In this episode, we explore how KATE Media’s dedicated on-table ordering and payment device is changing the way restaurants serve, sell, and scale. Host Chris Fletcher chats with Manuel Costin, Country Manager at KATE Media, about why a physical, brandable device outperforms QR codes — boosting guest control, staff efficiency, and average spend.
💡 What you’ll learn
📱 Why a physical device creates a smoother, faster ordering experience than QR codes
👩🍳 How staff use lights and smart watches to stay in sync during service peaks
💰 The measurable uplift in average order value and guest satisfaction
🔗 How KATE integrates seamlessly with POS, payments, loyalty, and reporting
🧁 Why brands like Heavenly Desserts and Elan Café are embracing the tech
🎧 Listen now on Spotify: Tech on Toast Podcast — On-Table Ordering That Works
🔗 Find KATE Media: katemedia.com | Connect with Manuel on LinkedIn
✨ Powered by Lightspeed — helping restaurants deliver seamless service and unforgettable guest experiences.
This series, Business in Better Shape, was born from new research by Tech on Toast and Square, The Long-Term Case for Smarter Tech Investment.We spoke to more than 150 hospitality leaders across the UK, uncovering an industry stuck between ambition and hesitation. Most hospitality teams buy tech only when something’s on fire - Square’s research shows just 6% plan purchases, while 94% react. That insight inspired this series, real conversations with operators who are finding ways to move forward, to simplify, to modernise without losing what makes hospitality human.Download the research here;https://www.techontoast.community/researchIn our second episode, Rachel Masing, People Director, Pool House - from the minds behind Topgolf & Puttshack, lays out how to flip that script and design people-first systems before opening day and use tech to create space for human leadership.Episode HighlightsTech-infused experience: ball & cue tracking, digitized scoring, and player-levelling to make pool competitive and inclusive.People blueprint: values → behaviours → role profiles → always-on feedback loops; hire for skill and behaviour.Scale by design: choose tools that work cross-city/country, not just for site #1.Noise killers: clear comms rules + project visibility (e.g., Slack for HQ, ClickUp for projects) so work doesn’t vanish into silos.Tech as strategy: not “keep the Wi-Fi up,” but a leader who scans the market and briefs teams on what to adopt next.AI where it helps: recruiting at scale and emerging AI-enabled coaching/L&D—augment humans, don’t replace them.GM = business owner: elevate GMs to run people, finance, sales, and ops—then upskill them to coach on site.Ownership mindset: equity for core teams and day-one employee ownership to hard-wire culture and commitment.Big missing piece: a light, continuous performance conversation tool (voice notes, auto-pull shift/attendance/peer signals, simple scheduling).This series is powered by Square - helping hospitality operators put their business in better shape through connected commerce, payments, and restaurant technology.https://squareup.com/gb/en
This week, Chris is joined (again!) by Christian Mouysset, Co-founder of Tenzo, the “glue” that brings sales, labour, inventory, reviews and reservations into one real-time view. We talk actionable KPIs over vanity metrics, why speed of feedback beats perfect dashboards, and how “performance ops” helps GMs move the needle on today’s shift, not next quarter’s report.
Highlights
From data overload to action: pick 3–5 KPIs and shine a light—things improve.
Real-time or it’s too late: feedback after lunch beats a board pack next week.
Shift-level impact: targets part-timers can act on within a three-hour window.
AI done right: ML for forecasting, LLMs for summaries, automation for delivery—different tools, different jobs.
Integrations that work: human relationships + solid APIs matter.
Best-of-breed vs all-in-one: choose your four dimensions (geo, sub-vertical, toolset, segment) and make trade-offs on purpose.
Hotels turning F&B inside-out: untapped revenue if ops and insight align.
Key takeaways:
Start with one KPI (e.g., spend per labour hour) and prove a win before adding more.
Put mobile, real-time insight in the GM’s hand; avoid 15 logins and 28-page PDFs.
Separate ML, LLMs and automation; don’t lump everything under “AI”.
Build integrations at the right granularity (hour, site, revenue centre).
