Why Independents Matter

What does it really take to start and grow an independent hospitality business? In this episode, we chat with three legends of Birmingham’s food and drink scene — Jack Brabant (Digbeth Dining Club), Tom Maher (Original Patty Men), and Henry Poultney (Grace + James).From street food beginnings and Krispy Kreme burgers to running neighbourhood hubs and navigating rising costs, it’s an hour of honest stories, practical insight, and pure indie hospitality gold.Whether you're running a business, starting one, or just passionate about great food — this is the episode for you.

In our first Member Spotlight podcast episode, we interview The RTG Kitchen to find out more about their catering business. Operating in London, The RTG Kitchen is a street food business that prides itself on providing fresh, delicious and high quality Caribbean cuisine.RTG owner Okeima Scarlett discusses his introduction to food, how he got into hospitality, starting up his own business and navigating the successes and challenges that come with that.Find out more about The RTG Kitchen: https://www.instagram.com/thertgkitchen/Read more NCASS Member Spotlight interviews: https://www.ncass.org.uk/resources/be-inspired/

In this episode of the NCASS podcast, NCASS CEO Alan Fox, NCASS Director Mark Laurie and Greg Gabriel of NCASS Member The Mixing Jug discuss applying for events and festivals.Poring over best practices, tips on how to make sure your application gets noticed and the value of being transparent with event organisers, we seek to dive right into the nitty gritty of applying for events and how you can give yourself the best chance of succeeding at any event / festival you're looking to trade at.We have loads of resources and content on the topic of festival and event catering that you can check out here: https://www.ncass.org.uk/ncass-guides/ Look out for more episodes covering this topic coming soon.

I am joined by Emily from KitStart as we explore the importance of a web presence for independent hospitality businesses in the modern climate. Does an independent business need a website? And how is a website more beneficial to a business than a social media platform? Listen as we answer these questions and more. NCASS are partnered with KitStart, who provide bespoke mobile-first web building kits that make it easy for anyone to create their perfect website. NCASS members receive an exclusive 20% discount for the first year.

This episode is the second part to the last episode, where we spoke to Mike about his time working in hospitality. In this episode you can expect lots of invaluable insight and advice as to how to make a success of a mobile coffee business such as key things to be aware of, the value in paying attention to detail and much more. You can find out more about Casbah Coffee and get in touch with Mike here: Casbah Coffee (@casbahcoffeeman) • Instagram photos and videos

In this episode of the NCASS Podcast I am joined by Mike Brennan who for many years ran the Casbah Coffee Man mobile coffee unit. Mike reminisces about his journey into independent hospitality, the challenges he faced and how those were overcome. Mike remains incredibly passionate about coffee and the industry and is keen to pass on his knowledge, just as he shares his wealth of expertise regarding the realities of trading as a mobile coffee unit here. Find out more about Mike and get in touch with him here Casbah Coffee (@casbahcoffeeman) • Instagram photos and videos Look out for the second part of this episode coming soon!

In this episode of the NCASS podcast, we welcome Becky and Sarah from the Account Managers team to discuss common enquiries they deal with, advice they give to people looking to embark on a journey in independent catering, some positive signs they get when people call up and lots more.

In this bitesize episode we discuss getting your compliance in line and keeping things in order, so you can trade legally with peace of mind. During the winter and quieter trading periods, it is a good idea to ensure all of your compliance needs are in hand and up to date. Listen as we run through a few areas to focus your attention on and get ahead of the game.

Jamie and Jon are back for the second part of our episode shining a light on the wonderful work the NCASS tech team do. As well as lifting a lid on just how the NCASS operation works from a tech point of view, we get a little bit foodie and discuss favourite eating establishments, and find out what dream catering ventures both have in mind!

We know that running your own independent hospitality business is tough, and we aim to help make the reality of this easier any way that we can. One aspect we focus on is to provide a voice for your business in the ear of government and governing bodies for the sector. In this bitesize episode we run through how we strive to do this, looking specifically at our current #empowerindependents campaign, aimed at bringing about much needed tax reforms for the sector. Find out more about our #empowerindependents campaign here.