Principle of Hospitality

Episode 112 - REFOCUS WEEK - Marketing Automation with Mark Ludweeks from My Guest List  In his current role as Head of Sales for MyGuestlist, Mark helps venues in the hospitality industry run better and more successful businesses. MyGuestlist is an all-in-one CRM & Marketing Automation platform, designed to help venues aggregate all their customer data in one place. Mark has over a decad...

Episode 111 - Phillip from Bread and Butter Project The Bread & Butter Project is Australia’s first social enterprise bakery, founded in 2013 by renowned bakers/pastry chefs, Paul Allam and David McGuinness, and provides training and employment pathways for refugees and people seeking asylum, in order to boost their prospects of successful resettlement, employment and a strong sense of belongi...

Episode 110 - A very honest conversation with UK hospitality coach Azher Rubbani on how has come through the other side with a positive mindset My next guest is Azher Rubbani is a Hospitality Coach with his own company TR corporate which helps restauranteurs & supply chain owners seeking to transform their business & their life by finding & exploiting new & alternative opportunitie...

Episode 109 - One of the most talented journalists in Australia Sofia Levin, gives us her thoughts on the current state of the industry I’m really excited to have a chat with our next guest Sofia Levin who is a Culinary Travel Journalist and has contributed to such media brands as SBS food, good food guide, and lonely planet, as well as having, has her own website Seasoned Traveller in which she i...

Episode 108 - How to build a design-focused food brand with soul and purpose with Sandra Foti from Piccolina Gelateria   Piccolina is a Gelato House residing in the Melbourne suburbs of Collingwood, Hawthorn St Kilda and is just over 5 years old. The Founder and today's guest Sandra Foti practised many of the gelato recipes when she started making it with her dad about 15 years ago. The resul...

Episode 107 - Pete Dillion - One of the best hospitality photographers in Australia  Pete Dillion a Victorian-based photographer who specialises in food, editorial and commercial photography. His clients have included the Mulberry Group, Treasury Wines, Sofitel Hotels, and Moet & Chandon, and is arguably one of the best food photographers in the country. This time in Melbourne has be...

Episode 106 - How to build a multi-venue food brand and still deliver on great customer service with Jim Hally from Chicken Central  Jim Hally is an outstanding leader in our industry.  He is highly dedicated, and he and his team deliver on a consistent product and customer experience every time.   In this podcast we talk about how he started the brand and scaled it to three stores,...

Episode 105 - Cara Divine from Bomba Rooftop Bar and the fantastic Youtube show 'Behind the Bar' on how the bar scene is going to thrive after COVID  Cara Devine is the Bar Manager at Bomba Rooftop Bar, as well as being a content creator and presenter on YouTube channel 'Behind the Bar with Cara Devine' where she spreads her love of all things bar and booze - especially sherry! In this podcas...

Episode 104 - I am joined by the Fish and Chip King in the UK Stelios Theocharous for a great conversation about the state of our two countries right now  In this great podcast, successful podcast and fish and chip legend Stelios and I sit down and talk about the state of the hospitality industry in both the UK and Australia.  We also chat about what makes the best fish batter and if chi...

Episode 103 - How the burger venues will keep kicking goals with Kieran Warwick from The Burger Collective Kieran founded The Burger Collective from a love of food and tech and a genuine passion for the restaurant space. His role as CEO is to grow revenue and partnerships and he also looks after the finances and capital-raising of the business. He strongly believes in giving power back t...

Episode 102 - How humility and courage are two of the most important traits to have in a kitchen with Executive Pastry Chef Kay-Lene Tan Melbourne-born, and Singapore-raised - This unique combination has fuelled the inspiration for Pastry Chef Kay-Lene Tan's dessert creations. Growing up in a Peranakan household, she was always surrounded by great food. She started her culinary journey in Singapor...

Episode 101 - The importance of supporting artisan brands with Patient Wolf Gin Co-Founder Dave Irwin Patient Wolf is an urban gin distillery, located in Southbank, Melbourne and founded by two mates, Matt and Dave. It was born from a belief that well crafted and considered things have no fear of time. Quality things. Original. Handcrafted. Defined. Measured. Made with equal parts expertise and at...