Timestamps
01:45 – Tenzo in one line: the “glue” for restaurant data
04:50 – Data drowning vs focusing on what matters
06:40 – “Shine a light and it gets better” (Hard Rock lesson)
08:50 – Real-time targets teams can act on today
12:30 – Why mobile matters for GMs (and part-timers)
14:50 – AI: forecasting, summaries and automation—what’s what
18:30 – Trust, accuracy and adoption
20:45 – Integrations: people, APIs and the right granularity
24:30 – Best-of-breed vs all-in-one (choose your sacrifices)
26:55 – Industry pulse: cautious optimism and real ROI
28:40 – Hotels & F&B: new momentum
29:55 – How to reach Christian
Guest
Christian Mouysset – Co-founder, Tenzo
Web: gotenzo.com
Email: christian@gotenzo.com
Sponsor
Lightspeed — POS and payments built for busy service. Close the year strong.
Connect
Host: Chris Fletcher
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This series, Business in Better Shape, was born from new research by Tech on Toast and Square, The Long-Term Case for Smarter Tech Investment.We spoke to more than 150 hospitality leaders across the UK, uncovering an industry stuck between ambition and hesitation. Most hospitality teams buy tech only when something’s on fire - Square’s research shows just 6% plan purchases, while 94% react. That insight inspired this series, real conversations with operators who are finding ways to move forward, to simplify, to modernise without losing what makes hospitality human.Download the research here;https://www.techontoast.community/researchIn our third epsisode Jonny Bramwell, Regional Ops at Rosa’s Thai shares the operator’s view from the floor, pick tools that give time back, fit the brand, and lift service - not add noise.Episode HighlightsBrand-first fit: tech must support the Rosa’s experience (fast, fresh, friendly) without forcing guests down paths they don’t want.FSR: in full-service, tech should facilitate the theatre and human touch, not replace it.Test & learn (hard): run real trial sites, stress-test with frontline teams, and involve the partner directly in fixes.Time back for teams: main buying lens - does it reduce workload, protect work-life balance, and free GMs to plan (not just cover shifts)?Operator dashboard: mornings start with covers, like-for-like, delivery, and guest sentiment to decide where to lean in.Adoption signals: happier teams, lower turnover, stronger reviews, rising spend/head = tech is actually used and valued.Buying criteria: brand fit, guest experience, time back, scalable rollout (roadmaps alone are not enough).Work with reality: mistakes happen - what matters is a partner who stays to tweak and land it properly.Message to vendors: do the homework, tailor the pitch, and focus on the two outcomes that matter: enhance guest experience + coach/develop teams.This series is powered by Square - helping hospitality operators put their business in better shape through connected commerce, payments, and restaurant technology.https://squareup.com/gb/en
💡 Connectivity in hospitality is no longer optional — it’s as important as gas, water and electricity.
Host Chris Fletcher chats with Andy Maynard (IT Director, Caffè Nero) and Joe Strudwick (Head of National Accounts, Sky Business) about why reliable networks now power everything from card payments to coffee machines — and how smart operators are treating connectivity like a true utility, not an afterthought.
☕ How do you keep 600+ stores online?
💸 What’s the hidden cost of downtime?
🔐 And how do you build resilience that protects your brand, your teams and your guests?
Powered by: Sky Business
⏱️ Chapters
00:00 – Why connectivity is as vital as gas, water & electricity ⚡
01:24 – Meet Andy & Joe
02:09 – Inside Caffè Nero’s global network
05:08 – Every SaaS tool depends on uptime
08:01 – When Wi-Fi drops, operations stop
10:02 – Fibre, EPOS, IoT & SD-WAN explained
12:58 – Creating one “gold-standard” store setup
16:59 – Downtime = money on the floor 💷
17:42 – Staff experience and tech frustration
24:03 – Treating connectivity like a utility
30:04 – 4G failover & real-time monitoring
35:03 – The future: security, resilience & smarter sites
43:56 – Wrap-up & next steps
✨ Key Takeaways
⚙️ Connectivity is as essential as your utilities
🚀 Uptime = revenue, morale & guest loyalty
📶 Standardise, monitor & build in resilience
🕓 Match support to trading hours — not office hours
🔐 Cyber security is now a board-level topic
🎙️ Guests
Andy Maynard – IT Director, Caffè Nero
Joe Strudwick – Head of National Accounts, Sky Business
👋 Host: Chris Fletcher
🎛️ Production: Tech on Toast
🤝 Series Partner: Sky Business
AI isn’t here to replace ops, it’s here to amplify it. Laure Joyeux (Expansion & Partnerships, Inpulse) and Italo Vendramini (Head of Operations, La Maritxu) share how AI-driven forecasting powers inventory and purchasing, cutting order-building time, lifting availability, and reducing waste. We cover trust on the shop floor, onboarding and support, supplier integrations (incl. EDI/email), and what changes as you scale from one site to many.
