The Cutlery Club Conversations

The Boiling Pot: When Leaders Avoid the Hard ConversationsIn hospitality, we have learnt to handle complaints from the customers, hopefully with total grace, but we're even better at avoiding a two-minute conversation with our own team and letting things bubble away to boiling point over months. Advita Patel — communications consultant, coach and author of Decoding Confidence — and I unpack why feedback goes so wrong, what a leader running on empty actually looks like, and the single question that dismantles unfair criticism. Plus: why energy is the habit everything else depends on, and why rest is not the same thing as laziness.You don't need to be a leader or in hospitality to appreciate the fundamental message here - avoidance is never the answer; and keeping your own personal energy tank topped up, is essential.Please give the podcast a follow if you've enjoyed listening in.

Chris King was one of the creators of Birch — Hotel of the Year within months of opening. Now he's doing it again with Crafted at Powdermills in East Sussex, recently nominated in the Boutique Hotelier Awards. Not that he chases awards, but they are good for business; although, as Chris learned, they are no guarantee of any long term success.This is a founder who understands that failure is only failure when the lessons aren't part of the bigger learning curve — someone who has learnt through being a sportsman, to shake himself down and go again, this time with all the experience and lessons that the demise of Birch taught him.In this episode of The Cutlery Club Conversations, recorded in late July at Crafted, his boutique hotel and members' club, Chris opens up about leadership: on being 'tough but fair', the coaching that changed how he shows up, and why hospitality is about 'feelings' above all else.We discuss life-friendly hotels, community, difficult conversations — and where he likes to escape to when he's off duty.You don't need to be in hospitality to enjoy this one. It's compact, but full of great stuff for any leader, in any industry. Chris is self-effacing and inspiring on many levels, and he has created something quite special with Crafted - go visit!

In this episode I meet up with Rob and Benita at ⁠Hokus Pokus⁠ in King's Cross, creators of ⁠Tonic Magazine ⁠— best described as a heady cocktail of drink, travel and adventure. During this conversation they share candidly about the realities of combining marriage with running a business together; Benita's journey surviving breast cancer; and why the magazine's Spotify playlists are part of that creative journey and compliment the words on the page.Find out about their favourite drinks, like ⁠Singani 63⁠, great bars (⁠The Natural Philosopher⁠) and brands, in a chat that shows the real people behind this brilliantly original brand.Thanks for listening in. I really hope you feel inclined to 'follow'.

Welcome to the table! In this episode, I am joined by the brilliant Alison Cork MBE – entrepreneur, interiors expert and all-round inspiration. She’s built businesses, shaped beautiful homes and is a fierce champion of women in business. Now in her 60's, she is more motivated, stronger and healthier than ever and her recent book, Fit & Fabulous over 50 reflects a huge shift in her approach to life now and her shift towards wellbeing in her personal and business life. We talk food, fitness, fave restaurants and personal values - it's a conversation that really highlights her integrity and vitality. She's exactly the kind of woman I would enjoy sitting next to at a dinner party, hence why I asked her to host a Cutlery Club Salon and why the guests found her to be such an inspiring speaker. She loves life, she thrives on challenge and she is insatiably curious. Oh, and she loves food and music - two of the most important things in life, in my opinion!I hope you enjoy this conversation (please forgive the slight sound issues) and enjoy getting to know the woman behind the huge success story.

In this November 2023 episode of The Cutlery Club Conversations I am chatting with the delightful food and drink writer, Andy Clarke. Andy is also well known as a Television Producer, having worked on some brilliant programmes like Saturday Kitchen and one of my absolute faves, ⁠Gordon, Gino and Fred.⁠ He also presents the summer day festivals, Pub in the Park so rubbing shoulders with top celebs is second nature to him. Thankfully, he remains as down to earth as ever and was still happy to hang out with little ole me in his favourite Bristol restaurant, Little French owned by one of his close friends, Freddy Bird. A first for Andy in April 2024 is a place on the judging panel - alongside the eminent Ken Hom - of the Golden Chopsticks Awards, co-founded by Gok Wan and now considered one of the food industry’s hottest tickets. The 2024 awards will take place at Royal Lancaster London on Monday 29th April 2024. It's the most fabulous night out so book your tickets and rub shoulders with some of the most exciting people in the food and drink industry, including this gorgeous man, who is always happy to say 'hi' and have a selfie with everyone. You can often catch him on the Alan Titchmarsh show, Love your Weekend, effortlessly knocking up delicious cocktails and advising us on all the top tipples. His recent Cocktail book, Home Bar was a triumph, so naturally the follow up House of Gin is much anticipated, so keep your eyes peeled for that in May. We eat, drink, chat and giggle, whilst talking food, wine, music, tv, fave celebrity friends from Angela Hartnett to Ken Hom; before moving on to the secrets to a good marriage. It’s all in there, so dive in folks! I can't imagine anyone not enjoying the bubblicious energy of Andy Clarke. He is a joy to be around. Genuine, kind, funny and honest. I do hope you enjoy listening. [A quick heads up, there’s background noise aplenty – it’s a busy restaurant after all – you may feel it adds to the ambience, or it might drive you nuts – let’s hope it’s the former!]

