of Be Inclusive Hospitality – a not-for-profit organisation with a mission to advance ra...

With our shared passion for checklists, Carina Martins Nakamá joins the show to reveal the power of having plans and processes in place so you can operate from a place of calmness. Carina is the Founder and Director of Benessere, which helps people and organisations in hospitality become healthier, happier and more prosperous. Carina has an MBA in Business Management at Fundacao Getulio Vargas – considered one of the best business schools in Latin America, and later in the UK further specialise...

Paddy & Scott’s is a true maverick coffee business. They cut out the middle-men and conglomerates; shortening the distance between coffee grower and coffee drinker. In 2016 they took on their very own coffee farm in Meru, Kenya, working directly with a family who have been growing coffee for generations. Paddy & Scott’s now produce over 30,000 cups of coffee per day: from their own fuelling stations to over 150 branded concessions. MD at Paddy & Scott’s, Jonathan Reed, joins the show to share ho...

We’re excited to be back with Hospitality and The Infinite Game, and today we dig into the different nuances of growth. A book that’s had a huge impact on us is ‘Small Giants’ by journalist Bo Burlingham. It explores what some of the most remarkable, under-the-radar companies are doing, and questions the usual definitions of business success. In this discussion, we unpick some key insights from the book, like finding your business mojo and looking at effort positively. We also explore the cultu...

People stay at companies because they’re developing and progressing, not because their leaders think they ‘know it all’. To build this progressive culture, today’s guest shares how the skill in unlearning is more important than ever. Dialling in from the US, Barry O’Reilly is the Co-Founder of Nobody Studios, and author of ‘Unlearn’ and ‘Lean Enterprise’. He has pioneered the intersection of business model innovation, product development, organisational design, and culture transformation. In th...

Simon Mitchell went from being a 90s DJ to his own events company, Impulse, in 2003, before joining Concerto Group in 2011. In early 2016, Simon joined as MD for KERB – a household name in the UK street food market. The membership organisation is dedicated to the incubation and acceleration of London’s most innovative street food businesses. Street food is an incredible way of starting your own food business. Find out in this episode how KERB helps support new talent, the major changes the comp...

There’s no doubt that the food delivery business supports the big chains but not the independent ones. Enter a real changemaker: Toby Savill, Co-Founder and CEO at Foodstuff – a new food delivery company in the UK which works with only independents, supports riders on living wage, and provides a zero emissions delivery. What’s more, Foodstuff launched during the pandemic, yet they’ve managed to scale across multiple locations in the UK – including Manchester, Bristol and Cambridge. Tune in to t...

Peter Backman and Michael Tingsager have chosen to come together to create a series of conversations to help leaders in the food and drinks industry to get better out of the starting blocks recovering from a pandemic, no one wanted and no one was ready for. We don't have all the answers but we wish to share our observations and insights which can help leaders to make better decisions about their strategies and tactics as they navigate through the time ahead. Key takeaways from this episode are...

Mary Sue Miliken is one of my personal heroes. With over four decades of experience working in the hospitality sector, she has created a true legacy through her sustainability, social and culinary goals. Mary is an American chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, activist, and radio and TV personality. She is best known for Border Grill restaurants, trucks, and catering, which she runs with her business partner of more than 35 years, Susan Feniger. In this conversation we discuss what it’s like to...

Systems, culture and business – those are the foundations for a successful, sustainable business. Jim Laube, Founder of RestaurantOwner.com, shares some practical applications and what you can start doing today. Join us as we explore the relationship between leadership and culture, and what we mean by ‘culture’. We also discuss communicating your values, empowering your staff, and practising daily gratitude. RestaurantOwner.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Laube. With a diverse food service backg...

This is the first face-to-face conversation I’ve had since the pandemic, and I’m super excited to meet the co-founder of Honest Burgers, Tom Barton, in Brighton – where the business was conceived. Starting from humble beginnings, they now have burger restaurants in London, Reading, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Brighton, Manchester and Liverpool. They make British beef patties in their own butchery, and most of their ingredients are homemade. We discuss what it means to be honest, being an ‘anti...

