What's Cooking? | A Podcast from Nory

A Second Act with the Global Director of Jamie Oliver Group

Ed Loftus on bringing Jamie's Italian back to the UK, scaling Jamie Oliver Group to 80+ sites in 24 countries, and the discipline behind a real second act. Very few people in UK hospitality ever get to attempt a real second act. Jamie Oliver Group has just done it: Jamie's Italian back in Leicester Square in March 2026, seven years after the 2019 administration that closed the UK estate. The man who's been at the company through all of it (nearly 15 years, employee number one of the post-2019 strategy) is Ed Loftus, Global Director of Jamie Oliver Restaurants. In this episode he walks Conor through what it actually took to get here: building globally first (80+ sites, 24 countries, 7 brand formats), the franchise-first pivot, the partnership architecture behind the UK return (Brava Hospitality Group with Cain International), and a 30% smaller menu doubling down on fresh pasta made on premises every day. Plus 16 global partners, a head office that's banned PDFs, why "my Jamie is not your Jamie" matters when scaling a celebrity-chef brand, the John Lewis Cookery School partnership, and Ed's frank case that "people" is the operational metric most operators ignore. KEY TAKEAWAYS * A good brand doesn't necessarily make a good business. The 2019 UK administration wasn't a demand problem, it was a flexibility-and-capital problem * Build globally first, then come back home. Jamie Oliver Group spent six years proving the model in 24 countries before relaunching in the UK * Franchising is a marriage. Partner selection is the single most important decision; the right partners weather macro shocks together * Simplicity scales. Complexity does not. The technology backbone (digital intranet, no PDFs, LMS, sentiment) starts from that principle * Don't recreate the past. When a brand returns to market after a setback, the question isn't what to bring back, it's how the strongest attributes should show up in today's market CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro: what a genuine second act looks like in hospitality 2:43 Welcome, Ed 3:12 From chef to global director: 15 years across kitchens, multi-site, commercial 6:42 The scale today: 80+ sites, 24 countries, 7 brand formats 7:32 Reading the 2019 administration: not demand, but flexibility and capital 10:35 Why he stayed: Jamie himself, the brand, and a challenge worth taking 11:16 Post-2019 strategy: franchise-first, employee number one, building a team 14:54 Localising a celebrity-chef brand without losing the DNA 18:05 The technology backbone: digital SOPs, LMS, sentiment, no PDFs 20:33 Franchising as a marriage: partner selection is everything 22:18 The UK return: how the Brava Hospitality Group partnership came together 25:18 What's different at the new Jamie's Italian: design, menu, fresh pasta 29:23 Multi-zoned spaces and the modern casual-dining environment 31:16 Building experiences outside the venue: John Lewis Cookery School 34:00 Working with Jamie: a creative force who lived the kitchens 37:20 What a week in the global director's life looks like 39:24 The 200-site ambition and what has to go right 40:43 The Quick Turn: rapid-fire questions 45:29 Shift Notes: Conor's closing reflections USEFUL LINKS & RESOURCES * Ed Loftus on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edloftus/ * Jamie Oliver Group: https://www.jamieolivergroup.com/ * Jamie's Italian: https://jamiesitalian.co.uk/ * Brava Hospitality Group: https://www.bravahospitalitygroup.com/ * Cain International: https://cainint.com/ * John Lewis Cookery School with Jamie: https://www.johnlewis.com/our-services/jamie-oliver-cooking-school CONNECT WITH THE SHOW * All What's Cooking episodes: https://www.nory.ai/podcasts [https://www.nory.ai/podcasts] * Nory: https://www.nory.ai/ [https://www.nory.ai/] * Nory blog: https://www.nory.ai/blog [https://www.nory.ai/blog] * Nory on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/asknory/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/asknory/] * Conor Sheridan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheridanconor/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheridanconor/]

