Olive & Oak hospitality
Real work. Real growth. Real people.
I help people build real skills and real work in hospitality and help venues build the teams that keep them there.
THE CORE OF WHAT I DO
Acorn to Oak
Hospitality is one of the few sectors that hires on attitude over qualifications. It offers a fast route to real, paid work — not years of unpaid apprenticeships or qualifications first — and builds skills that transfer well beyond the industry itself.
For someone who's struggled to get a foot in anywhere else, hospitality is often the fastest, most realistic route into real, sustainable work. Acorn to Oak exists to make that route genuinely walkable.
52%
3yrs
50%
UK hospitality staff turnover — the highest of any sector (CIPD)
average employee tenure — second-lowest of any UK industry
of waiting staff nationally are aged 16-24, despite being just 10% of the workforce
Hospitality already runs on young people — it just doesn't keep them. The barrier isn't a lack of opportunity. It's readiness, retention, and access — and that's exactly the gap Acorn to Oak closes.
Training, Motivational days & Speaking
FOR HOSPITALITY VENUES
Bounded, practical sessions built around your team — booked directly, with no ongoing commitment required.
Training Days
Hands-on sessions on culture, service standards, and working as a team — built around what your venue actually needs.
Motivation Days
Talks and keynotes on hospitality culture, retention, and building teams that stay — for events, conferences, and away days.
Speaking Engagements
A dedicated day to re-energise a team, rebuild morale, and reconnect people with why the work matters.
Looking for something more ongoing? I also take on a small number of embedded consultancy projects each year for venues wanting deeper, longer-term support.
FOR HOSPITALITY PROFESSIONALS
The Oak Project
A peer community for people at every stage of a hospitality career
Practical skills content, from CV writing to leadership
Regular peer support sessions and one-to-one help
A wellbeing space with professional signposting
STORIES FROM INSIDE THE INDUSTRY
On The Pass
Honest conversations and real stories from hospitality — nothing polished for the sake of it.
PODCAST
Guest conversations with people across the industry — honest, unfiltered, and unashamedly real.
On the Pass
Listen now →
SERIES
A documentary series spotlighting individuals — in and out of work — for a fuller picture of who they are.
On the Pass Presents
Watch now →
BLOG
Notes from the Pass
Shorter reflections and written stories from inside hospitality, as they happen.
Read now →
Olive & Oak hospitality
Helping people build real futures through hospitality, and helping venues build the teams that keep them there.
Also offering hospitality consultancy for venues wanting deeper, ongoing support — get in touch to discuss.
EXPLORE
Community & Employability Partners
For Venues
For individuals
On the Pass
CONNECT
TikTok
Youtube