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< WHAT WE DO

< AREAS OF EXPERTISE


ADVICE, CONSULTANCY, DIRECTION, STRATEGY FOR ALL SECTORS OF HOSPITALITY, FOOD AND BEVERAGE
From award winning hotelier, chef, restaurateur and business consultant, to acclaimed writer for Country Life and many other national publications, I bring a creative, forward thinking, current and relevant skill set alongside vast experience in all aspects of hospitality business development. After commencing my career as a trainee with IHG in Park Lane London, I went on to spend 11 years as personal chef to HM The King, travelling the world, reimagining how food & drink was produced and served within The Royal Household. I went on to found one of the first Michelin starred pubs and a boutique hotel before commencing my career as a business advisor, board member and investor in hospitality businesses.

When engaging me, you get my personal attention, nothing is outsourced or passed down the line to a junior team. On occasions, I collaborate with specialists or experts in particular fields to provide further resource to projects and clients, but this is all under my leadership and responsibility. I create concepts and guide implementation, but also excel in business strategy; formulating the sustainable vision for years ahead.

In addition, I provide full troubleshooting and business turnaround services, and pre-opening feasibility reports. I advise and mentor numerous experienced and start up entrepreneurs, bringing fresh eyes to the challenge with the aim of differentiating the good business, from the good idea.

areas of expertise

Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Pub & Bar Consultancy

From a hotel staff canteen to a Michelin-starred dining room, I can help any establishment to launch, improve or roll out its food & beverage business.

  • Brainstorms, creative workshops and feasibility studies to get your business off to a flying start.
  • Fully scoped out menu design and improvements from our innovative and knowledgeable culinary team
  • Troubleshooting to improve standards, boost profits, save waste and drive footfall and revenue

I also offer a complete service to help you make your idea happen in a way that’s good business. I can deliver your concept to launch and beyond…

Public Space, Private Member Club & The Arts Consultancy

I can design or improve the existing customer experience and profitability associated with food and beverage in public spaces, whether a theatre, museum, gallery, private club or performance space.

You are in expert hands. I have over 15 years of advising some of the most iconic public spaces and venues under my belt, including The Royal Albert Hall, Royal Shakespeare Company, Garsington Opera, The Longleat Estate, The Lyric Hammersmith, The Mill at Sonning, The Lowry, Grange Festival and Picture House Cinemas.

Having worked on both the client and the caterer’s side, I have a unique insight into the challenges of operating a catering service from the perspective of a caterer, restaurateur and board of directors.

There is a whole range of services I provide, including:

  • Concept implementation
  • Strategic review
  • Operational consultancy
  • Tender documentation and management
  • Budget, forecast and future planning

Menu Development & Beverage Curation

I know food and drink, and but also retail product and FMCG; I can help you create, design or improve your menu or retail food product and take your business to the next level. I have helped some of the largest food suppliers alongside some niche, artisan producers; giving an objective view of the full spectrum of New Product Development for the food and drink business.

Business Audit and Diagnosis

If you are facing business difficulties; finance, operations, product quality or staffing for example, I can come a spend a day with you and diagnose the issues first hand, bringing instant, medium and long-term solutions and action plans.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, but I can use our experience to make an instant impact, with improvements happening immediately. The day would be attended by one or two of our expert team, specialists in your field, and together with you we can solve a multitude of issues in rapid time, and deliver the first steps to business recovery or improvement.

Included can be mystery dine or product evaluation, maximising the impact of  ‘fresh eyes’ on your business.

As the day unfolds and the requirements of the business are further identified, I create a clear “operational action plan” prioritising further actions required at this stage. This will be emailed to the business owner within 24 hours.

Concept Creation

I can create a brand new vision for you, either from your own ‘seed’ idea, or something from our own repertoire. Typically, I kick off with a number of draft options which can then be whittled down to a direction and concept of your choice. Adding on layers of detail as we go, I can then bring in all of our services to implement and launch the business on your behalf. Importantly, I can marry together concept and design with a sound and sustainable business outcome.

Turnkey Solutions

Whether you are a start-up or redefining your business, alongside a team of my hand picked and trusted industry colleagues, I can offer a turnkey solution, from concept creation/recreation right through to post launch support.

I understand that the key to success is gaining  buy-in and confidence in the project from yourselves and the team. It is therefore important to involve you in every step of the way by setting up weekly meetings and check backs within a predetermined critical path.

Below is an example of services within such a potential turnkey project:

• Market research
• Concept creation
• Brand & interior design
• Marcomms and marketing collateral
• Menu development & beverage curation
• Front of house and back of house space planning
• Operating supplies & equipment
• Procurement & supply chain
• Front of house and kitchen collateral
• Standard operating procedures
• Front of house and kitchen training
• Pre, launch and post launch support

Business Development & Expansion

Expanding a business creates many challenges. Using my experience, I can help you to achieve your ambitions, whether it is to increase the offer and sales in your existing site, or to roll out your business into multiple sites.