Presented by Lightspeed Restaurant.
Guests
Laure Joyeux — Inpulse
Italo Vendramini — La Maritxu (Basque cheesecake bakery, London)
Key takeaways
• ~90%+ production accuracy trending to ~95% as models learn
• Pre-filled orders save ~50% time; managers keep final say
• Better availability, less spoilage, clearer supplier comms
• Two years’ sales history = day-one accuracy; new sites settle in ~2–3 months
Chapters
00:00 Intro & sponsor
02:00 Meet Laure & Italo
06:30 What Inpulse does
12:00 Trusting AI on site
18:30 Purchasing & suppliers
25:00 Onboarding & support
31:00 Scaling to multi-site
36:00 Final takeaways
This week, Chris sits down with Frederick Szydlowski, Co-founder of Embargo, to unpack how an all-in-one, best-in-class approach to loyalty, ordering and CRM can actually move the P&L—without burying teams in complexity.
Freddy’s story runs from professional basketball in Poland to JOE & THE JUICE on King’s Road, to building one of the UK’s highest-rated food & drink apps (4.9★).
We dig into why hospitality still loves loyalty but hates complexity, why first-party data beats data scrapbooks, and how Embargo’s product philosophy (own the journey end-to-end) drives adoption, repeat visits and higher direct sales, operators are reporting ~60% higher delivery volume via their own channels versus marketplaces.
We also cover Embargo’s expanding toolkit (web & table ordering, kiosks, payments), rapid onboarding (often live in 5–10 minutes per channel), and how their new AI models turn weather, behaviour and lookalike patterns into recommended campaigns you can run in minutes, not months.
Brought to you by Lightspeed. This festive season, let your tech do the heavy lifting. Close the year strong with Lightspeed Restaurant.
In this episode of the Tech on Toast Podcast, host Chris Fletcher sits down with David Dillon, Founder and CEO of UROCKED, the digital tipping platform making gratuities transparent, compliant, and fair for everyone in hospitality.
Born from a real operator problem, watching his mum spend hours calculating tips by hand, David built UROCKED to make life easier for hospitality teams and ensure every pound of gratuity reaches the people who earned it.
A year on from the UK Tipping Act, Chris and David unpack what’s changed (and what hasn’t), how technology is helping to close the trust gap, and why transparency is now essential to both compliance and culture.
They cover:
💡 The origins of UROCKED and how it simplifies tipping for operators and staff
⚖️ One year on from the Tipping Act – has it worked?
📱 Why digital tipping boosts transparency, retention, and guest trust
💷 What customers still misunderstand about service charges
📊 UROCKED’s latest research, 65% of staff rely on tips as part of their income
🤝 How tech can balance fairness, compliance, and business sustainability
From “tipping land” to the future of cashless gratitude, this is a refreshingly honest look at how digital innovation can make hospitality fairer, and how small changes can make a big difference to people’s lives.
🎧 Listen now and find out why UROCKED is redefining what it means to earn your tips.
