What's Cooking? | A Podcast from Nory
Business & Finance
About
What's Cooking? is the podcast for hospitality operators scaling smart. Hosted by Conor Sheridan – CEO and co-founder of Nory, and a former operator who built and ran multi-site restaurant brands himself – each episode goes behind the scenes of fast-growing restaurant groups to explore the operational challenges that actually matter - like disconnected systems, staffing chaos, and margin pressure. Through honest conversations with industry leaders you’ll get practical insight into what’s working on the ground right now - from automation and AI to culture, data, and waste reduction. No fluff. No forecasts. Just the blueprint for better hospitality operations at scale. New episodes every two weeks.
Episodes
- Discipline at Scale: Alasdair Murdoch, CEO of Burger King UK
Alasdair Murdoch, CEO of Burger King UK, discusses the operational challenges and strategies of running a large QSR network. He shares insights on managing labor costs, site expansion, and adapting to changes in the food service industry.
- Wahaca bite-size: The gap between the food and the experience
This is a bite-sized version of an episode with Gemma Glasson, CEO of Wahaca. The discussion focuses on the gap between food and experience. The episode is hosted by Conor Sheridan, CEO of Nory.
- Elevating Experience with Authenticity: Gemma Glasson on Wahaca Reimagined
Gemma Glasson, CEO of Wahaca, details the
- Inside Nory’s Series B: building the operating system for restaurants
This episode features Conor Sheridan and Jose Gaytan de Ayala discussing Nory's $37m Series B funding round. They explore the company's journey in building a hospitality tech operating system and the role of AI in the industry.
- Season one rewind: the strategies that actually move margins
In this season one wrap-up of What’s Cooking?, Conor Sheridan reflects on the standout insights from 12 leading voices across hospitality. The discussion covers how operators are solving frontline challenges with AI, operational clarity, a…
- Brand isn’t a campaign: Prezzo Italian highlights
Mark McCulloch, CMO of Prezzo Italian, explains that brand is an operating system for the entire business. He discusses diagnosing brand problems, aligning culture with product and reputation, and navigating marketing decisions in the rest…
- How Alison Wong leads change from the CFO seat
In this episode, Alison Wong, CFO at House of Gods Hotel, shares insights on scaling financial leadership in hospitality. She discusses balancing operational rigor with guest experience and leading transformation with empathy.
- Beautiful chaos, done right: Rosa’s Thai highlights
Jonny Bramwell, Regional Head of Operations at Rosa's Thai, outlines operational excellence strategies for rapid scaling. He shares insights on maintaining culture, leadership, and a people-first approach across 46 locations, emphasizing f…
- Power of 1%: highlights from Maria McCann at Blacklock
In this episode, Maria McCann, Ops Director at Blacklock, discusses developing company culture through a people-first approach to training and onboarding. She shares insights on how this strategy has contributed to growth and profitability…
- Easy on people, tough on standards: A COO's leadership philosophy
Amy Hom, COO at Barcelona Wine Bar, shares her leadership philosophy in hospitality. She discusses developing frontline teams, creating culture, balancing empathy with high standards, and implementing new technology in multi-site operation…
- Structured chaos: highlights from Giggling Squid’s scale-up journey
In this episode, Darko Salaj of Giggling Squid shares insights on scaling a hospitality brand. He discusses resilience, championing individuality, the supportive role of technology, and hands-on leadership.
- Scaling smart: highlights from Tom James at Bill’s
In this episode, Tom James from Bill's discusses leading change in hospitality, repositioning a legacy brand, and launching delivery. He shares insights on brand clarity, focusing on breakfast, brunch, and Gen Z, and the importance of syst…
- UK Budget deep dive with Kate Nicholls: Higher costs, zero relief
Nory CEO Conor Sheridan and UKHospitality Chair Kate Nicholls discuss the 2025 UK Budget, focusing on how increased costs and lack of relief affect the hospitality sector. They also cover strategies for operators to navigate these changes.
- From Boojum to Pizza Pilgrims and Farmer J: scaling hospitality icons
Andrew Maxwell, Operating Partner at Imbiba, joins host Conor Sheridan on "What's Cooking?" to discuss scaling and investing in hospitality businesses. They cover critical inflection points, red flags for investment, and the impact of tech…
- 5 brands & 250 locations: how Azzurri Group uses data
This episode of "What's Cooking?" features Jim Hingston, Digital & Technology Director at Azzurri Group. He discusses digital transformation in hospitality, managing tech integration across multiple brands, and how Azzurri Group uses data…
- The fast and furious arrival of Dave’s Hot Chicken to the UK
This episode of What's Cooking? features Neil Remedios, Operations Lead for Dave’s Hot Chicken UK and Ireland. He discusses the brand's rapid expansion in the UK, including localization challenges and operational strategies for scaling a Q…
- How Blaze Pizza scales tech across 300 franchise locations
Chris Demery, CTO of Blaze Pizza, joins Conor Sheridan, CEO and founder of Nory, to discuss the realities of tech transformation in the hospitality industry. They explore how Blaze Pizza scales technology across 300 franchise locations, em…
- Inside Nory’s Series B: disrupting hospitality with AI
This episode of What's Cooking? discusses Nory's Series B funding round. Host Conor Sheridan and guest Jose Gaytan de Ayala explore how AI is impacting restaurant operations and the hospitality industry.
- Prezzo Italian: why brand is an operating system, not a campaign
Mark McCulloch, CMO of Prezzo Italian, joins Conor Sheridan, CEO of Nory, on What's Cooking? to discuss brand repositioning and strategic marketing in the hospitality industry. They cover aligning brand, culture, and operations, and the ro…
- Inside Rosa's Thai's playbook
This episode of What's Cooking? features Jonny Bramwell, Regional Head of Operations at Rosa's Thai. He discusses operational excellence and scaling the "Rosa's Done Right" program across over 46 locations, emphasizing leadership, challeng…
- Blacklock's people-first growth strategy
Maria McCann, Operations Director at Blacklock, discusses how the brand has grown while maintaining a people-first ethos. She shares insights on retaining team culture, developing leadership, and integrating with local communities.
- How chaos helped Giggling Squid thrive
In this episode of What's Cooking?, Darko Salaj, Operations Director at Giggling Squid, discusses the brand's growth strategies, including thriving through Covid and rejecting corporate rigidity. He shares his approach to operations, leade…
- Change management lessons from Bill's Restaurants
In this episode of What's Cooking?, Tom James, Managing Director at Bill's Restaurants, shares insights on change management, guest experience, and technology adoption that led to significant growth. He explains how he balanced heritage an…
- Trailer
What's Cooking? is a podcast for hospitality operators scaling smart. The trailer introduces the podcast, which explores operational challenges in fast-growing restaurant groups such as disconnected systems, staffing, and margin pressure.