Selected leadership experience
Food businesses.
Built to work.
A selection of my work across senior in-house and consultancy roles—combining food creativity with the systems, commercial thinking and leadership needed to make it perform.
Food strategy at multi-site scale
Making a much-loved food brand simpler, stronger and easier to scale.
My work with Franco Manca has focused on strengthening the food platform behind a large multi-site restaurant business.
The challenge was to bring greater clarity to the menu while reducing the complexity that naturally develops as an estate grows. Every decision needed to protect what customers love about the brand while making the food easier to buy, prepare and deliver consistently.
I redesigned the menu architecture, led significant SKU-reduction initiatives and reviewed cooking platforms to simplify kitchen execution and reduce pressure on teams. Detailed cost modelling, supplier alignment and structured reformulation supported stronger margins without allowing commercial decisions to dilute the food.
This was an estate-wide simplification programme involving Operations, Finance, Procurement and Marketing. It also included regulatory oversight, HFSS-aware reformulation, scalable frameworks for openings and launches, and high-profile chef collaborations that brought fresh creative energy to the brand.
Repeatable food systems that support growth without adding operational strain or eroding margin.
16 brands launched in 12 months
Scaling brilliant food ideas without losing what made them special.
At Sessions, I led the culinary team and worked closely with founders to turn distinctive food ideas into brands that could grow.
The challenge was to retain the personality, quality and story behind each concept while making it commercially viable and operationally repeatable. That meant developing the food hands-on with founders, while also building the recipes, supply chains, training and kitchen systems needed to deliver it consistently.
The brands had to work across food halls, restaurants and host kitchens, as well as through Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat. I worked with manufacturers and suppliers to create scalable products, developed end-to-end operating procedures and structured the commercial proposals behind each launch.
One of the biggest projects was opening a new 150-cover Sessions venue capable of delivering four different food brands from a single kitchen. In 12 months, the team launched 16 collaborative and scalable brands, including concepts with Big Has, Zoe Adjonyoh, Angelo Sato, Kenny Tutt, Eddie Huang, Ivan Orkin, Normans, Bross Bagels and Salt Shed.
A repeatable model for turning founder-led food ideas into structured brands capable of performing across multiple channels.
20+ chefs · 20+ events each week
Bringing structure, commercial control and new energy to an ambitious culinary business.
At Spook, I led a team of more than 20 fine-dining chefs delivering events for some of the world’s most recognised brands.
Spook had a bold ambition: to redefine the modern culinary experience through exceptional food, sustainability and social responsibility. With more than 20 events taking place each week, Culinary, Sales, Procurement, Warehouse and Logistics all needed to work as one connected team.
I restructured the culinary department, strengthened its leadership and created clearer accountability across the business. Shared ways of working, documented operating procedures and better systems improved food safety, recipe management, purchasing and project planning.
I introduced MarketMan to improve visibility over recipes and commercial performance, brought in RotaReady for structured labour modelling and rationalised the supplier base to support both efficiency and sustainability. I also led front- and back-of-house training for seasonal menu launches.
A more connected culinary operation with the leadership, systems and control needed to deliver complex events consistently and profitably.