Perry Haydn Taylor: big fish

Today, I am sitting with Stuart Macdonald, the founder behind Manilife, the world’s first provenance led peanut butter brand. They source all of their hi-oleic peanuts from a single family-run farm in the Córdoba region of Argentina, and sell across the UK’s major supermarkets (estimated company valuation of close to £13 million ). He started the business in 2015 at the age of 25. After importing 1,000kg of peanuts across the Atlantic, his manufacturer bailed.  He heaved a tonne of peanuts to his bedroom, phoned 45 mates, sourced a rugby club kitchen and made 4,000 jars by hand. Stuart’s conviction, tenacity, and “fuck you” energy is what struck me. It's palpable and arresting. —--- QUOTES FROM STUART-----“I would say just start… 24 to 27 is the best time on earth to start a business. Even if you fail, you’ve learned more than in any job… you can win via ENERGY. If you start later, you have more experience, but your energy is less, so you have to win through smarts.”“When I was about 16, I got diagnosed with quite a serious illness… Wilson’s disease… from that moment on I basically developed a bit of a chip on my shoulder, LIKE… “The fuck you” attitude. There was always this sense that, if I didn’t go do something a bit out of the ordinary… if I wasn’t able to take a bit of a risk, then I’d bottled it.”“Quit your day job as late as you possibly can. For those 11 months I was getting in at six, doing the day job, and leaving at seven.”—---------------Exclusive episode - win 20% off Manilife peanut butter using the special discount code below:Discount code: PhoebeEats20

This August, I walked through Borough Market with my Dad, Jim Averdieck, to hear how he built three businesses from scratch. Inspired by Belgian patisserie, Jim began developing the now-famous Gü chocolate soufflé in the late ’90s, around the kitchen table of our family home in Brussels. When we moved back to London, Gü launched into UK supermarkets in 2003. Within its first full year of trading, the business reached £3 million in turnover, built from roughly £60,000 of initial seed capital. In 2010, Gü was sold to Noble Foods for £32 million.In 2015, Jim spotted the growing shift towards dairy-free and plant-based eating and launched The Coconut Collaborative, creating a range of natural coconut yoghurts and desserts. Today, it’s one of Europe’s fastest-growing dairy-free brands. In 2026, he expanded the brand further with coconut water, kefir and single cream.And most recently, Jim launched Spooners Desserts, bringing American-style cookie dough to the UK — indulgent, unapologetic and designed to be eaten straight from the tub or baked into a skillet and shared.25 years. Three businesses. One serial entrepreneur. From a daughter's perspective. This is the story of how my dad did it. 

Overloading on Ox Liver at University?Most students lived on instant noodles. Chef Adam Spicer was eating Ox Liver. Since he was 18, Adam has never followed the crowd - experimenting with forgotten cuts of meat and challenging what belongs on a plate.Now, as Head Chef at The Greyhound Inn, in Pettistree, Suffolk, he's redefining modern British cooking, through blood, bone marrow, fire and flavor.Alongside founders Will Orrock and Cassidy Hughes, he has transformed this historic pub, The GREinto one of the most talked-about locations.And even Telegraph critic William Sitwell described Adam's cooking as:"A tour de force of gutsy, hearty, flavourful food."His food is provocative, primal. He’s interested in reminding you that animals have hearts, bones, tongues, livers and stories.On the menu today?Cured Iberian Pork Shoulder. Fried Artichokes, Cow’s Curd, Pettistree Honey and Bronze Fennel. Sardines with Bloody Mary sauce and lovage.Aged Longhorn Rump with roasted bone marrow and bone sauce.Baron Bigod and Eccles Cake. And recently, he's been experimenting with beef heart tartare.You may also recognise him as a finalist from MasterChef: The Professionals.Today we're talking about obsession, creativity, criticism, how to cut through the noise and build reputation,  the challenges of being a chef in 2026.

I’m here with Tess Reed in Shepherds Bush, West London, the Founder of All Dressed Up. Tess trained at Leith’s cooking school, then worked as a contracted private chef for The Bondi Kitchen (catering for actors/directors). She worked for The Coconut Collab, as well as Food innovations solutions and Simply Cooked, before founding All Dressed Up in 2024. In 2025, she won her Great Taste Award. Only 2 years after launch, the brand can be seen in Waitrose, Coop, Wholefoods, Booths, Fenwick's, Bayley and Sage and Panzers (shout out Michelle at panzers - buys and welcome independent start-up brands into her hot deli in St Johns Wood).  Underwhelmed by supermarket dressings, full of saturated fats, emulsifiers and refined sugars, Tess decided to make dressings using complete natural ingredients.

I’m sitting in Park Royal, at Bigham’s HQ, the man behind those gourmet, premium meals. Not to be confused with the plastic, fork pricked "ready meals" that get shoved in a microwave and gobbled up in under 60 seconds. Charlie has thoughtfully crafted his recipes to be cooked in a hot oven and enjoyed around a candle lit dining room table. He redefined what eating at home could look like in the 90s, with his introduction of restaurant quality ingredients.In October 2025, the entrepreneur boldly launched a new range of “brasserie meals” - three times the price of his traditional offering (£29.95) which caused an uproar amongst left wing journalists, calling his food "tory slop". The range includes a Beef wellington,  Venison bourguignon, Salmon wellington, Confit duck, and Coq Au Vin. This spring, Bighams launched a range of Asian pan fried noodle dishes (Chicken Pad Thai, Singapore King Prawn Laksa, a Teriyaki Chicken Yakisoba and Chilli Beef Noodles) selling at the humble price of £6.95. Perhaps marking a eureka..."I hear you, we need to reduce our prices" moment?!In a time where restaurants, pubs, bars are barely making profit, 30 year olds struggle to pay their monthly rent, Ozempic and Mounjaro jabs are shredding waist lines, and Gen z is far more inclined to be isolating and scrolling on hinge than having sex, I am here today to explore how Bigham’s brand remains ACHINGLY RELEVANT IN 2026…and specifically how he speaking to my generation of consumers.

