Sophie Uddin joins us from London where she is the Operations Director at Spiritland, a venue fusing an immaculate music listening experience with great food and booze. Sophie has managed some of the finest restaurants in London (imho) including Providores and Tapas Room, Grangers, 10 Greek Street and Vinoteca.
We talk about making it up as you go along, the drama and gossip at every restaurant, which makes sense as hospitality is theatre in essence; negotiating money in a sector and the shifts in workplace culture and asking for what you want.
Key facts about Sophie
Last meal: An Indian curry
Currently reading: Luster by Raven Leilani
Currently watching: Schitt’s Creek every day, on repeat, obsessed. And The Sopranos for the first time.
Listening to: Laura Marling’s last album; the new Floating Points album. And The Paper Kites.
Favourite unwind: watch movies constantly
What advice would you give to someone thinking through the next step in their career?
Three things:
- Think a little bit more about money. Just a little bit, and just negotiate. Because actually, you're not going to get anything if you don't ask and there's no harm in asking. If someone says no, they say no, but no one's just going to offer something to you, you have to ask.
- Always do whatever you're gonna do with people that you really, really want to do it with. With my current partner, I really want to work with him, it's an absolute joy every day. And that's so important, and you need to be aligned. If you have different skill sets, what you want to do ultimately needs to be aligned, because you don't want to be in a constant battle.
- And just don't be a dick on the way. Particularly in hospitality. It's a really small industry. And everybody knows everybody. And you just need to be kind.
A little about your co-hosts
Anita Dullard is a media and advocacy strategist; Avigail Shai is a diplomatic and policy adviser, and former diplomat – both currently work in the international humanitarian sector.
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