Stella’s Scoop

Hey folks, welcome back to Stella’s Scoop. In our current climate, luck and relentlessness are two main traits you need to grow a business - you have to be lucky enough to love what you do so much that you can be courageous, take risks, work overtime to get tasks done, and be adaptable in moments of hardship. Abhi and Frank are the founders of 6 of 1 hospitality group - a group with some great est...

Hey folks, welcome back to the Scoop podcast.  Living in London, I am spoiled for choice by delicious, great quality and easily accessible produce. From Tamworth pork chops, to wild, line-caught fish from Steve Hatt’s fishmongers, to fresh seasonal fruit and veg at local grocers, and milk and cheese from family-run dairies.  Today, I am speaking with Yvonne Yeoh, the Sales Director at Neal's Y...

Hey folks, welcome back to the Scoop podcast. Today, I am speaking with Kirk Haworth, the head chef and co-owner of Plates. This is the only Michelin-starred, fully plant-based restaurant in the UK. This idea arose from Kirk’s personal struggle with health; he began battling Lyme disease in his mid to late 20s after working in kitchens from the age of 12. The illness turned his life upside down, a...

Hey folks, welcome back to the Scoop podcast. Today, I am speaking with Kirk Haworth, the head chef and co-owner of Plates. This is the only Michelin-starred, fully plant-based restaurant in the UK. This idea arose from Kirk’s personal struggle with health; he began battling Lyme disease in his mid to late 20s after working in kitchens from the age of 12. The illness turned his life upside down, a...

Hey folks, welcome back to the Scoop podcast. I think a lot of us worry about decision-making, choosing the “right” thing and fulfilling other people’s expectations. Hopefully I’m not just projecting when I say that… but talking to Nick Tannett, the head chef of Moi in Soho, I recognised that mutual feeling. Nick became a chef at the age of 25. Previously, he had worked at the foreign office after...

Hey folks, today I’m joined by Ben Mackinnon, founder of E5 Bakehouse . What began in a railway arch in Hackney, with neighbours knocking on the door to get involved, has grown into a bakery rooted in community and craft, now with sites in Hackney, Poplar and the new V&A East Storehouse. We spoke about ancient grains, sourdough, and the myth that bread is “bad for you”. As someone who grew up...

I sit down with food & drink photographer and social media consultant Milly Kenny-Ryder to talk art, hospitality, branding, and building identity in the F&B world. I’m Stella, and I’m gonna take you out for dinner.  Find me! Follow the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and me on Instagram ⁠⁠@stellagent⁠⁠ for the latest updates.  Mentions: - Thoroughly Modern Milly Blog - Thoroughly Mo...

Hey folks, welcome back to the Scoop podcast. January is a funny time. We all make resolutions - quiet promises to ourselves to do things differently. Sometimes we don’t tell anyone. Maybe we’re scared we’ll fail, or worried about sticking our heads above the parapet. We wonder if anyone will want to come along with our slightly mad ideas. There’s something powerful in trusting your instincts - ta...

Hey folks, welcome back to the Scoop podcast.  This conversation was an absolute joy; I love talking to passionate front of house - maybe selfishly because that is what I do too. Ashley Best is the General Manager of 64 Goodge Street in Fitzrovia. Before this role, Ashley worked at Quality Chop House in Farringdon, Trinity in Clapham, and spent almost 10 years at The Ritz in Mayfair; he began his...

Hey folks, welcome back to the Scoop x Rogues podcast.  Sometimes, my favourite podcast moments happen before I’ve hit record. It was a scorcher that day; I had cycled all the way to Spitalfields and arrived on the doorstep of The Golden Heart pub. Fumbling in my rucksack to check I had packed extra batteries, I awaited the arrival of the hospitality legend, and landlady of this iconic establishme...

Matt Mawtus, Director of Food & Beverage at Hide “I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference.” Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken Have I chosen the wrong path? I often deal with this internal battle myself; great angst and anguish regarding the reaching of some ‘unmeasurable potential’. Leaving my highly academic university with a 1st Class Honours degree, no one expe...

So you’ve finished service on a busy Thursday night: it’s 2 am, you’re off tomorrow, and dying for a nightcap. You’ve been steadily drinking filter coffee up until around 9 pm, when your section got so busy that you then didn’t drink water until midnight. It’s safe to say you’re not ready for bed just yet. There’s this place down the road, and it’s open till 4 am. The bartenders wear painters’ ove...

