Season & Taste - Restaurant Leadership Training
Season & Taste is a group of restaurants in Bristol including Bravas, Gambas and Cargo Cantina.
I devised and delivered a leadership development workshop for a group of managers and the owners.
Season & Taste is a group of restaurants in Bristol including Bravas, Gambas and Cargo Cantina.
I devised and delivered a leadership development workshop for a group of managers and the owners. We focussed particularly on developing a coaching style of management to get more out of employees. The workshop concluded with everyone building their own personal action plan to take their learnings from the workshops to apply to their day-to-day work.
Session 1: You Welcome & Intros
The difference between leadership & management
Understand your own management and leadership style
Coaching Style of Management Emotional Intelligence What is Culture
Session 2 Your team Employee Engagement
Creating happy, strong, engaged motivated teams
Community and why it matters
How to get the best out of people
Managing performance and giving feedback
Handling Tough Conversations
Personal Action Plan
Beckford Group - Hospitality Management Training
The Beckford Group is a group of Bath and South West-based hospitality businesses. I designed and delivered a series of leadership workshops for the General Managers.
The Beckford Group is a group of Bath and South West-based hospitality businesses. I designed and delivered a series of leadership workshops for the General Managers. The General Managers are responsible for six restaurant, pub, hotels in Somerset, Bath and Wiltshire (Beckford Canteen, Beckford Bottle Shop, Beckford Arms, The Talbot Inn etc). They lead the front-of-house and kitchen teams.
Strengthen the leadership team
Boost productivity
Grow revenue and increase profitability
Strengthen the brand/ stand out in the market place
Improve employee engagement & wellbeing
Over two half-day face-to-face workshops we explored:
The difference between leadership & management
Understand your own management and leadership style
Emotional Intelligence
Building leadership confidence
Creating happy, strong, engaged motivated teams
How to get the best out of people How to boost retention
How to give effective feedback
Improving communication
Managing stress and building resilience
The teams engaged in some positive discussions about their experiences of managing a team, their leadership style and confidence.
Baker Hospitality - Leadership Training
Baker Hospitality is a group of pubs, restaurants and rooms in Essex. I created a six week management and leadership development programme for the General Managers and Assistant General Managers.
Baker Hospitality is a growing independent hospitality group based in Essex. The Sun Inn, Dedham opened in 2003, followed by Church Street Tavern in Colchester and most recently, The White Hart Inn on Mersea Island in 2022.
I created a blended programme of in-person and online leadership development workshops for the groups managers and assistant managers. Some of the participants had been in the business for many years but have been promoted as it has grown, others were relatively new to the business. None had had any formal management training previously and a priority was for them to get to know each other and improve communication and learning across the group.
Over 6 sessions we explored:
Leadership Styles and approaches - what’s your leadership style. The difference between leadership & management
Learn when to direct, delegate, and coach with ease and to adapt your approach as needed
The emotionally intelligent manager
Adult-to-adult management – building autonomy
Situational leadership - adapting your style
Tools for successful delegation
The importance of culture - vision - purpose - values
Building trust and empowering people using coaching skills
Team engagement
How to get the best out of people
How to retain and develop people
Managing performance and giving feedback
How to handle difficult conversations
Managing stress and building resilience
improving work / life balance
Dealing with change and things outside your control
Learn how to have healthy boundaries and habits that build resilience in yourself and those around you.
Create an action plan that will allow you to live and work sustainably and avoid burnout.
Building your impact as a leader - planning for the future
Lead others with confidence.
Find out tools to boost your impact and presence.
Increase self-awareness
Create a self-development plan
White Hart Inn, Mersea Island - new opening
The White Hart Inn, Mersea Island to reopen this spring after major refurbishment and under new management
Spring 2022 will see the relaunch of The White Hart Inn on Mersea Island as a pub with restaurant and rooms. It will be the third site operated by Piers Baker owner of the renowned local pub with rooms The Sun Inn, Dedham and bar & restaurant Church Street Tavern in Colchester.
The White Hart Inn, which has been closed since 2013, will benefit from a partial rebuild and major refurbishment to transform it into a tasteful, contemporary and eye-catching venue - somewhere for a casual pint, relaxed lunch or a special dinner with delicious, great value food. It will feel unique, tasteful and contemporary.