Daniel Hulme has a phenomenal approach to learning and unlearning. He has built multiple businesses, launched restaurants and bars – all from starting as a chef at 16 years old. As founder of On Air Dining, a unique Culinary Concierge Service and it’s sister brand On Air Interiors, supplying the world’s finest soft furnishings to aircraft, yachts and houses. His company has created a globally unique system of cooking, packaging and delivering of high end food on board an aircraft. In this con...

A dark kitchen serves customers exclusively by delivery, operating as a separate food vendor from an existing restaurant's kitchen. It’s certainly a smart business model, but many brands can flop after launching. So what does it take to create visibility out of the kitchen’s invisibility? Having run his own food supply business for nearly 30 years, Azher Rubbani has been on a journey of transformation and decided to launch his own dark kitchen, Chowbunch, during the pandemic. Azher joins me tod...

“I don’t want to share the finances” to “I’m not good with numbers”... these are all common phrases that hold us back as leaders. So today I bring on a real financial maverick, David Lund, who helps people get comfortable with numbers. He is the Founder of Hotel Financial Coach and supports leaders of hotel firms through financial training. David’s background includes over 30 years as a Regional Controller, Corporate Financial Director, Hotel Manager and Controller throughout North America. Cal...

Today’s guest proves how the hospitality industry is so flexible. Consultant Jon Spiteri is currently a partner of Sessions Arts club – a creative studio from painter Jonny Gent together with partner architect Russell Potter. Located in a restored 18th century Grade II former courthouse on Clerkenwell Green, Sessions Arts Club brings together art, people, food and wine. Like most of us, Jon’s work was massively affected by the pandemic, but having a clear vision helped him navigate through it. ...

As a founder of two hospitality brands, today’s guest is a true early adopter with technology. JP Then believes you can reach so many more customers if you have an omni-channel strategy. He is the founder of Slerp, an on-demand e-commerce and order management system, and Crosstown Doughnuts, a London brand specialising in handcrafted doughnuts and specialty coffee. Tune in to find out more about using ecommerce systems fit for hospitality. We also discuss finding a business partner, the future ...

Tim Foster joins the show to help arm you with your recruitment tactics. Tim is Head of Being Awesome at the Yummy Pub Co, which operates pubs in London and Surrey. Yummy Pub is a boutique pub company founded in 2007 by Tim, Anthony Pender and Jason Rowlands. They’ve learnt how a hospitality business can survive and thrive amidst a pandemic, through adaptability, staff engagement, and a resilient mindset. Tim’s drive and ambition to succeed is infectious. In this discussion, Tim shares how he u...

Award-winning PR and media expert Sangeeta Waldron is the founder of Serendipity PR and the author of The PR Knowledge Book and Corporate Social Responsibility is Not Public Relations. She is often invited to events both nationally and globally, where she speaks about the media, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and diversity in business. In this fascinating discussion, we explore what it takes for businesses to fully embody their corporate social responsibility. Tune in to this interview t...

Ari Weinzweig is a true maverick when it comes to leadership and sticking to a vision. He believes in the need to build a business that not only achieves great business results but also makes a significant positive impact on your people, community and our planet. Ari is the Co-Founder of Zingerman's Delicatessen, which is a nationally renowned food icon. Zingerman’s Community of Businesses has grown to 10 businesses with over 750 employees and over $55 million in annual revenue. Over the years,...

Binge Marketing is a marketing strategy that has you developing a long-term relationship with your audience using serial content. This fosters trust and lays a foundation for the realisation of your marketing goals. The person behind this concept is Carlijn Postma, founder of the content marketing agency The Post and author of ‘Binge Marketing: The Best Scenario for Building Your Brand’. I invited Carlijn on to the show to find out how this methodology works, and how you can start implementing ...

Levy UK is the catering and hospitality partner to many of the UK's iconic sport, leisure, heritage, performing venues, conference and exhibition centres – and with that comes great responsibility for a green future. MD of Levy UK and Ireland Jon Davies shares how so much is possible to change within the catering and hospitality industry, and why the future is bright. In this inspiring conversation, we learn more about how such a large catering company is tackling food waste and working with su...