Episode 100 - How Bakers Delight, one of the biggest fresh bread retailers is going from strength to strength on it 40th Birthday with Joint-CEO David Christie David is the Joint CEO of Bakers Delight, a retail bakery business with over 600 locations across Australia, New Zealand, Canada and USA.  He grew up in southern Africa and studied Literature at the University of Cape Town, before rece...

Episode 99 - How will tech play an even more important role moving forward with Levi Aron from SevenRooms Tech will play such an important role in how hospitality brands function and remain profitable moving forward.  One of the most credible players in this space is SevenRooms. Levi Aron is the Chief Revenue Officer at SevenRooms, a guest experience platform for the hospitality industry. Pri...

Episode 98 - How are shopping centres assisting their food tenants with Chad Hermsen from QIC Retail Food venues in shopping centres have not had a loud voice in the general conversation of the challenges that the hospitality industry is facing. Chad Hermsen is one of the most talented and balanced people in retail leasing and is the Portfolio General Manager for QIC Retail in Victoria and Western...

Episode 97 - How to keep your mental health in check with our returning guest, Elaine Batho  Elaine Batho is a life coach and wellness consultant helping overworked stressed professionals to love life again.  Elaine works with her clients through personal coaching, workshops and transformational retreats.  Elaine brings a vast range of knowledge, experience, and from having overcome...

Episode 96 - How to automate your marketing strategy with Chrissy Symeonakis from Creative Little Soul Chrissy has nearly 20 years' experience working across all aspects of the hospitality industry, from slinging cocktails behind the bar to working as a publicity and events coordinator for some of Australia's finest restaurant and hotels. Approximately 7.5 years ago Chrissy was diagnosed with mult...

Episode 95 - How sustainable building practices will benefit the hospitality industry with Architect David Chenery from OSP in the UK David Chenery of Object Space Place is an interior architect and design consultant. Over the last four years, OSP has worked to understand the sustainability challenges facing the restaurant industry, and this now dominates their approach to design. They are current...

Episode 94 - Melissa the Prosecco Queen Melissa first fell in love with Prosecco, the utterly delightful Italian sparkling wine made from the Prosecco grape (now known in Italy as ‘Glera’), in 2003 on a trip to Italy, where she discovered that its delicate acidity, soft bubbles and citrus/floral nose made it the perfect wine to drink at any time of the day or night. The Prosecco Queen is a multi-f...

Episode 93 - What do we do with our industry next with Wil Slickers the champion of hotels and hospitality in the US This is an exceptional podcast as Wil Slickers, and I get together for a co-hosted show.  Wil Slickers is the champion of the hotel industry in the US with his very successful StayLux brand, which is one of the best luxury vacation rental companies in the US.  He also has...

Episode 92 - We talk about how airport food businesses are coping during this crisis with Shane Beyer from SSP Shane has significant management experience gained from managing organisations throughout Australia, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe spanning a range of industry sectors involving Retail, FMCG, Hospitality and QSR, encompassing franchised and corporate-owned stores.  Shane h...

Episode 91 - Justin Dry from the award-winning DTC wine brand Vinomofo  Justin Dry is an Entrepreneur, Investor and Co-Founder + CEO of Vinomofo, one of Australia’s fastest-growing companies.  Launched in April 2011 from a little garage in Adelaide, Vinomofo now operates in Australia, NZ and Singapore. Winners of Fastest Growing Company at the Deloitte Tech Fast 50 Awards 2013, Online Bu...

Episode 90 - All about the state of the hotel industry with Adam Knight from the Proven Principles Podcast  Adam Knight is the Principal at Knowing Hospitality, a Seattle based, full-service hotel management and consulting company that specializes in stabilizing and improving hotel businesses, driving better results for owners, and providing better experiences for guests and employees. G...

Episode 89 - The future of events with Nicole Santer from Eventbuzz360 Nicole began her events journey young, in her family catering business, and was instrumental in the expansion of the business into airlines, hospitals and hotel catering. “My family were very well known as the premier catering company in the community”. Nicole is highly driven and ambitious with a passion and flair for business...

Episode 88 - Josh Kopel and how the industry looks in California and the benefit of hindsight Josh walked the path for over 20 years. He started as a Busser, worked his way to Barback, then to Bartender to Bar manager to General manager to Owner/Operator. He has run everything from dive bars to fine dining restaurant and everything in between. He's one of the lucky restaurateurs that's made it. In...