Creams Cafe bite-size: Nobody needs a dessert

Missed the full episode with Oliver Rodbard, COO of Creams Cafe? Here's the bite-size cut. Keep an eye out for our next episode, featuring Ed Loftus, Group Director, Jamie Oliver Restaurants. Hosted by Conor Sheridan, CEO of Nory, the AI operating system for hospitality. LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rebuilding-the-franchise-with-the-coo-of-creams-cafe/id1825066598?i=1000770899848 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2Hw7MUETsBzoWbBV9bu3gc?si=zGAuftnkSQiJqcv598mTiw [https://open.spotify.com/episode/2Hw7MUETsBzoWbBV9bu3gc?si=zGAuftnkSQiJqcv598mTiw]  YouTube: https://youtu.be/3eigJuiT-4g?si=44ni1HAZbdmEyf3m CONNECT Oliver Rodbard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliverrodbard/ Conor Sheridan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheridanconor/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheridanconor/] Nory: https://www.nory.ai/ [https://www.nory.ai/] All What's Cooking episodes: https://www.nory.ai/podcasts [https://www.nory.ai/podcasts]

Rebuilding the Franchise with the COO of Creams Cafe

Creams Cafe COO Oliver Rodbard on scaling a franchise system, vertical integration as franchisee protection, and what it takes to make every visit count in a discretionary category. Oliver Rodbard, COO of Creams Cafe, sits down with Conor to walk through the operational reality of running a 98%-franchised, ~100-site business through UK family restaurant visits halving, aggregator commissions of 20 to 30%, and a tech transformation built to give margin back to franchisees, not extract it from them. 17 years across YUM! Brands, Pizza Hut Europe and Canada, Freshii, and Soul Foods Group give him a perspective rooted in both sides of the franchise table. He explains why vertical integration (Creams' own gelato and dry-mix plants) has held Creams inflation to ~19% while UK food service has run ~59.5%, why "trust governs the relationship, not the contract", and why every change Creams makes is consumer-tested then operationally tested before it lands. Plus a frank view on aggregators, the new Creams Direct delivery platform that's already done close to £1m in 10 weeks, and the philosophy that anchors all of it: when the category is discretionary and visits are down, every experience has to be worth it. KEY TAKEAWAYS * Trust, not the contract, governs the franchise relationship. The cleanest way to lose a franchisee is to forget that * Vertical integration done right is a margin gift to franchisees, not an extraction tool. Creams held inflation to ~19% while UK food service ran ~59.5% * The guest experience will never be better than the team-member experience. Build the back of house and the front follows * Capability beats control. Every franchise system thinks tighter rules = better outcomes; the durable answer is better-trained operators with more flexibility CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro: the franchising model and rebuilding trust 2:13 Welcome, Oliver 2:30 17 years across YUM!, Freshii, Soul Foods to Creams 5:21 The service model transformation: theatre over function 7:00 "Maniacal" testing: consumer panels, then operational reality 8:30 Brand purpose: "bringing people together" as operational framework 10:47 Nobody needs a dessert: the experience-led shift 12:30 How younger customers and hyperlocal community have changed engagement 14:30 Franchise mix: 60 franchisees across nearly 100 cafes 16:08 Onboarding: capability, cultural fit, and the "divorce is painful" filter 17:50 Multi-site progression: nobody's born with the skill set 21:23 When franchisees go quiet: re-reading "no news is good news" 23:40 Vertical integration: gelato in East London, mix in Northamptonshire 24:50 The numbers: 19% Creams inflation vs ~59.5% UK food service 29:22 Creams 2.0: tech, growth, kiosks for travel hubs 31:55 Site selection at scale 33:55 The tech stack: new EPOS, new app, Creams Direct 37:21 The Quick Turn: rapid-fire questions 42:25 Shift Notes: Conor's closing reflections USEFUL LINKS & RESOURCES * Oliver Rodbard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliverrodbard/ * Creams Cafe: https://www.creamscafe.com/ [https://www.creamscafe.com/]  * Creams Direct: https://www.creamscafe.com/order-online/ CONNECT WITH THE SHOW * All What's Cooking episodes: https://www.nory.ai/podcasts [https://www.nory.ai/podcasts] * Nory: https://www.nory.ai/ [https://www.nory.ai/] * Nory blog: https://www.nory.ai/blog [https://www.nory.ai/blog] * Nory on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/asknory/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/asknory/] * Conor Sheridan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheridanconor/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheridanconor/]

