#122 Tim Lloyd - MD Captains Club Hotel

01/25/21 • 72 min

From honing his skills in hotels on an employed basis, to learning the art of the restauranteur with his own venues, to taking all of that knowledge and finally getting to apply it in his very own hotel with his partner Rob, Tim has been on a great hospitality journey.

And the captains club is a special kind of place. Wether simply attracting the locals for a light lunch, or a few cocktails as the sun sets on the river, or mingling with famous guests such as Hugh Grant or the Gallagher brothers, they’ve really found a way of becoming the heart of their local community. Tim is very humble and easy to chat to about his journey. He makes it all sound too easy, with a detail here, and the right team member there. But Tim and Robert have an attention for detail and a genuine love for their crazy hospitality adventure, no matter how challenging it gets. And they’ve had their challenges, from planning permission impacting the business model leaving them just £1 million pounds short in enough money to open up. And then having finally got the doors open wondering if they’d run out of cashflow before they could turn their dream into a success.

But 14 years later they are still going strong, or at least they were until the pandemic struck. But in typical Tim style he’s taking it in his stride and whilst nervous about the future, he and Rob are investing in the property and more than hoping, they are planning on re-opening for a busy summer. I hope you enjoy this chat about perseverance and the meandering journey life can take sometimes, but how, if you simply take the first step, then the adventure can be pretty rewarding and exciting.

Previous Episode

#121 Michel Roux Jr - Media Chef, Author & Le Gavroche

Michel Roux Jr is a true 'Human of Hospitality' who was practically born in a kitchen when his Mum went into labour whilst working in his Dad 'Albert Roux's' restaurant. Michel is well known, partly simply through the recognition of his Dad and Uncle opening Le Gavroche in 1967 and becoming the first British restaurant to be awarded 3 Michelin stars, but also via his extensive work on television through shows such as Masterchef the professionals, and most recently 'remarkable places to eat'.

Michel has also been on his own impressive culinary adventure working throughout Europe and even Hong Kong before taking over the helm at Le Gavroche in 1991.

In this conversation we get to touch on Michel’s family connections and following in the family legacy, we’ll chat about the business side of being a chef and the importance of knowing your numbers and that successful restaurants are rarely only about the quality of the food. We explore what else it takes and how you need to make a customer 'feel' to really enjoy their visit and want to return regularly. And we explore some of the cultural differences between France and the UK, as well as the differences in the casual dining sector, and even the street food scene, and wether we’ll ever see Michel in his own street food truck. And of course we cover the pandemic and Michel’s hopes for the future, both in business, but perhaps more importantly with his daughter and grandson.

You can follow Michel Roux Jr on twitter, or visit his online shop and read more about Le Gavroche on the website or via instagram.

Next Episode

#123 Jonathan Neame - CE of Shepherd Neame Brewers

We’re going big this week, and actually I don’t mean a big podcast, but a big business, chatting to Jonathan Neame, the chief executive of Shepherd Neame Brewers. With 320 pubs and pre pandemic turnover of £150 million they are bigger than the normal business I chat to on this podcast, but they have a really interesting family history. Having been around for over 300 years, and maintained family ownership I think they qualify as having had a very inspiring independent hospitality adventure.

Topic wise Jonathan is clearly well informed on all that is going on in the pub sector. We touch on navigating the pandemic and at least seeing some growth in the grocery and off sales side of the business, the responsibility of taking over a multi generational family businesses, how to navigate out of the pandemic and how different that may be in London compared to a proper community pub. Changing beer trends, sourcing hops, rents as both a tenant and landlord, future support to enable the sector to bounce back and even Brexit all crops up in our wide ranging chat.

Read more on the Shepherd Neame website, or follow Jonathan Neame on twitter, or find the brewery on instagram.