I can help you with the following:

  • Market analysis to determine the scope for expansion
  • Budget and forecasting for expansion
  • Investment and funding advice
  • Assistance and advice with site procurement
  • Brand and design development
  • Recruitment, training and key staff development
  • Implementation of manuals and training materials suited to multi-site operation
  • Marketing & promotion

areas of expertise

Hotel, Restaurant, Pub & Bar Consultancy

Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Pub & Bar Consultancy

From a hotel staff canteen to a Michelin-starred dining room, we can help any establishment to launch, improve or roll out its food & beverage business.
  • Brainstorms, creative workshops and feasibility studies to get your business off to a flying start.
  • Fully scoped out menu design and improvements from our innovative and knowledgeable culinary team
  • Troubleshooting to improve standards, boost profits, save waste and drive footfall and revenue
We also offer a complete service to help you make your idea happen in a way that’s good business. We will deliver your concept to launch and beyond…

Public Space, Private Member Club & The Arts Consultancy

Public Space, Private Member Club & The Arts Consultancy

We can design or improve the existing customer experience and profitability associated with food and beverage in public spaces, whether a theatre, museum, gallery, private club or performance space. You are in expert hands. We have over 10 years of advising some of the most iconic public spaces and venues under our belt, including The Royal Albert Hall, Royal Shakespeare Company, Garsington Opera, The Longleat Estate, The Lowry and Picture House Cinemas. Having worked on both the client and the caterer’s side, we have a unique insight into the challenges of operating a catering service from the perspective of a caterer, restaurateur and board of directors. There is a whole range of services we can provide, including:
  • Concept implementation
  • Strategic review
  • Operational consultancy
  • Tender documentation and management
  • Budget, forecast and future planning

Menu Development & Beverage Curation

Menu Development & Beverage Curation

We know food, and we know retail product; we can help you create, design or improve your menu or retail food product and take your business to the next level. We have helped some of the largest food suppliers alongside some niche, artisan producers; giving us an objective view of the full spectrum of New Product Development for the food and drink business. We have an array of talented chefs within our team each with their own specialisation.

Business Audit and Diagnosis

Business Audit and Diagnosis

If you are facing business difficulties; finance, operations, product quality or staffing for example, we can come a spend a day with you and diagnose the issues first hand, bringing instant, medium and long-term solutions and action plans. Rome wasn’t built in a day, but we can use our experience to make an instant impact, with improvements happening immediately. The day would be attended by one or two of our expert team, specialists in your field, and together with you we can solve a multitude of issues in rapid time, and deliver the first steps to business recovery or improvement. Included can be mystery dine or product evaluation, maximising the impact of our ‘fresh eyes’ on your business. As the day unfolds and the requirements of the business are further identified, we will create a clear “operational action plan” prioritising further actions required at this stage. This will be emailed to the business owner within 24 hours.

Concept Creation, Turnkey Solutions

Concept Creation

We can create a brand new vision for you, either from your own 'seed' idea, or something from our own repertoire. Typically, we kick off with a number of draft options which can then be whittled down to a direction and concept of your choice. Adding on layers of detail as we go, we can then bring in all of our services to implement and launch the business on your behalf. Importantly, we can marry together concept and design with a sound and sustainable business outcome. See our Case Studies for examples of our Concept Creation services.

Turnkey Solutions

Whether you are a start-up or redefining your business, we can offer a turnkey solution, from concept creation/recreation right through to post launch support. We are flexible in the way we work but understand that the key to success is gaining the buy-in and confidence in the project from yourselves and the team. It is therefore important to involve you in every step of the way by setting up weekly meetings and check backs within a predetermined critical path. Below is a selective list of services within such a potential turnkey project:
• Market research • Concept creation • Brand & interior design • Marcomms and marketing collateral • Menu development & beverage curation • Front of house and back of house space planning
• Operating supplies & equipment • Procurement & supply chain • Front of house and kitchen collateral • Standard operating procedures • Front of house and kitchen training • Pre, launch and post launch support

Business Development & Expansion

Business Development & Expansion

Expanding a business creates many challenges. Using our experience, we can help you to achieve your ambitions, whether it is to increase the offer and sales in your existing site, or to roll out your business into multiple sites. We can help you with the following:
  • Market analysis to determine the scope for expansion
  • Budget and forecasting for expansion
  • Investment and funding advice
  • Assistance and advice with site procurement
  • Brand and design development
  • Recruitment, training and key staff development
  • Implementation of manuals and training materials suited to multi-site operation
  • Marketing & promotion

"My business was heading for disaster, then Chris was introduced to me.
He helped me rethink and reinvent the business, offering both specific and general advice.
I now have a thriving and successful enterprise. I owe him so much."

Sally Hughes, Owner and Managing Director The Mill at Sonning