#215 - Hospitality Meets Lisa Jenkins - Champagne, Success & Shin Splints

Ever wondered how a dishwasher at age 10 ends up running the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts? Well, Lisa Jenkins (CEO of The Royal Academy of Culinary Arts) is here to spill the tea (and maybe a few kitchen secrets).

We get through a lot and I chat with Lisa about:

🍽️ Why hospitality careers are more than just chefs & managers (yes, journalists count too!)

✈️ How working too hard at the Singapore Air Show got her a business-class flight home (note: not a recommended career strategy)

💡 The power of saying yes to opportunity… even when you have no plan whatsoever

🤝 Why relationships in hospitality are more valuable than a Michelin star

🚀 How she went from publishing flight magazines to fine dining journalism – and finally, the big boss chair at RACA

Lisa’s journey is proof that career paths are never linear—sometimes they come with unexpected detours, high-flying perks, and a whole lot of laughs.

🎧 Tune in now! Guaranteed to make you rethink your career… or at least consider faking shin splints for an upgrade. 😉

The Guest

Lisa Jenkins is the chief executive officer for The Royal Academy of Culinary Arts (RACA), the UK’s leading professional membership association of head chefs, head pastry chefs, restaurant managers and associates. RACA provides education, inspiration, and aspiration through a variety of channels including the RACA apprenticeship programme, the Annual Awards of Excellence, the Adopt A School charity and the four-yearly Master of Culinary Arts competition.

RACA supports young people, colleges, and educational institutions by providing programmes through its extensive network of academician members and industry contacts while raising the standards and awareness of food, food provenance and sustainability, cooking and service.

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-jenkins-cfsp-58907144/

Instagram personal - @lisa_jenkins02

Instagram (RACA) - @royalacademyofculinaryarts

Show Partners

A big shout out to Today’s show partner, RotaCloud, the people management platform for shift-based teams.

RotaCloud lets managers create and share rotas, record attendance, and manage annual leave in minutes — all from a single, web-based app.

It makes work simple for your team, too, allowing them to check their rotas, request holiday, and even pick up extra shifts straight from their phones.

Try RotaCloud’s time-saving tools today by heading to https://rotacloud.com/phil

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