The Ceres Podcast

In this episode, we talk to Derek Collinson from Polarfrost Seafoods. We cover so many topics relating to seafood, fishing, Brexit, and so on. To see more about what Derek does visit: http://polarfrost.com https://fasfa.co.uk

In this instalment, we talk to Marc & Jacques Verite from Bistrot Vérité in Birkdale, Southport. Was so good to have a chat to them both, we talk about so many great topics. Interestingly they are both from a family business, so it was good to see both their perspectives. I absolutely love these chaps, I can see why they are respected by so many in the industry.

John Molnar is the co-owner of The Cods Scallops Group based in East Midlands.  He has not long won independent fish & chip shop of the year award, so it was so good to sit down and have this talk. 

Gregg Howard is from Our Plaice in Hagley and The Chip Shed which operate from multiple locations in Warwickshire and the Cotswolds.   We talk about his journey, winning Fish & Chip Shop of the Year in 2004 and his role as the president of the National Federation of Fish Friers .  

Afroditi Krassa has worked with some fantastic clients on amazing projects. So it is pretty fascinating to hear about her journey and career in product design. Many wouldn't consider this an episode about hospitality, there is no doubt that it is. Design is essential if you want to get hospitality right. Clients that AK have worked with so far, Lucky Cat by Gordon Ramsay, Heston Blumenthal, Dishoo...

In this episode with Kelly & Tim Barnes we chat about their year as the Independent Fish & Chip Shop of the Year winners.  Was a great conversation about how they prepared for the awards and how its affected them after winning.  

I've known David for nearly ten years as you will hear, he's been a customer many years but for the most part but a good friend too.  I found this episode interesting, although I have known David for a long time, I didn't realise the extent of his health issues and how he overcomes them.  One thing I find amazing about David is his love for his family, it drives him forward.  David is very passion...

Eric Snaith is the owner of Titchwell Manor Hotel in Thornham but also Eric's Fish & Chips . In this episode we discuss his childhood in the hotel business, the blood sweat and tears of the family investing in Titchwell Manor Hotel, we also chat about nurturing younger staff, and giving people the freedom to make mistakes and helping them learn from them.

Andrew Crook is the President of the National Federation of Fish Friers, this is our second time having Andrew on the podcast.   Thank you to everyone who sent us in a question or concern, I give a lot of credit to Andrew for being upfront and honest. Don't be a lemon, if you have a fish & chip shop join the NFFF and be involved. Be a stakeholder in your industry. It is okay to disagree, just get...

Kate Nicholls is the CEO of UKHospitality, the authoritative voice representing the broad hospitality sector. Supporting everything from bars, coffee shops, contract catering, hotels, nightclubs, visitor attractions and other leisure venues. Its main aims are to represent the sector, promote the industry, share best practice and create a unique networking platform. The sector is a significant cont...

Mark Thomson, Ambassador to Scotland - Glenfiddich. Mark is a fascinating chap, there is something quite 007 about him. We bust some of the basic myths you hear about whisky, we talk about the whisky industry and why whisky is essential to get right in hospitality. I really found the topic of whisky really interesting because it is generally shrouded behind the mystery and so many so-called rules...

Andreas Antona is the chef patron of Simpsons Restaurant in Edgbaston & The Cross in Kenilworth, and they both hold one Michelin star.   He also holds an honorary doctorate for hospitality, and he also founded the Bocuse d'Or UK Academy and is the chairman.   If you like cookbooks and want to buy Andreas's books here are the links: Simpsons The Cookbook Modern French Cooking   Follow Andreas on Si...

Mark Gevaux, aka The Rib Man. Mark is a formidable person on twitter (and in real life), he doesn't suffer fools at all. You have to go to Brick Lane or West Ham and try his ribs, and if you cant, you must order his hot sauce from his website. Where to follow The Rib Man ➡️ Twitter ➡️ Instagram ➡️ Order some sauce...!

In this episode I talk to chef Stephen Terry Chef Patron of The Hardwick in Abergavenney.     Stephen has worked for Marco Pierre White, Nick Nairn, Michel Roux Junior, Allan Passard, Oliver Peyton and many other great roles including him buying out the walnut tree in Abergavenny before moving on to The Hardwick.   I am not just giving Stephen a shameless plug, but his book "inspired by" is pretty...

In this episode, I talk to Stuart Mitchell, one of the directors of Mitchell Potatoes based in Rugby. It is not every day that you get to talk to someone who's family has been involved with farming and potatoes since the 1880s. We discuss how his ancestors packed up all their belongings, family and animals and moved from Bathgate near Edinburgh and moved to Rugby. Mitchells are probably one of the...

Today's episode is with the renowned thalassophile Mitch Tonks, he is the co-founder of The Rockfish Group and co-owner with Mat Prowse of The Seahorse in Dartmouth.   Mitch is truly a proper gentleman, he was really generous with his time on such a busy day and we discussed so many interesting topics.   Want to follow Mitch on social? The Seahorse Dartmouth | Website | Instagram | Twitter | Faceb...

David Moore is the owner of Pied à Terre. Established in 1991 and won their first Michelin Star in 1993 and today they have 1 Michelin Star & 3 AA rosettes.   As a food and wine expert and hospitality consultant, Moore is a man of discerning tastes, both literally and figuratively speaking. We discuss David's journey in the industry, why you want to have a Michelin star or two, and how the industr...

Cem Oktem is from The Packet Bridge Fish & Chips in Bolton Le Sands & the soon to be Westgate Fish & Chips in Morecambe. I have known Cem for a good few years, as he and his brother have been friends and customers for some time. Similar to the conversation we had with Banico Zeniou in Episode 26 , we wanted to just sit down and have a casual conversation about the Fish & Chip business. Around now...

Adam Stokes is the co-owner of Adams Restaurant & The Oyster Club in Birmingham with his wife Natasha. Adam is a private person; he likes to keep his head down and keep the focus on the restaurants. All of his attention is on making the restaurants better one step at a time. I would like to congratulate the Adam & the team for retaining 1 Michelin Star at Adams and gaining a plate recognition for...

There isn't a lot that Stephen doesn't know about coffee and for that reason, many call him the coffee hunter. We discussed how Stephen went from the commodity desks at Goldman Sachs to trading speciality coffee, which didn't really exist before he started Mercanta, we discuss coffee roasting in the U.K, issues with fairtrade, global and local issues with coffee growing, the environment and many o...

Amanda Afiya currently works with Sauce Communications on a couple of client accounts. She is also Co-founder of Sauce Intelligence alongside Jo Barnes, Nikki Hancock & Giovanna Grossi. She is also Non-Executive Director of Cartwheel Recruitment, and like that is not enough she is also involved with Hospitality Action and Adopt a School a programme where chefs help get children interested in food....

This is a pretty relaxed episode, we discuss a little bit of his journey, modern customers buying off aggregator applications, dark kitchens, fish and chip prices against burger prices, we discuss food trends and generally have a casual conversation about the day to day topics relating to the fish and chip industry and hospitality industry. Banico is the co-owner of the Fylde Fish & Chips Group, y...

Johnny Pusztai is an expert butcher based in Nottingham, Johnny has owned Beedham & Sons since 1991 and now supplies not only retail customers but some excellent restaurants all over the UK. We had a good chat about most things meat and animal-related, but Johnny is also pretty much an expert in curing and smoking meats too. I am glad that Johnny knows his stuff because we covered a wide range of...

In this episode we talk to to Robin Sheppard from Bespoke Hotels. Bespoke Hotels are a group of 200 unique luxury hotels over the world. Robin is an absolute gentleman, we had a really good conversation about hotels, online booking systems, Recession, Brexit, and more importantly we talk about how he was afflicted with Gillian Barre syndrome.   Order his book today for a good read. A Solitary Conf...

In this episode we talk to Liam Dillon the (chef/proprietor) & Steve Locklin Front of House at The Boat Inn, Lichfield.   We discuss the perils of running a new restaurant, social media, guests chefs, customers expectations and how you manage them all whilst trying to push the business forward.   Be sure to subscribe to the ceres podcast, this way you can get regular updates automatically.   Book...