🔗 Learn more at urocked.com
💚 Explore hospitality tech at techontoast.community
📍 Follow Tech on Toast on LinkedIn and Instagram for more industry conversations
This series, Business in Better Shape, was born from new research by Tech on Toast and Square, The Long-Term Case for Smarter Tech Investment.We spoke to more than 150 hospitality leaders across the UK, uncovering an industry stuck between ambition and hesitation.The data showed that while most operators see technology as essential to their future, only 18% would currently recommend their existing systems, and a striking 94% only adopt new tech when absolutely necessary. Fear of disruption, complex integrations, and a lack of vendor support are holding progress back.Download the research hereThat insight inspired this series, real conversations with operators who are finding ways to move forward, to simplify, to modernise without losing what makes hospitality human.In this first episode, host Chris Fletcher talks with Maria McCann, Operations Director at Blacklock, about fear of change, leading people through transformation, and how curiosity and courage can help hospitality get into better shape.Maria’s career spans Hard Rock Café, Shake Shack, Living Ventures, and now Blacklock, where she’s helping scale one of London’s most characterful restaurant brands without losing its soul.This conversation dives into the industry’s long-standing fear of change, how to lead teams through disruption, and why curiosity and calculated risk-taking are essential for hospitality’s future.Episode Highlights🥩 Blacklock’s identity: A modern British chop house, famous for roasts, chops, and sharing culture.🎓 Career path: From studying dietetics to falling in love with hospitality via Hard Rock, then on to Shake Shack and now Blacklock.😨 Why we fear change: Hospitality people are problem solvers who learn from crises, so change is often associated with past mistakes.💬 Communication platforms: When Meta shut down Workplace, Blacklock had to pivot fast without losing team connection.🤖 Tech adoption: The secret is listening to staff frustrations first, then finding solutions to those exact pain points.📊 Sentiment analysis: A “quiet revolution” for guest feedback, giving operators clarity without the overwhelm.🚴 Personal challenge: Maria is training for a 400km cycle in Cuba with the hospitality community, despite being scared of bikes!This series is powered by Square, helping hospitality operators put their business in better shape through connected commerce, payments, and restaurant technology.
In this episode of the Tech on Toast Podcast, Chris Fletcher sits down with Joel Robinson, founder of Openr – a data orchestration platform transforming how enterprise hospitality brands manage their tech stacks.Joel shares his journey from Sainsbury’s digital transformation team to leading digital strategy at Azzurri Group, before building Openr to solve one of hospitality’s biggest headaches: fragmented data and disconnected systems.💡 What you’ll learn in this episode:Why mid-market operators (20–30+ sites) need dedicated digital leadership earlier than ever.How Openr creates a single source of truth for product, pricing, and menu data across POS, delivery, websites, kiosks, and more.The three big wins for operators: efficiency, agility, and accuracy.How Stonegate Group went from updating prices just 3–4 times a year to hundreds of changes with confidence.Why Joel prefers “agile pricing” over “dynamic pricing” in hospitality.How AI is helping automate event menus and unlock new revenue streams.The future vision for Openr: optimising profitability across sales, volume, and margin.🎶 Bonus: Joel reveals his surprising past as a classical singer, with appearances at Carols from King’s and even on stage with Dizzee Rascal!Chapters:00:00 – Intro & Lightspeed sponsor02:00 – Meet Joel Robinson, Founder of Openr06:30 – Lessons from Sainsbury’s digital transformation13:40 – Moving into hospitality tech at Azzurri Group19:25 – Why mid-market brands need digital leaders sooner24:50 – The birth of Openr: solving fragmented data32:15 – Efficiency, agility & accuracy – Openr’s three key outcomes39:10 – Stonegate case study: price changes at scale47:30 – Agile pricing vs. dynamic pricing53:50 – Integrations & sweating your tech stack1:02:00 – Practical AI use cases in menu management1:11:20 – ROI stories & customer success1:18:40 – Openr’s future vision1:23:00 – Joel’s unexpected singing career 🎤1:28:00 – Where to find Joel & OpenrLinks & Resources:🌐 Openr: https://www.weareopener.com🔗 Connect with Joel Robinson on LinkedIn: Joel Robinson
In this episode of the Tech on Toast Podcast, Chris Fletcher sits down with Sean Trevaskis, co-founder of Growdash, to explore how restaurants can turn delivery data into powerful marketing strategies.
Sean shares his journey from working at Talabat and Deliveroo to launching Growdash, a restaurant growth platform that integrates with aggregators like Deliveroo, Uber Eats, and Just Eat. Together, they discuss:
Why restaurants often struggle with overwhelming delivery data
How Growdash helps operators measure incrementality vs. cannibalisation
The role of AI agent Aisha in becoming “the analyst in your pocket”
Key marketing metrics every operator should track
Differences between the Middle East and UK restaurant markets
The future of AI in restaurant marketing
If you’re a marketer or operator navigating the complexities of delivery platforms, this episode is packed with insights to help you optimise campaigns, grow sales, and take control of your data.
👉 Learn more about Growdash at mygrowdash.com
Chris chats with James Fahy, co-founder of JustTip, about building a tipping and tronc platform straight out of school, the UK’s evolving tipping legislation, and why faster, more transparent payouts matter for teams.
James shares what he’s learnt as a first-time founder, how operators can save £5–6k per year through compliant tronc schemes with no NIC for businesses or staff (as discussed), and why partnerships now beat cold calls.
We also touch on weekly “JustTip Tuesdays”, EU expansion, and practical AI use across support and outbound sales.
Thanks to our friends at Lightspeed — the point-of-sale and payments platform helping restaurants run smoother during peak season.
James Fahy — Co-founder, JustTip
Web: justtip.net / justtip.co.uk
Origin story: a coffee-shop moment that sparked JustTip at age 19
What JustTip does (the “CAT” pitch): Compliance, Automation of payouts, and Tax savings
Tronc clarity: paying tips correctly so no NIC for business or staff (as discussed)
Weekly payouts and transparency for teams (“JustTip Tuesdays”)
UK vs Ireland: legislation, grey areas, and why big brands move first
Cost pressures: using tronc compliance to unlock savings and time back
Holiday pay, agencies, and the realities of complex staffing models
From cold calls to partnerships and integrations (scaling the lean way)
EU growth and embedded tipping with merchant services partners
Sane AI adoption: repeat-issue support bots and smarter outbound — without losing the human touch
Founder lessons: impatience, resilience, and being the final line of defence as CEO
Transparency + speed = trust. Weekly, predictable tip payouts boost morale and word-of-mouth.
Compliance can save real money. Correct tronc flows can mean £5–6k annual savings for a typical site (as discussed).
Legislation is tightening. UK requirements (e.g., paying collected tips into staff accounts within a month) are pushing operators to formalise tronc and record-keeping.
Partnerships scale better. Integrations and ISO/VAR channels beat one-by-one selling once the product fits.
AI helps with the boring bits. Use it for repeat support and structured outbound — keep people for nuanced, emotional interactions.
Founder reality. Titles mean little; being there “when it goes wrong” is what wins and keeps customers.
“They don’t care about the product — it’s, are you going to be there when it goes wrong?”
“JustTip Tuesdays became a thing — like a mini payroll each week.”
“If you push tips correctly through a tronc scheme, the business pays no NIC and the employee pays no NIC.”
“I got one of the lowest grades in entrepreneurship — then learnt it all on the job.”
Intro & sponsor
James’s backstory and the coffee-shop spark
What JustTip does (CAT: Compliance, Automation, Tax)
UK/Ireland legislation & tronc reality
Weekly payouts, team impact & transparency
Cost savings, holiday pay & agency complexity
Scaling: partnerships, integrations, embedded tipping
Practical AI in support and sales
Founder lessons & what’s next
JustTip — justtip.net / justtip.co.uk
Slush (Helsinki) — tech conference referenced by James
Connect with James Fahy via the JustTip website.
If you’re an operator reviewing tipping and tronc, map your current flow and payout cadence — then compare the potential NIC and admin savings from a compliant scheme.
Subscribe to Tech on Toast for more operator-first, tech-that-works conversations.
Host: Chris Fletcher
Guest: James Fahy, Co-founder at JustTip
Producer: Tech on Toast
This week, Chris sits down with Victor Lugger, co-founder of Big Mamma and Sunday, to unpack how “invisible tech” (think: pay-at-table that just works) can lift guest experience, speed up service, and actually reduce the tech clutter on the floor. From 31 trattorias across 8 countries to Sunday now processing $4.2bn and hitting ~90% adoption in London, Victor shares the operator’s lens on what matters: faster, simpler payments; more time for hospitality; and real-world KPIs that move the P&L.
Why “less tech, better service” wins: replacing terminals with phone-based payment, not piling on more tools.
Adoption that sticks: 70% in months → ~85–90% in the UK when teams offer the option properly.
Guest experience uplift: table turns +12–16% at busy brands; reviews surge when the Google prompt sits right after payment.
Tips up, teams happier: 2–4× tips (UK) and ~+12% (US) thanks to AI-powered tip prompts.
Loyalty that finally works in full-service: ~52% of Sunday payers enrol vs 2–5% on terminals; earn/burn becomes seamless.
Enterprise scale: POS-agnostic (24+ integrations), terminals + pay-at-table + hybrid ordering where it fits.
The “guest app” vision: payment as the universal touchpoint to identify 70–100% of guests and trigger CRM/loyalty, not just bookings.
00:00 Intro & sponsor: Lightspeed Restaurant
01:05 Meet Victor: Big Mamma (affordable luxury) → Sunday (pay-at-table)
07:20 Why paying is broken — and how Sunday made it 5-second simple
12:10 Staff first: freeing servers for real hospitality, not card machines
16:40 Adoption drivers: the team makes the metric
21:15 Fine dining vs casual: why higher spenders adopt more
25:30 Reviews & revenue: faster turns, Google love, real KPIs
31:45 Loyalty that isn’t cringe: enrol, earn, burn without friction
38:20 US scale, data-led operators, +12% tips
44:05 AI in practice: smarter tip options; ordering patterns; service recovery
51:10 UK market maturity: bookings, POS, checkout, CRM
56:00 What’s next: Dubai & US for Big Mamma; Sunday’s guest-app flywheel
59:30 Where to find Sunday & wrap-up
“We’re not adding tech — we’re replacing old tech with something guests already have in their pocket.”
“Give guests the option. If 82% choose phone, we’re doing something right.”
“With Sunday, tips are 2–4× higher in the UK and about +12% in the US.”
“On Sunday payments, ~52% of guests enrol to loyalty. On terminals it’s 2–5%.”
“Dishoom Shoreditch went from ~10k reviews at 4.4 to ~38k at 4.8 in 18 months.”
Victor Lugger — Co-founder, Big Mamma & Sunday
Website: sundayapp.com
(Also live on the Tech on Toast Marketplace.)
Lightspeed Restaurant — the point of sale and payments platform helping operators fly through the festive rush and beyond.
Big Mamma: 31 sites, 8 countries; Dubai opening; US expansion.
Sunday: pay-at-table, terminals, hybrid ordering; 24+ POS integrations; $4.2bn processed YTD.
Operators: want the numbers behind adoption, tips and table turns? Take our Tech Check and we’ll map your stack and intros.
Suppliers: interested in a case study or Shift Talk slot? Get in touch via Tech on Toast.
What you’ll learnChapter markersPull quotesGuestSponsorLinks & mentionsCall to action
What is great service in 2025? In this episode of Tech on Toast, powered by Zonal, we unpack why hospitality is still (and always will be) a people business—and how that truth fuels loyalty.
Host Chris Fletcher is joined by:
Antony Pender — Founder, Yummy Collection (people-first pubs, bars & seafood concepts)
Darren Smith — Head of Operations, Flat Iron (consistent, craveable steakhouse experiences)
Gillian Nicholson — Sales Director, Zonal (tech that blends into brilliant service)
They dive into:
Defining modern service: “relaxed rigor,” natural interactions, and letting guests drive the experience
Training that sticks: stories, shadowing, and Gen Z–friendly, bite-size learning
Tech that empowers (not replaces): surfacing the right info at the right time, seamlessly
Culture and retention: flexibility, share schemes, meaningful recognition, and clear, kind feedback
Protecting brand magic: value over hard sell; community, authenticity, and doing one thing exceptionally well
Pull quotes
“Hospitality is the job of making people happy.”
“It’s kind to be clear; it’s unkind to be unclear.”
“We’re far more emotionally intelligent than AI—especially right now.”
Catch up on the series: Missed an episode? Dive into the rest of our Loyalty Series to get fully up to speed.
In this episode of the Tech on Toast Podcast, powered by Zonal, we dig into the misunderstood but powerful world of personalisation in hospitality. With inboxes overflowing and attention spans shrinking, how do brands stand out without becoming pushy — or worse, creepy?
Host Chris Fletcher is joined by:
Tom James, Managing Director at Bill’s Restaurants, leading the brand through a digital maturity journey with a strong focus on customer insight.
Dan Brookman, CEO of Airship & Toggle, who helps 400+ UK hospitality brands turn customer data into meaningful engagement and revenue.
Gillian Nicholson, Sales Director at Zonal, a technology provider supporting operators for over 45 years.
☕ Grab a coffee and listen in as we cover everything from handwritten notes in delivery bags to AI-powered customer insights.
🔥 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
Why personalisation should feel like magic, not marketing
The importance of the value exchange — what customers actually get in return for their data
How brands like Bill’s and Pizza Express use loyalty to drive genuine connection, not just discounts
The role of automation and segmentation in building brand voice at scale
Why creepiness vs. annoyance is a real debate when using customer data
Which channels are working best right now: email, SMS, WhatsApp, and apps
How to measure success: from cover growth to visit frequency and customer lifetime value
Where AI is taking us next — from predictive insights to smarter, real-time personalisation
🎧 Perfect for:
Operators, marketers, and tech leaders who want to use data more effectively to build loyalty, grow frequency, and keep guests coming back — without falling into the trap of discount dependency.
👉 Listen now and discover how to make your personalisation strategy feel truly personal.
AI in Business: How Dojo is Turning Proof of Concept into Real Impact
This week on the Tech on Toast Podcast, we’re live at Dojo HQ with Rob Howes, Senior Vice President of Technology, to explore what AI in business really looks like beyond the hype.
Rob breaks down how Dojo are embedding AI across payments, customer service, and fraud prevention — moving from proof of concept experiments to production-grade impact.
We cover:
🔄 Automation, augmentation, amplification — the spectrum of AI adoption
📊 Why many businesses stall at proof of concept (and how to push through)
🧩 Grassroots vs. top-down adoption — how ChatGPT accelerated uptake
💡 The use cases delivering ROI fastest: ops, customer service, and cybersecurity
⚖️ Transparency, ethics, and building trust in AI-driven decisions
🚀 Dojo’s AI Trailblazer programme with Imperial College and Google
🔮 What’s next: hyper-personalisation, agentic AI, and explainability
If you’re wondering where to start with AI in your business — from building a roadmap to picking the right use cases — this episode is packed with insights you can take straight back to your team.
👉 Learn more about Dojo at dojo.tech.
Customer loyalty has evolved. Today, it’s less about “collect 10 stamps, get a free coffee” and more about personalisation, value, and belonging. But what does that look like in practice for pubs, hotels, and restaurants?
In this episode, Chris Fletcher, Founder & CEO of Tech on Toast, sits down with:
Amy Clark – Head of Marketing, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
Gillian Nicholson – Sales Director, Zonal
Jamie Queen – Chief Growth Officer, Butcombe Group
Together, they unpack:
🍷 The business case for loyalty – how programmes drive repeat visits, higher spend per head, and measurable ROI.
📲 The digital shift – moving from physical loyalty cards to Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, and why simplicity is key.
📊 The power of data – how operators can use guest behaviour, segmentation, and AI to deliver more relevant offers.
👩🍳 Team buy-in – why front-of-house staff are vital to signing up customers and how Butcombe’s teams doubled their contactable database in two years.
🌍 Global vs local loyalty – Wyndham’s challenge of tailoring rewards for millions of members across 90+ countries versus Butcombe’s pub-level programmes.
🤝 Partnerships & innovation – from Wyndham linking hotel stays with restaurant delivery apps, to Zonal powering bespoke loyalty journeys for operators of every size.
🛠️ Trends to watch – members-only pricing, gamification, festival-style loyalty, and the growing role of AI in hospitality.
💡 Expect a practical, behind-the-scenes look at loyalty programmes that actually work — the kind that make customers feel recognised, not marketed to.
🔗 Connect with the guests:
🍽️ The Return to Experience-Led Dining — Live from Caravan Fitzrovia
This week on the Tech on Toast Podcast, we’re bringing you something special — a live panel recording from our recent event at Caravan Fitzrovia, all about the return to experience-led dining in 2025.
Big shout out to Adam at Captive Wifi for the content!
Guest host Phil Street (Caterer.com) is joined by an incredible line-up of industry leaders:
✨ Tom James – Managing Director, Bill’s Restaurants
✨ Harry Ridley – Director of Innovation, Levy UK & Ireland
✨ James Walker – CEO, Lunchbox
✨ Sean Weeraratna Group Operations Director, Gaucho & M Restaurants
Across stadiums, casual dining, fine dining, and tech platforms, our panel dives into:
💡 Balancing speed & storytelling – keeping service efficient without losing personality
🤖 Tech as an enabler – removing friction, not the human touch
🎯 “Moments of magic” – how to wow guests without blowing the budget
🛠️ Test, learn, kill – knowing when to double down or ditch the tech
🤝 Partnership power – why creative collaborations matter
🕰️ Experience redefined – how guest expectations shift by time of day and occasion
From personalised service and guest data, to AI crowd management and handwritten cards in deliveries, this episode is packed with practical tips, creative ideas, and honest insights from operators who are living it every day.
🎧 Tune in for real-world stories, fresh inspiration, and a few laughs along the way.
In this special episode of the Tech on Toast Podcast 🎙️, brought to you in partnership with Zonal, we dig into one of hospitality’s most overused — and misunderstood — buzzwords: loyalty.
Host Chris Fletcher is joined by:
John Sills 📖 – Author of The Human Experience, who argues loyalty doesn’t really exist — usefulness does.
Ruth Carpenter 🍕 – Head of Marketing at Pizza Pilgrims, sharing how guest feedback, authenticity, and joy drive repeat visits.
Gillian Nicholson 💡 – Sales Director at Zonal, bringing insights from 17,000+ hospitality customers and the tech powering their guest experiences.
They explore:
🔍 Has “loyalty” been replaced by usefulness?
📉 How the cost-of-living crisis is reshaping dining habits — from earlier booking times to lighter menu choices.
🤝 Keeping the human touch when tech runs in the background.
📦 Subscription models — convenience or commercial trap?
♿ The growing demand for accessibility, sustainability, and purpose-driven brands.
📨 Why personalisation might be overhyped — and what really drives engagement.
Expect candid stories about burnt pizzas, stolen deliveries, subscription fatigue, and the surprising social trends — from sleep habits to bottomless brunches — shaping hospitality in 2025.
Whether you’re an operator, marketer, or tech provider, this episode blends data, humour, and hard truths about what it really takes to keep guests coming back.
In this episode of the Tech on Toast Podcast, Chris Fletcher welcomes back Dominic Child, VP of Sales at Ingredifind, for a conversation that goes beyond compliance and into the real operational and emotional impact of allergens in hospitality.
Together, they explore why allergen management is still largely manual in a digital-first industry, how it affects staff confidence, guest trust, and operational flow – and how Ingredifind is changing the game.
Dominic explains how their platform tackles the three biggest pain points:
The lack of trust between suppliers and operators
Friction between guests and servers
The burden on staff under pressure to get it right
This isn’t just a conversation about technology — it’s a call to modernise how we handle one of the most sensitive parts of service.
🔥 What You’ll Learn:
Why allergen management is the final digital frontier in hospitality
The operational and reputational risks of ‘just ticking the compliance box’
How self-service allergen tools boost repeat visits by 26% month-on-month
Why training alone won’t solve the problem — and what will
How Ingredifind’s plug-and-play platform works with existing systems
The surprising scale of dietary needs — beyond the ‘top 14’ allergens
📊 Key Stats Mentioned:
74% of customers prefer to self-serve allergen info
30% of adults avoid certain foods due to adverse reactions
40% of diners will avoid restaurants if they can’t view menus in advance
Diagnosed allergies affect 2 million UK adults – with children’s rates even higher
📲 Links & Extras:
🎥 Watch the full webinar demo of Ingredifind’s platform [insert link]
🛍 Visit Ingredifind on the Tech on Toast Marketplace [insert link]
📩 Contact Dom: dchild@ingredifind.com
📌 Coming Soon:
Ingredifind is teasing a major summer announcement that could revolutionise allergen matrices — keep an eye on their LinkedIn for updates.