Hospitality Meets... with Phil Street

This week I sat down with the brilliant Ella de Beer co-founder of Electric Mayonnaise and one of those hospitality people whose career reminds you just how brilliantly unpredictable this industry can be.
From waitressing at 14 in South Africa (while telling everyone she was 16… obviously), to opening restaurants, running pubs, building multi-site businesses, leading people functions at brands like Ottolenghi & MJMK and now helping shape the next generation of hospitality leaders, Ella’s story is packed with graft, curiosity, and a healthy dose of “why not give that a go?”
Along the way there are some absolute hospitality gems… including the moment she handed Leonardo DiCaprio chicken on a stick, worked 3am Soho finishes fuelled by “Chinese tea” and helped open a 300 cover restaurant just as the financial crash hit. Ideal timing.
But underneath the brilliant stories is something deeper, a conversation about the power of hospitality as a career, the importance of learning by doing, and why developing people might just be the most important job our industry has.
In this episode, Ella and I get into…
• Starting in hospitality at 14 and discovering confidence through people
• Moving from South Africa to the Netherlands (and learning Dutch while running a restaurant)
• The chaos, glamour and 600-cover Saturdays of Soho hospitality in the early 2000s
• Why big volume restaurants teach you lessons you never forget
• The moment a 300-seat opening met the global financial crash
• What London operators learn the hard way when they buy countryside pubs
• Building "Sourced Market" at St Pancras and what happens when 1,500 small suppliers meet train station footfall
• Moving from operations into people leadership, and why ops experience changes everything
• The unique magic (and slightly chaotic brilliance) of working at Ottolenghi
• Why hospitality might be the best industry in the world for social mobility
• How Electric Mayonnaise is rethinking hospitality education through apprenticeships
• And why learning in hospitality should always be practical, human, and immediately useful
Some cracking quote-ables from Ella
“Hospitality is where I found my confidence”
“You could stand behind the till at St Pancras for eight hours and never stop serving”
“Hospitality has to be taught by people who’ve actually done it”
“We’re just teaching the way we all learned, by doing the job”
“Our responsibility is to show young people this industry can be a real career”
Why this episode is worth your ears
If you’ve ever started in hospitality with no real plan… and somehow found yourself building a career along the way, this episode will feel very familiar.
Ella’s story is a brilliant reminder that hospitality isn’t just about service or restaurants.
It’s about confidence, opportunity, learning on the job, and giving people a chance to grow into something bigger than they thought possible.
And if that doesn’t make you proud to be in hospitality…
You might be in the wrong trade
Show Partners
A big shout out to the first of today’s show partner, RotaCloud, the people management platform for shift-based teams.
RotaCloud lets managers create and share rotas, record attendance, and manage annual leave in minutes — all from a single, web-based app.
It makes work simple for your team, too, allowing them to check their rotas, request holiday, and even pick up extra shifts straight from their phones.
Try RotaCloud’s time-saving tools today by heading to https://rotacloud.com/phil

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

Still Building
Born in a hotel, thrown out of university
Built the UK’s biggest hospitality recruitment business, Lost control of it, Lost his driving licence, Broke his back.
You'd think this was a lesson in how not to do it?
But far from it!
This week on Hospitality Meets, I sit down with Roddy Watt, recruitment pioneer, hotel strategist, owner of one almighty black book and living proof that setbacks are not full stops, they’re commas.
In This Episode
Why most careers start by accident
“Aim at nothing and you’ll hit it” (a dartboard life lesson)
Building a 200 person recruitment empire
What happens when venture capital meets optimism
The week that tested everything
Why attitude beats experience
Why high performers don’t get a free pass
Relaunching again… because why not?

Built. Lost. Still Building
Roddy helped shape hospitality recruitment in the UK.
15 offices.
Hundreds of consultants.
Market leader.
Then came the flotation.
The numbers.
The pressure.
The reality check.
And a particularly memorable week involving:
• Losing his company
• Losing his driving licence
• Falling off a horse and breaking his back
His summary?
“That was a week.”
No violin music. Just perspective.
And learning that sometimes your worst week becomes the beginning of your next chapter.
This episode is funny, honest, slightly outrageous in places, and packed with lessons you only get from someone who’s been around the block a few times
🎧 Listen now: https://linktr.ee/Hospmeetspod
Show Partners
A big shout out to the first of today’s show partner, RotaCloud, the people management platform for shift-based teams.
RotaCloud lets managers create and share rotas, record attendance, and manage annual leave in minutes — all from a single, web-based app.
It makes work simple for your team, too, allowing them to check their rotas, request holiday, and even pick up extra shifts straight from their phones.
Try RotaCloud’s time-saving tools today by heading to https://rotacloud.com/phil

