July 5, 2022
Having worked in and around the UK hospitality sector for more than 30 years it goes without saying that each new day seems to bring its own unique challenges. From a personal point of view while in the moment some of these may seem to be quite serious, in all honesty I have been Read More…
June 1, 2022
In 1989 Kevin Costner stared in the film Field of Dreams. For those not familiar with the movie it revolves around baseball and is based on a novel Shoeless Joe. He was a famous baseball player who was involved in a match fixing scandal were 8 members of the Chicago White Sox team were Read More…
May 3, 2022
After having the same laptop for more years than I care to remember, 2021 finally saw me reluctantly have to replace it. The calls to my IT support had become more frequent and the final straw was that the operating system and my version of Microsoft Office were no longer going to be supported Read More…
April 12, 2022
Many (many) years ago not long after I joined what was then Bass, I attended a company conference. The attendees were drawn from what were know as Operating Companies from across the business, each looking after a particular geographical area. As part of one of the sessions there was an open discussion on how Read More…
March 2, 2022
The majority of work I do tends to be on specific projects; sometimes that is for national or even international brewing companies, sometimes it can be for multi-site businesses or even individual outlets. As much as I enjoy these projects what I also enjoy is delivering training, based on my industry knowledge and experience, Read More…
February 8, 2022
A number of years ago I attended an industry conference which looked at the latest trends which the hospitality sector could expect to see over the coming years. Although the event was excellent in its own right, the day was even better due to the conversations I was able to have with one of Read More…
January 10, 2022
Over the years I have attended all sorts of different functions, from very formal dinners to more informal team meetings and away days. I have also been involved in organising quite a few events. The biggest of these was as part of a team who created a companywide 2-day event at a conference centre. Read More…
December 3, 2021
A few years ago, the BBC began to show a TV program “Remarkable Places To Eat”. Famous chefs and restaurateurs would visit different parts of the world and introduce the viewer to some of their much-loved and often less well-known restaurants and cafés. One of my favourite episodes was from Paris, with Fred Sirieix Read More…
November 5, 2021
My first experience of the hospitality sector came when I was still at school, albeit in the 6th form. In the need for extra money to fund an ever-increasing social life I spotted an ad in the local paper for someone to help in the towns wine bar. Having successfully passed what can only Read More…
October 4, 2021
While 2020 was a difficult year across the board, it has been clear that certain people and some sectors suffered more than others. The two which particularly stood out to me were Hospitality and Retail. During the various regional and national lockdowns both of these had to contend with either restrictions on when or Read More…