Today, I’m taking a step out of the kitchen and usual restaurant service to chat with Imme Ermgassen, one of the co-founders of Botivo. Imme invited me into her home for the interview - her dining room table is beautifully busy with children’s toys, high chairs, and now my recording equipment. She begins to tell me about her career trajectory, including a casual mention that her twins are around t...

Hey folks, welcome to Scoop. For far too long chefs have been at the forefront of hospitality’s social media stardom. Don’t get me wrong, I get it - chefs are often hidden, their work is presented and enjoyed by guests with relatively little interaction with those who created it. Yet, service is all out in the open, actually quite a vulnerable position to be in. We are constantly on show and consi...

Good morning, and welcome back to the Scoop podcast. Working in hotels and restaurants over the past few years, I’ve had the chance to serve and meet many incredible people in the industry. While helping open the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, I crossed paths with Kyle Lynch, the head chef of Ormer. In this episode, Kyle shares how studying away from home and working in the United States shaped his in...

Hey folks, welcome back to the Scoop podcast. Before Christmas, my mum and I binge-watched the Great British Bake Off. I am used to watching lovely home bakers from around the country on this show but similar to many other watchers, Dylan Bachelet caught our eye. A rambunctious, sharp-witted and creative 19-year-old positively bursting to tell us of his dream to become a chef. Now actively pursuin...

ROGUES X SCOOP - Adam Wood, Noble Rot Mayfair Hey folks, Happy New Year. I hope everyone in the industry is getting a well-deserved rest this January and recuperating after a crazy busy Christmas period! To start off our 2025 Rogues x Scoop collaborations, Zac Whittle and I interviewed the man with the most shining mentions on the podcast to date - Adam Wood, head chef at Noble Rot in Mayfair. Thr...

Hey folks, on today’s episode of Scoop we welcome Francesco Dibenedetto, the executive chef at Brooklands by Claude Bosi. Playing with pots and pans as toys as a baby, Francesco’s perspective of the culinary world is much greater than the plate itself. We talk about his family history on farms in Italy and his dedication to producers and growers especially in the UK and Italy utilising regenerativ...

Picture this, you go out for drinks and you get the “good” champagne. You know what you’re paying for: the craftmanship, the quality of the grapes and the production, and the labour - you get it. Now, do you consider the same factors when you wake up feeling slightly hungover, stick the kettle on and whip out a PG Tips teabag? Today, I’m here with Henrietta Lovell, the founder of the Rare Tea Comp...

ROGUES X SCOOP - Gabriel Waterhouse, The Water House Project Hey folks, picture this: it’s 2016 and you’re wondering what to do for the weekend. This professional chef is doing a supper club at his flat in Bethnal Green, and you’ve heard it’s pretty special. You message a group of friends and call the chef only to find out it’s fully booked for the next… three months! Here with another Rogues x Sc...

Bar Levan Today, I’m excited to chat with Mark Gurney and Matt Bushnell, the co-founders of Levan and Bar Levan in Peckham. Their journey is one of remarkable transformation—before venturing into the world of hospitality, Mark honed his skills in music and marketing, while Matt also dabbled in the corporate world as an environmental consultant. Now, they've turned their passions toward their love...


 Did you co-found a rooftop bar at the age of 20, then manage that whilst opening another restaurant at 25 full time? Yeah neither did I, but my guest today Mike Davies did just that. Mike is the chef owner of The Camberwell Arms and Frank’s Cafe in Peckham. 
 Born in South London, Mike only properly considered being a chef once he had completed a year studying at The University of Manchester. He...

Hey! It’s time for the next episode of the Scoop x Rogues collaboration. We are back for a natter with Meedu Saad, the head chef of Kiln in Soho. This establishment holds a special place in my heart - many first dates and fun nights out have started at Kiln and I was so excited to chat with the man behind the coals.   Born and raised in Tottenham, North London, Meedu was introduced to many differe...

Good morning folks! Apologies for going MIA for the past few weeks I have been opening a new hotel in Mayfair!  In this episode, I visited another hotel to chat with Patrick Powell, the executive head chef at Midland Grand Dining Room. This restaurant resides inside the iconic and beautiful Renaissance St Pancras Hotel.  Patrick mans the kitchen and the pass at Midland Grand. In 2019, he also open...

Data analyst turned Michelin Star chef, no one can deny that Josean Balotin, the head chef at Mountain deserves all the recognition he has received. Born and raised in Brazil, it isn’t surprising that the culinary world would whisk him away from his office desk as his mum is a pastry chef. Moving to London a mere 10 years ago, he began working as a kitchen porter and from day one he was determined...