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

From Baptism of Fire to Michelin Leadership
This week on Hospitality Meets, Phil sits down with Douglas Balish - Executive Chef and Director at Grove of Narberth, Hotel Chef of the Year, and a man shaped by some of the toughest kitchens in the business.
From washing dishes in Ayrshire…
To getting “pans thrown at his head”
To learning to run in kitchens where nobody walked…
To leading his own Michelin starred brigade
And all of the lessons that come with that
This is a candid episode about pressure, humility, growth — and the fine line between breaking someone and building them.
In This Episode
Starting out as a 15 year old dishwasher in Scotland
Walking away from university to chase kitchens instead
The brutal reality of early Michelin kitchens
Why some pressure builds you, and some destroys you
Taking demotions to grow faster
Working at Bohemia and being completely out of his depth
The intensity of Whatley Manor
Moving to Australia to work at Quay
Why leadership is not one size fits all
Creating dishes when nobody’s ever let you create before

Baptism of Fire
Douglas doesn’t sugarcoat it. His early Michelin experience was brutal.
80-hour weeks.
Staff accommodation from hell.
Being told he was useless.
Working until nothing fazed him.
And yet, he doesn’t look back with bitterness.
He looks back with perspective.
Because for him, that pressure didn’t break him.
It sharpened him.
Not because bullying is good (Obviously) but because understanding why something is happening matters
The Psychology of Kitchens
There’s a fascinating thread in this episode. Douglas nearly studied psychology. Instead, he learned it in kitchens.
He talks openly about:
Realising he wasn’t as good as he thought
Being publicly humbled
Being dropped down the ranks
Taking ownership instead of walking away

And most importantly, how that shaped the leader he is today.
He’s clear:
Management isn’t one-size-fits-all.
Some chefs need an arm around them.
Some need structure.
Some need challenge.
The job is knowing the difference.
From Scotland to Sydney
His journey takes him through:
Jersey
The Cotswolds
Australia
Back to the UK to run his own restaurant

At Quay, he experienced world stage dining, huge covers, relentless precision, global recognition.
At smaller, creative restaurants, he discovered something else:
The kitchen has to suit the chef.
Because even talent struggles in the wrong environment.
Leadership Now
Today, at Grove of Narberth, Douglas does things differently.
Yes, standards are high.
Yes, precision matters.
But:
Young chefs are encouraged to create
Ideas are tested safely
Feedback is constructive
Growth is intentional

Because he remembers what it felt like to be thrown in without support.
And he’s determined to build strength, not just resilience.
Stand-Out Reflection
“At some point you’ve got to become head chef”
"And when you do — you’d better know who you are"
This episode is honest, Unfiltered, and full of insight for anyone leading teams under pressure
Show Partners
A big shout out to the first of today’s show partner, RotaCloud, the people management platform for shift-based teams.
RotaCloud lets managers create and share rotas, record attendance, and manage annual leave in minutes — all from a single, web-based app.
It makes work simple for your team, too, allowing them to check their rotas, request holiday, and even pick up extra shifts straight from their phones.
Try RotaCloud’s time-saving tools today by heading to https://rotacloud.com/phil

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

Building a Regenerative Farm Stay
This week on Hospitality Meets, Phil sits down with Caitlin Owens, Managing Director and co-owner of Fowlescombe Farm, a luxury farm stay in Devon built on regenerative farming principles.
What started as a family meat farm became a pub
What started as a consulting career became a hospitality adventure.
What started as “how hard can it be?” became… chlorine spraying out of beer lines.
This episode is about naivety, chaos, regenerative farming, and why hospitality might just be the most beautifully human industry of them all.
In This Episode
Quitting consultancy during lockdown to learn hospitality in Switzerland
Running a pub during the wild summer of 2021
The science (and danger) of cleaning beer lines
Why hospitality operates permanently on the edge of chaos
What consulting really taught her (hint: it’s not insurance maths)
Bringing regenerative farming into luxury hospitality
Why “low choice, high quality” beats endless options
The rise of the farm stay experience
Describing humanity to a Martian (yes, really)