I’m sitting in Gràcia, Barcelona with Amelia Christie Miller, Founder of the BOLD BEAN CO. I wanted to find out how Amelia grew a £7M+ brand in 5 years… from jarred beans.A supermarket aisle, typically associated with war rationing (tinned sweetcorn, Heinz baked beans, spam, tinned tuna) has been redefined and MADE SEXY by the Bold Bean Co. An unprecedented transformation of canned goods!In the era of Yotam Ottolenghi-inspired, plant-rich cooking, Amelia has turned humble legumes into something indulgent and elevated: melt in your mouth, tender heirloom beans worth obsessing over.She is an author of …."Full of Beans: Delicious Beany Recipes to Obsess Over" (2025): An instant Sunday Times bestseller and "Bold Beans: Recipes to get your Pulse Racing": She launched the business in 2021 and is now stocked in all major retailers.The brand is B CORP certified, won Grocer’s start up of the year 2023, and most recently featured on Dragons Den.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From her Hackney flat to Virgin Atlantic airlines. 8 years of graft paid off for Florence Cherruault. She built a category-defining drinks brand… while navigating motherhood. Vanity Fair described it as “The Best Bloody Mary Base Known to Man.”All natural. Vegan. And made on a farm in Suffolk.Florence had the idea whilst in New York. She tasted a Pickleback shot (whiskey followed by a pickle brine chaser) and was obsessed. She brought the concept back to London and started experimenting with recipes in her kitchen sink. She felt mad but kept going.Pickle juice and Bloody Mary's are now seriously trendy.Carlos Alcaraz famously drinks pickle juice to cure muscle cramps... full of electrolytes and salts to improve hydration...Florence has tapped in a huge wellness trend. Dua Lipa enjoys pickle brine with Coke Cola and Jalapeños.In this episode, we unpick start-up mentality (the importance of being stubborn), pregnancy and entrepreneurship, how to keep going when the world thinks you are mad for pickling juice and spiced tomato mixer in your Mum's garden shed. 2-3% of female founders secure investment. Florence reveals the tribulations behind getting funding. Often met with a mansplaining and criticism.Listen now to this story of sheer graft and tenacity. Stockists include: Waitrose, Wholefoods, Virgin Atlantic, Guacho Restaurants, GRIND, Firmdale hotels, Côte Brasseries, Ottolenghi, Belvedere Group, Pophams, The Arts Club, Avanti Trains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Grimley speaks candidly about the realities of building four hospitality businesses from the ground up, with ZERO SAVINGS OR INVESTMENT. He didn’t start in a boardroom. He started in the heat of the kitchen.Grimley entered professional kitchens at just 17, training in the UK under celebrated chefs including Jean-Christophe Novelli, Marco Pierre White, and Tony Fleming. Those formative years in London’s demanding culinary environment laid the foundations for a career defined by discipline, precision and ambition. His career later took him across the globe, with roles at renowned destinations including Jumeirah Burj Al Arab in Dubai, a private island position at One&Only Reethi Rah in the Maldives, and ultimately to the Caribbean as Executive Chef at Carlisle Bay in Antigua.In 2010, Grimley made the pivotal leap from chef to entrepreneur, founding Rocks Group and opening its flagship restaurant, Sheer Rocks, at Cocobay Resort. Perched dramatically on Antigua’s west coast cliffs, Sheer Rocks quickly gained international recognition for its Mediterranean-inspired tapas, tasting menus, craft cocktails and iconic plunge pools. Over the following decade, Rocks Group launched Catherine’s Café, a revitalised French-inspired beachfront restaurant at Pigeon Point, English Harbour, Rokuni, with Asian-inspired cuisine and stunning design at Sugar Ridge, and most recently Fat Urchin, a marina-side pub and coastal kitchen in Jolly Harbour, pints and beer battered grouper fish.“Generating revenue in hospitality is one thing,” Grimley explains in the episode. “Extracting profit is another entirely. He also discusses revitalising Catherine’s Café while preserving its legacy, relocating Rokuni to allow the concept to grow, and expanding the Rocks Group portfolio with new projects such as Fat Urchin.The episode explores themes of leadership, reinvention, calculated risk and the transition from chef to CEO.“This isn’t just a story about food,” says host Phoebe Averdieck. “It’s about how Grimley turned discipline into desire, service into strategy and plates into power". Episode 06 of Phoebe Asks featuring Alex Grimley is available now on all major podcast platforms. For media inquiries or interviews, contact: Rachel Smyth at ⁠[email protected]⁠. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Perry Haydn Taylor is a genius. The Founder & Chief Stoker at big fish. big fish® is a 30 year old climate considerate brand design and marketing consultancy that helps innovate and grow brands of the future. Perry has worked across a cornucopia of brands...Biscuiteers, Cornishware, Sofa.com, Pooky lights, Boden, Howdah, Tyrrells, Charlie Bighams, KALLO, Clipper Tea, Gü, Giovanni Rana, Crosta Mollica, Yeo Valley. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dima is a Ukrainian born founder of the multi-award winning Ukrainian vodka brand, Dima’s Vodka. A vodka that was crafted not only to showcase Ukraine and its beautiful culture and traditions but also to showcase that vodka can be flavourful, sippable as well as smooth, due to Ukraine’s nutrient-rich and fertile black soil, chornozem. A story of resilience in the face of adversity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.