Here, we go off on a detour and chat domestics. To clean, or not to clean, that is the question. And that's it in a nutshell really.

The 3rd and final Course. The Rose is finished and we are on to the G&T's - it's a tad noisy, I'll say no more!

Part 2 - The Main Course, where we ditch the small talk, fill the glass with Rose and things get a little deeper. We talk about the woman behind the character and how being a soap star ingratiates you with the public in ways that other roles can't. Diane shares some invaluable advice for young aspiring actors and talks about the diversity of the roles she undertook before joining Eastenders. We touch on the importance of family, bucket lists and the challenges of being a black woman in the world of entertainment.

So, here I am, once again, enjoying another conversation with one of the special guests from a Cutlery Club Salon, my dear friend, Diane Parish, best known for her character as Denise in the award-winning British soap opera, Eastenders.   Diane hosted a Cutlery Club dinner earlier this year to celebrate International Women’s Day, alongside the brilliantly funny author and stand-up comedian, Rosie Wilby. They were such a superb combination, entertaining the 30 female guests with their funny stories and sharing some really personal nuanced views on love, life and femininity. It was quite special. What you’ll hear in this episode is just two good friends enjoying some girlie banter with a big helping of cackling laughter along the way (I warn you, there was wine and gin involved!) One for the girls, maybe! This episode, Part 1, aka 'The First Course' is all about food, cooking, kitchens, general small talk really …but we settle down in Part 2 for some more meaningful stuff about values, and career choices. There’s some solid advice thrown in there too for any aspiring young thespians; so take note as it’s invaluable stuff coming from someone with such a wealth of experience and knowledge of the entertainment industry. And finally we end on more light-hearted stuff; the gin kicks in, the volume notches up and Idris Elba is being recruited for some potential match-making support! The Outtakes were a conversational detour on Domesticity - or cleaning and cleaners, to be more precise. Whether it will inspire you to pick up a duster or employ a cleaner remains to be seen, but...you've been warned. So, hold on to your seats folks, it’s an ear burner at times as we are a rather obstreperous pair! But ultimately, it’s the real Diane Parish, a truly beautiful, sensitive and kind soul, in her most natural habitat – the garden, drinking wine! I really hope you enjoy listening.

In this episode of The Cutlery Club Conversations I talk to my lovely friend and very talented artist, David Gwinnutt. It's a very chilled conversation between two friends - me sipping tea on my sofa, David nursing a tequila hangover with a big glass of water! You'll get a sense of who he is from our banter and hopefully enjoy the light-heartedness of it all. Apologies for any sound discrepancies at the beginning - I'm a novice at this and am trying to embrace the imperfectness of all I do! He was an incredible guest speaker at one of the salons and I felt really fortunate to have him hosting with me, sharing the most amazing stories of all the iconic queer people he has photographed over the past few decades and how those opportunities came about. Those stories and anecdotes can also be found in his fabulous book, The White Camera Diaries, which has a permanent place on my coffee table at home. He has achieved many great things, from having his work featured in the National Portrait Gallery - and more recently, The Photographers Gallery in Romilly Street, London W1 - to creating the iconic Pink Jack flag which represents the LGBT community and symbolises inclusivity. If you'd like to know more about this brilliant man and his amazing work, check out his website - www.davidgwinnutt.com I really hope you enjoy. Do let me know your thoughts and feedback. Constructive ones only please!