There will be light and welcoming bar and dining room with a vaulted ceiling and open kitchen, a cosy oak-panelled lounge with an open fire, plenty of outdoor seating in the terraced garden and six individually designed ensuite bedrooms, some with sea views.
Piers Baker says: “Mersea Island is a special place which deserves an independently owned pub with restaurant and rooms that welcomes locals as much as visitors. It has a great community many of whom are already friends and customers who have told us how much they look forward to us being there. I feel proud, grateful and excited to be opening in West Mersea and can’t wait to open our doors!”
The regularly changing menu will be a mix of casual bar food along with a restaurant menu using the best local ingredients. There will be roasts on Sunday and options for kids. On the bar, there’ll be real ale, craft lagers and cider, plenty of non-alcoholic options and a wine list similar to the award-winning lists at the sister venues.
Baker continues: “If someone told me back in March 2020 that I’d be opening a new, third venture in Spring 2022, I would never have believed them! The turmoil of the Covid-19 pandemic, with subsequent trials and tribulations of lockdowns, reopenings, restrictions and more lockdowns, made it impossible to look too far ahead. But when local businessman Lee Tyler, landlord of the White Hart Inn, approached me and was keen to work with Baker Hospitality on the basis of our reputation and local networks, I could immediately see the opportunity the site offered. The White Hart Inn has huge potential and ticks all the boxes we were looking for in a third site: a beautiful location close to the sea, a village feel on the high street opposite the church green, and a great island community.”
The exact opening date will be confirmed once work is underway but is expected around late May 2022.
White Hart Inn https://whitehartinnmersea.co.uk
About Baker Hospitality
Baker Hospitality has earned a reputation for warm and convivial inns and taverns with seriously delicious food and drinks. The Sun Inn, Dedham and Church Street Tavern, Colchester are seen as unique and consistently outstanding for every day as well as special occasions. They enjoy wide community support, have had continual national acclaim and awards.
The Sun Inn, Dedham opened in 2003, followed by Church Street Tavern, Colchester in 2014.
Parson's Nose Butchers, London
Parson’s Nose is a premium London butcher and grocer with a busy online shop and about to launch national delivery.
Parson’s Nose is a premium London butcher and grocer with stores in Fulham, South Kensington and Putney and offering 7 day/week delivery across South West London and soon to launch nationwide delivery through the jam-packed online shop.
Parson’s Nose was founded with one ambition in mind - to bring back the traditional high street butcher that was so loved from our childhood memories and encourage people to eat better quality ethically reared meat. Founded in 2007, Parson’s Nose is led by husband and wife team, Serena and Tony Hindhaugh and supported by a passionate and knowledgeable team of butchers and food lovers. The name, in case you’re wondering, comes from a joke about the back end of a chicken… and that the first shop opened in Parson’s Green!
The butchers source the finest free-range meat that is fully traceable and have worked with some of of the same farms since they opened, including Sutton Hoo Chicken, grass-fed beef from the Scottish lowlands and Plantation Pigs from Sussex. The team work closely with the producers, visiting the farms to understand the whole journey from the farm, through slaughter to butchery and onto your plate. They follow traditional butchery methods - breaking down the whole carcass and using all the meat.
In-store and online you will also find sustainably sourced fish (Fulham and online only), fruit and vegetables, condiments and pantry items, cheese, charcuterie and chef-curated meals, salads and soups created by the Parson’s Nose in partnership with leading chefs. Traditionally seen as an unhealthy option, Parson’s Nose is reinventing the ready meal by using only their counter meat and adding no additional sugars or salt. They call it cheating without the guilt. Meat, mixed meat and fish and fruit & veg boxes are also available as one-off orders or on a regular subscription.
The team is committed to offering consistently excellent customer service and the knowledgeable butchers are always on hand to offer advice on the best cuts of meat, how to cook, recipe ideas as well as being able to talk about the provenance of the meat. The website contains a wealth of cooking tips and recipes.
To offer customers all the convenience of supermarkets, Parson’s Nose offer delivery across West and South West London 7 days a week with same-day-delivery from 8am to 10pm on orders placed before 3pm, you can also add or edit your order on the day. Alternatively, you can order to click and collect in one of the three stores in Fulham, Putney & South Kensington.