From Farm to Fork, For Real
Fowlscombe isn’t just “farm to table” as a marketing line
The farm is regenerative
The soil health is measured
Animals fertilise the land naturally
Monoculture is avoided
The hospitality exists because of the land, not the other way around
Chaos, Sheep & Beer Showers
Running the family pub (The Millbrook) during post-lockdown mania meant:
Chlorine explosions in the cellar
Smelling permanently of ale
A sheep on a lead turning up for the village nativity
A horse tied to the drainpipe while the chef fed it carrots

Skills from “Outside” Hospitality
Caitlin didn’t climb the traditional hospitality ladder.
Her background in consultancy gave her:
Structured thinking
Clear communication
Confidence with tech providers
The ability to not be messed around by suppliers

A reminder that hospitality doesn’t need to be a closed shop.
Different backgrounds make stronger teams.
Regenerative Hospitality
For Caitlin, sustainability isn’t just environmental.
It’s about:
Less waste
Fewer food miles
Lower choice, higher quality
Doing less, but doing it exceptionally well

You won’t find 24-hour room service and 200 menu options.
You’ll find five carefully chosen cocktails.
One menu per day.
Ingredients picked from the garden.
Intentional. Grounded. Memorable.
Standout Line
“Hospitality operates on the edge of chaos. The critical success factor is staying on the right side of it”
This is an episode about:
Taking risks.
Backing instinct.
Building something rooted in the land.
And discovering that sometimes, the best leadership inspiration comes from Ted Lasso.
Show Partners
A big shout out to the first of today’s show partner, RotaCloud, the people management platform for shift-based teams.
RotaCloud lets managers create and share rotas, record attendance, and manage annual leave in minutes — all from a single, web-based app.
It makes work simple for your team, too, allowing them to check their rotas, request holiday, and even pick up extra shifts straight from their phones.
Try RotaCloud’s time-saving tools today by heading to https://rotacloud.com/phil

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

Why Understanding Drives Performance
This week on Hospitality Meets, Phil is joined by Will Fraser, co-founder of Pineapple, founder of 100 & First, and former professional rugby player.
What begins as a conversation about people data quickly becomes something deeper, a clear eyed look at why teams struggle, why talent alone isn’t enough, and why most performance problems come down to misunderstanding, not ability.
This is a calm, thoughtful episode about clarity, context, and why better conversations beat better strategies.
In This Episode
Why performance is a by-product, not something you can force
The difference between thinking you know something and actually knowing it
Why misunderstanding (not laziness) drives most workplace issues
What elite sport gets right about teams that business often gets wrong
The hidden cost of constant change and short term thinking
Why stability can be a genuine competitive advantage
How people data should start conversations, not end them

From Elite Sport to Hospitality
Will’s thinking was shaped during his time at Saracens, where a strong focus on people and culture transformed performance under pressure.
After injury ended his playing career, Will began applying those lessons in business, and quickly noticed a gap between how elite teams operate and how most organisations try to drive results.
The biggest difference?
Shared understanding
What the Data Shows
Through Pineapple, Will now works with hospitality businesses to understand patterns around:
Attrition
Internal progression
Team stability

One consistent insight stands out:
Greater stability and internal progression = lower turnover.
Simple. Powerful. Rarely acted on.
The Talent Myth
Will challenges the idea that great performers can simply be “moved” and expected to thrive.
Drawing on examples from football, including Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford, he explains why performance is often owned by the system, not just the individual.
Change the context, and performance usually dips.
Stand-Out Thoughts
“Most performance problems aren’t competence problems — they’re understanding problems”
“If you think something rather than know it, you haven’t had the conversation”
“Stability, not constant change, is often the real advantage”

Why Listen
This episode is for anyone who has:
Seen good people struggle in new roles
Felt pressure to change something without clarity on what
Wondered why common sense is so rarely common practice

It’s a reminder that teams don’t fail because they don’t care, they fail because they don’t understand.
And understanding only comes from time, clarity, and conversation.
Show Partners
A big shout out to the first of today’s show partner, RotaCloud, the people management platform for shift-based teams.
RotaCloud lets managers create and share rotas, record attendance, and manage annual leave in minutes — all from a single, web-based app.
It makes work simple for your team, too, allowing them to check their rotas, request holiday, and even pick up extra shifts straight from their phones.
Try RotaCloud’s time-saving tools today by heading to https://rotacloud.com/phil

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy