The London Food Network

Isle of Raasay has a population of 160 people. The distillery Alasdair Day built there now exports to 50 countries. It took six years from breaking ground to bottling the first single malt. The inaugural release sold out before it shipped. And Alasdair's biggest regret is not starting ten years earlier. Alasdair is the co-founder and master distiller of Isle of Raasay Distillery, the first legal d...

Apply to be a guest: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSekx9sI7rV6qmzOkBRAJLn-nQmP8cfSc4jcfEOaWGTbqZhiCw/viewform 96 percent of people in the UK are deficient in fiber. Not a few percent. Not a minority. Nearly everyone. And most of them have no idea. Helen Johnston spent years as a glossy magazine editor, deputy at Cosmo and Marie Claire, before training as a nutritionist and building Succ...

Apply to be a guest: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSekx9sI7rV6qmzOkBRAJLn-nQmP8cfSc4jcfEOaWGTbqZhiCw/viewform In Lambeth, the allotment waiting list is 28 years. Not 28 months. Not 28 weeks. Twenty-eight years. William Gay did a freedom of information request to confirm it, and then decided to build the alternative. William is the co-founder of Roots Allotments, a fast-scaling UK busine...

Become a TLFN guest: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSekx9sI7rV6qmzOkBRAJLn-nQmP8cfSc4jcfEOaWGTbqZhiCw/viewform In 1940, 40 percent of the food on your table came from your own backyard. Today, almost none of it does. And in that one generation, something fundamental broke. Pete Russell is the founder of UBI (Out of Our Own Backyard) and a driving force behind The Decent Alliance. He has...

He walked into a three Michelin star kitchen at seven years old and never looked back. 46 years later, Antoine Melon is dismantling the idea that great hospitality belongs in a restaurant. In this episode, Antoine shares what 20 years across luxury hotels in 11 countries taught him about service, culture, and what guests actually wantm and why he co-founded HOMETAINMENT to bring private chef and h...

Rory Laffan is the founder of Bee Hospitality, a specialist recruitment agency with 24 years embedded in the UK hospitality sector. He has placed talent at some of the best-known restaurant brands in the country, from Blacklock and Pizza Pilgrims to international groups expanding into the UK market. In this episode, you will hear how Rory learned to stop chasing volume and start choosing clients w...

Food wholesale software changed how thousands of fresh food distributors work. Fresho co-founder Huw Birrell explains how they built it from a wrong idea into a $50M platform operating across 5 countries. Sebastian nearly lost his seafood business. Fresho automation is part of what saved it. Guest Links: Website: https://www.fresho.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/huw-birrell-2365aa3a/ S...

The hospitality industry is shrinking its teams, cutting sponsorship visas, and watching its best talent walk out the door for remote jobs. David Dawson has been recruiting for it since 2009 and has a front-row seat to all of it. David is the founder of DS Hospitality, a specialist hospitality recruitment agency placing front and back of house talent across the UK for independent hotels and high-e...

She was told she would never have children naturally. She started her law degree seven months pregnant. Then had four kids in five years. Built a catering company, ran 80 weddings a year, and somewhere in there launched an artisan ice cream brand. Then a functional food company backed by clinical trials. Then a franchise model. All while Brexit wiped out her exports overnight and cocoa prices quad...

Most hospitality businesses think their phone camera is good enough. Adrian Franklin has spent 16 years proving otherwise and the results speak for themselves. One client came back after four years without a single reminder. That's not luck. That's what quality builds. Adrian is the founder of Hospitality Media, a photography and videography agency serving restaurants, hotels, chefs, and food bran...

Most people assume vodka is the purest spirit on the shelf. It's clear, it's simple, it's just distilled grain and water. Tina Karras found out that's completely wrong, and it changed everything she built next. Tina is the founder of Tina's Organic Vodka, the only non-GMO verified vodka owned by a woman in the US, made from organic corn with a full ingredients list printed on the bottle. This conv...

James Passafaro walked into his first executive chef role at 26, drowning in binders, clipboards, and a team playing a constant game of telephone. He looked for a solution. There wasn't one. So he built it. James is the founder of Opsi, the restaurant cost control platform helping kitchens, production sites, and multi-site groups get their arms around food cost, inventory, and operations without n...

Betty Lu is the founder of Confetti Snacks. Her brand focuses on sustainability and health. She has visited sixty countries. She uses her global perspective to create unique flavors that fight food waste. Website: https://us.confettisnacks.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/betty-lu-994681176/ SPONSOR. This episode is sponsored by Embrace AI Consultancy. They help food and hospitality busi...

What if the creator economy is quietly replacing retail for food brands? In this episode of The London Food Network Podcast, host Sebastian Candelon sits down with Kirsten Maitland, Co-founder of Rebel Cheese, to explore how creator-led brands are reshaping the future of food, community, and direct to consumer growth. As traditional retail becomes more competitive and less predictable, founders ar...

In this episode of the London Food Network Podcast, I sit down with Gareth Evans , founder of Gareth Evans & Co Accountants , to talk about what really happens when the sh*t hits the fan in business. We dive into: 💼 The hidden financial pressures SME owners face 📊 Why ignoring the numbers is the quickest route to trouble ⚖️ Practical steps to regain control when cashflow is tight 🚀 Building...

In this conversation, Sebastian Candelon and Greg Swaby discuss the dynamic nature of the hospitality industry, exploring career pathways, the importance of data management, and the challenges faced in event planning. They emphasize the significance of customer experience, accountability, and the need for unique offerings in hospitality. The discussion also touches on the future of careers in the...

In this debut episode of The London Food Network Podcast , Sebastian sits down with Evin O’Riordan , founder of The Kernel Brewery — a name that helped shape modern British craft beer. Evin shares the real story behind The Kernel’s beginnings, from chaotic homebrew batches to becoming one of London’s most respected independent breweries. He opens up about: Brewing for curiosity, not consistency Wh...