In July 2021 the butchers will launch nationwide delivery.
The Sun Inn, Dedham
Fabulous food and rooms on the Essex/Suffolk border
“Polly has worked with me on The Sun Inn and Church Street Tavern since 2017. Her remit was to undertake PR on the back of The Sun Inn’s January 2018 refurbishment and increase occupancy in its guest rooms. At Church Street Tavern it was to seek opportunities to extend its reach to a wider audience. She has done all extremely successfully with a measurable increase in our room occupancy particularly. Polly is fast, diligent, keeps me informed of what she is focusing on and never fails to follow up. Her advice is valued on where/when/how to pitch ideas/events/offers. As an added bonus, she is meticulous on copy, a pedant on detail and captures the right tone for us. I thoroughly enjoy working with her, find her easy going and highly recommend her.”
In the heart of Constable Country on the Essex Suffolk border, The Sun Inn has been a watering hole for villagers and resting post for travellers for centuries. These days, it offers a convivial welcome to locals and visitors to Dedham Vale. The Sun Inn is an ideal spot to revive yourself with a pint of craft beer, an Italian-inspired meal, a tasty bar snack, or a good night’s sleep. Independently owned and run since 2003 by Piers Baker, this year The Sun Inn celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2018.
The Sun Inn is a proper coaching inn with an elm bar, an open beamed dining room, oak floors, a snug oak-panelled lounge. You will find open fires to keep warm by in the winter, and a peaceful garden and terrace to enjoy in the summer. After a major refurbishment in January 2018, there are bold colours, rich fabrics and bespoke furniture. The mood is congenial, relaxed and family-friendly, with jazz and Latin American background music adding to the appeal. There are newspapers to read, board games to play, and the panelled lounge has deep sofas to sink into.
The Sun Inn is renowned for fabulous seasonal food, inspired by Italy. Head Chef Jack Levine creates robust dishes that are big on flavour. The menu changes monthly and features classic pasta and risotto dishes: crab ravioli; squid with chilli and garlic; as well as more hearty main courses including game in season, rare-breed meat and day-boat landed fish. The menu always offers three cuts of British rare-breed steaks to suit every wallet – skirt, sirloin and prime bone-in-rib and on Sunday’s there’s a generous roast with seasonal changing accompaniments.
Puddings also have an Italian twist such as Espresso Semifreddo, Burnt Meringue, Caramel, Hazelnuts and feature seasonal fruit like Blood Orange Chocolate Mousse.
A new bar menu launched in January for this seeking something more casual to snack on in the characterful bar or the comfortable and cosy lounge. Enjoy a Coronation Sutton Hoo Chicken Sandwich, steamed mussels with Aspall cider or a charcuterie platter to share with friends or indulge in Jack’s Snack based on chef Jack’s midnight fridge raid.
Head Chef, Jack Levine says ‘Cooking with the seasons is very important to us - everything tastes better in its natural season and gets to us quicker so it’s fresher. Our area has a long tradition and perfect climate for growing fruit like apples and raspberries which arrive in our kitchen on the day they are picked. It almost goes without saying that we source produce locally when we can, but first and foremost ingredients have to taste great, if it doesn’t we look further afield.”
Drinks are just as important as the food and are sourced from producers who are as passionate about what they do - ales from Crouch Vale Brewery or Adnams and an eclectic award winning wine list brimming with rare treats.
Seven beautiful en-suite bedrooms, all individually decorated with sumptuous beds and luxurious linen retain their centuries-old character and are a perfect place to unwind. Rooms at the front overlook the beautiful church while those at the back enjoy views over the garden. Breakfast (which is also available to non-residents) includes the classics smoked salmon and scrambled eggs and a fry-up with local sausages and bacon as well as more unusual spinach and mushroom omelette with smoked cheese.
The village of Dedham and the countryside around it has changed little since it was immortalised by John Constable in the 18th century, yet it’s under two hours drive from London. Opposite the striking St Mary’s Church, visitors can explore the pretty village with its patchwork of colourful houses, or borrow bikes, hire a boat to explore the Stour Valley or take a gentle stroll to Flatford Mill.