We Recover Loudly – Personal Recovery and Mental Health Stories

This week's episode I chat with Chef Adam Simmonds. Adam has worked in some incredible kitchens such as Le Gavroche, The Ritz, The Conservatory at The Lanesborough, Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons … to mention just a few! Adam’s first Michelin star came in 2006 in Wales at Ynyshir Hall and then again in 2010 for three consecutive years at Danesfield House, near Marlow under his restaurant Adam Sim...

This week's episode is a conversation with Rachel Kerr Lapsley, Managing Director of Kelly’s Cause. Kelly’s Cause is a charity, started in honour of Kelly, an exceptionally talented chef who very sadly took her own life at 23 years old. Kelly's Cause is on a mission to improve and support the mental health and well-being of folks who work in the hospitality industry.  They are a leader i...

This week's episode is a conversation with founder of Recoverlution, Daniel Finchman. Daniel set up Recoverlution, 6 weeks after leaving rehab. Recoverlution is the worlds first recovery platform, dedicated to community and wellness. It is a space where people can connect with others in recovery and find support. It aims to shine a light on the positive and transformative power of recovery, a...

This week's episode is a conversation with founder of Not 9 to 5, Hassel Aviles. Not 9 to 5 is a non-profit global leader in mental health training and advocacy for the foodservice and hospitality sector. They do this by empowering industry professionals with practical education and tools to create meaningful community change. Not 9 to 5 aims to normalize workplace mental health training, pro...

This weeks bonus episode is the first in a series of solo episodes discussing ‘red flags’. When we talk about red flags, they take on many forms depending on the situation but if we broadly look at behavioural red flags, this refers to a to specific patterns of behaviour or actions that may raise concerns or indicate potential problems. These red flags may be about your own relationship with drugs...

This week's episode is a beautiful conversation with Kris Hall, the founder of The Burnt Chef Project, my mentor, and my friend. The Burnt Chef Project is a non-profit business tackling mental health issues in the hospitality industry. After seeking help for challenges with his own mental health, Kris founded the organisation after realising when he was open about his own experiences in the k...

This week's episode is a great conversation with former Chicago's hottest 'startender' and brand ambassador for Bacardi Single Malts Thomas Mooneyham. Thomas started in hospitality slinging scoops at an ice cream shop, then worked in a 'make your own' stir-fry restaurant, and eventually found himself behind the bar where he found his passion. Years of slinging cocktai...

This week’s episode is a conversation with Hannah Taylor. Hannah worked in hospitality from a young age, and climbed the management ladder rapidly, becoming a general manager in her early 20s. Quickly the lifestyle of ‘work hard / play hard’ and the constant pressure of management, meant that her drinking went from fun and joyful, to dangerous and isolated. She made the decision to stop in her mid...

In this week's episode self-titled formal 'toxic chef' Jasmin discusses her incredible career in hospitality. We discuss how it was growing up in the kitchen from such a young age, and the challenges that she faced when the business always took the priority over family time. We talk about being a woman in a male dominated industry, how as hospitality workers we deny our own personal...

This week’s episode tackles the work alcoholic. This is a word that carries so much stigma, shame and to be honest a lot of misunderstanding. I share my own opinion of the word and how my assumptions about the disease kept me from getting help. I discuss my own history with drinking, and how I feel now I am sober about the label of alcoholic. I mention resources such as those listed below if you w...

In this week's episode, I talk to the brilliant Noah, Head of Creative at Club Soda, the mindful drinking retail store recently awarded The Drinks Buisness 'Independant retailer of the year.' We talk about his journey from working in bands both on and off the stage, before getting into bars full time and how there are multiple parallels between his 'rock and roll life style&apo...

This week’s episode, I sit down with Henny Fox to discuss her career in hospitality which began when she moved to London in her late teens whilst also pursuing a career in music.  She has worked hard and succeeded in both fields, but all the while struggling with an increasingly challenging addiction to alcohol and cocaine.  She realised she could not carry on living this way and sought help by wo...

In this episode of my podcast, I wanted to open up about my personal journey with sobriety and the challenges that have come along with it. There's often a stigma and shame associated with addiction that can make it difficult to talk about, even with friends and loved ones. It's an uncomfortable experience to share my struggles with addiction and the choices I've made to get sober -...

In this episode, I am joined by Adam. He is an incredible chef and was once a business owner who was barely functioning on a mix of alcohol and drugs day in and day out. I talk to Adam about his career spiked with addiction, his late diagnosis of ADHD, cooking on cocaine and how he feels he was born an addict. This is a truly inspiring story of someone who has worked incredibly hard to get clean....

We Recover Loudly is a podcast shaking up conversations about addiction, recovery and drinking cultures in hospitality. Hospitality has been my family business for generations, it is in my blood and I truly believe there is no better industry to work in. However, the industry hides a dark secret - it is an industry rife with drug and alcohol abuse. In most jobs, drinking in the office or coming to...