SERVICES
Whether you just want to have a chat about some of the challenges you're facing or you're looking for more involved, ongoing support, these are the main areas I can work with you on.
You don't need to know exactly what you're looking for before getting in touch. We can work that out together.
I work directly with you to look at how your venue operates day to day, identifying areas that could be improved and working out how to make those changes practical for you and your team.
This could involve anything from reviewing your opening and closing procedures to improving service standards or changing the way your management team works. The aim is to make sure the processes you have in place actually work for your business, rather than simply looking good on paper.
Keeping on top of your stock and costs is one of the most common issues hospitality businesses face. It's also an area where small problems can go unnoticed for a long time. I will review how you're managing stock, purchasing, pricing and wastage to identify where money might be slipping through the cracks.
That might mean looking at your stock results and GP, reviewing supplier prices, checking recipe costs or improving the way stock is counted and controlled. The goal is to give you a clearer understanding of where your money is going and put measures in place to protect your margins.
Not only have I been counting stock myself and training others on the process for a long time, I've also spent the last year developing my own stock management software, Tally. This has meant getting into the nitty gritty details of stock control, costing and reporting, understanding how all those figures fit together and where problems can arise. It's also given me a much better understanding of how to get useful information out of the numbers.
Whether you're creating a new drinks menu or looking to improve an existing one, I can work with you to develop something that suits your venue, your customers and the team who will actually be making the drinks.
Creating the types of drinks that suit your guests is crucial here. There is no point putting on the most intricate, well-crafted, and balanced Martini of all time if you’re selling 150 Zombies on a Saturday night. Creating a great menu is as much about targeting what your guests actually want as it is about the drinks themselves being delicious.
I cover everything from cocktail recipes and menu pricing to preparation methods, specifications and training your bartenders to deliver the finished product consistently. A good menu needs to be exciting for customers, but it also needs to be practical to produce during a busy service and make financial sense for the business.
I've spent essentially all of my career training hospitality teams, from people working their first shift behind a bar to experienced managers taking on more responsibility. I can work with your team to improve their knowledge, confidence and the way they approach their roles.
Training can cover service standards, product knowledge, cocktail making, day-to-day procedures or management development. Everyone learns differently, so I adapt how I deliver training to suit the people I'm working with. The important thing is that everyone comes away understanding what they've learned and feeling confident enough to put it into practice.
Having clear procedures and useful resources in place makes everyone's job easier, particularly when you're training new starters, handing responsibilities over to managers or trying to maintain consistency across a team.
I can create SOPs, checklists, training materials, stock-control tools and other documents built around how your business actually operates. These are often included as part of the wider work I do with a venue, but they're also available as standalone projects if you already know what you need and simply haven't had the time to put it together.
Running a venue takes up enough time without also having to plan what you're posting on Instagram or work out how to promote your next event. I can work with you to review your current marketing activity, develop a realistic plan and make sure it fits around the day-to-day demands of running your business.
That could include social media strategy, content planning, promotional campaigns or improving your online presence, including building or updating your website. I can also arrange professional photography through a freelance collaborator where needed. The aim is to make it easier for customers to find your business, understand what you offer and give them a reason to visit, without creating even more work for you and your team.