Hawksmoor bite-size: Eight weeks to open at peak trading

Missed the full episode with Louisa Richards, Restaurant Director, Hawksmoor? Here's the bite-size cut. Keep an eye out for our next episode, featuring Oliver Rodbard, Chief Operating Officer, Creams Cafe Hosted by Conor Sheridan, CEO of Nory, the AI operating system for hospitality. LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/eight-weeks-to-open-louisa-richards-restaurant-director/id1825066598?i=1000768692257  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4ay1zWTEixfw8z8UY43Dgk?si=1nYKu94xTP-WjM5x-zSvJQ  YouTube: https://youtu.be/e6AlaT0MeKQ?si=TYHgtFjnifMqae9z CONNECT Louisa Richards on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/louisa-richards-1b498942/ Conor Sheridan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheridanconor/ Nory: https://www.nory.ai/ All What's Cooking episodes: https://www.nory.ai/podcasts

Eight Weeks to Open: Louisa Richards, Restaurant Director, Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor restaurant director Louisa Richards on opening St Pancras in eight weeks at peak Christmas trading, and what it took to do it without breaking the culture that 13 years has built. Louisa Richards has been at Hawksmoor for nearly 13 years, opening Manchester, opening Edinburgh, running Air Street through Covid, and now overseeing the eight-site London estate as Restaurant Director. In this episode she walks Conor through the eight-week opening of Hawksmoor St Pancras: contracts signed in September, doors open in December, peak Christmas trading, training compressed to seven days, internal-only GM and head chef, tronc-matched pay to make internal moves fair, and the Martini bar that took everyone by surprise (more sold in one night than across the other seven London restaurants combined). Plus the echo-chamber risk of a 20-year senior team that's worked together since day one, why "calm leadership beats chaotic charisma" is her hiring filter, and why she's pushing Hawksmoor away from people-over-process before scale forces the issue. KEY TAKEAWAYS * A compressed opening only works on the back of long-tenure leadership; the St Pancras GM and head chef were both internal hires * Make internal moves fair: tronc-matched pay during peak trading periods turns "yes" into a real choice * People over process becomes a liability at scale; Hawksmoor's next phase is systemising what's currently in 12 GMs' heads * The metric most operators ignore is repeat custom. CSI is the headline; segmenting by "new vs lifer" is what changes operating behaviour * Calm leadership beats chaotic charisma. Heroics don't scale; consistency does CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro: speed vs standards in multi-site openings 1:49 Welcome, Louisa 2:10 13 years at Hawksmoor: Spitalfields, Manchester, Edinburgh, Air Street, London director 4:33 Opening St Pancras in eight weeks at peak Christmas trading 8:49 Pulling senior leadership out of the highest-volume sites 9:50 Tronc-matched pay so internal moves don't punish people 10:54 What "all hands on deck" actually looks like in support functions 12:34 Hiring on personality when training is compressed to seven days 17:16 Controlling covers per quarter-hour: protecting CSI in the soft launch 19:11 Holding culture across geographies, the long-tenure advantage 20:43 The echo-chamber risk and why people-over-process is dangerous at scale 24:44 KPIs: CSI as North Star, repeat custom as the underlooked metric 26:06 Heat-mapping covers per hour to find the soft hours in mature sites 29:09 People systems: traffic-light reviews, four impact tiers, clarity at scale 33:48 The "messy middle" of an opening, and how to lead through it 34:11 What surprised them: the Martini bar that broke the fridges 38:03 Non-negotiables: a head chef + GM you trust, slow + steady covers 38:29 What scaling Hawksmoor needs next: framework, tech, systems 40:36 The Quick Turn: rapid-fire questions 44:42 Shift Notes: Conor's closing reflections USEFUL LINKS & RESOURCES * Louisa Richards on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/louisa-richards-1b498942/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/louisa-richards-1b498942/] * Hawksmoor: https://thehawksmoor.com/ [https://thehawksmoor.com/] CONNECT WITH THE SHOW * All What's Cooking episodes: https://www.nory.ai/podcasts [https://www.nory.ai/podcasts] * Nory: https://www.nory.ai/ [https://www.nory.ai/] * Nory blog: https://www.nory.ai/blog [https://www.nory.ai/blog] * Nory on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/asknory/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/asknory/] * Conor Sheridan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheridanconor/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheridanconor/]