{"podcast":{"title":"Hospitality Meets... with Phil Street","slug":"hospitality-meets-with-phil-street-122320","podcast_index_feed_id":122320,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/hospitalitymeets/","website_url":"https://www.hospitalitymeets.co.uk/","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/24567222-3ee9-4d84-8550-5857874d2ff6/HOSPITALTY-MEETS-MASTER-1.jpg","author":"Phil Street","episode_count":300,"summary":"Hospitality Meets is a podcast about people. Every week, Phil Street sits down with some of the most fascinating individuals in hospitality and beyond - from chefs, hoteliers, restaurateurs, and entrepreneurs to leaders, innovators, and changemakers. But this isn't a podcast about job titles. It's about the journeys behind them. The setbacks that almost ended careers. The opportunities that changed lives. The lessons learned through success, failure, risk, resilience, and everything in between. Through honest conversations, laughter, and the occasional unexpected life lesson, Hospitality Meets explores what it really takes to build a career, lead people, create memorable experiences, and find meaning in the work we do. Whether you're taking your first steps in hospitality, leading a business, or simply love hearing remarkable stories from remarkable people, you'll find inspiration, perspective, and plenty of reasons to believe in people. Because every great story starts with a conversation. Hospitality Meets. Stories. Spirit. People. This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy","last_synced_at":"2026-07-16T08:20:08.940777+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/hospitality-meets-with-phil-street-122320"},"episode":{"title":"#263 - Hospitality Meets Rory Slater - The Story of the Angry Gardener","slug":"263-hospitality-meets-rory-slater-the-story-of-the-angry-gardener","published_at":"2026-07-08T19:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/hospitality-meets-with-phil-street-122320/263-hospitality-meets-rory-slater-the-story-of-the-angry-gardener","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/hospitality-meets-with-phil-street-122320","url":"https://www.hospitalitymeets.co.uk/","audio_url":"https://pdcn.co/e/episodes.captivate.fm/episode/fca9c588-6071-4699-8f5d-32a871f7383a.mp3","summary":"The Story of... The Angry Gardener What do luxury hotels, practical jokes, Palm Beach, New York, Beijing, Japan, Hong Kong, a very angry gardener and a 30cm ruler have in common? Yep, this week's guest Rory Slater , Managing Director for COMO Hotels in London. And trust me... Some of these stories are almost too good to be true. Rory's journey started with a love of food, inspired by his mum's Cordon Bleu cooking, before joining the legendary Savoy Group management programme with dreams of becoming a chef. Fast forward a few decades and that journey has taken him across four continents, some of the world's finest luxury hotels, and into leadership roles that have tested not only his skills, but his character. In this episode we chat about: Why becoming a chef wasn't quite what he imagined Life on the legendary Savoy Group management programme Why everyone should spend time working night shifts Hospitality practical jokes, from soufflé pumps to spaghetti drying lines Running luxury events in Palm Beach Launching rooftop bars in New York Building a career across Beijing, Japan and Hong Kong Opening luxury hotels around the world Why choosing the right owners matters just as much as choosing the right company The role mentors have played throughout his career The unforgettable Easter egg hunt that was nearly destroyed by one very determined gardener Standing up for his team, even when it meant challenging someone incredibly powerful Along the way we explore curiosity, leadership, resilience, culture, integrity and why some of life's greatest opportunities arrive wrapped up in uncertainty. Of course, this episode is packed with the sort of stories that make Hospitality Meets... well... Hospitality Meets. There's the night a woman was caught slipping business cards under ho…","meta_description":"The Story of... The Angry Gardener What do luxury hotels, practical jokes, Palm Beach, New York, Beijing, Japan, Hong Kong, a very angry gardener and a 30…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2940,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/hospitality-meets-with-phil-street-122320/episodes/263-hospitality-meets-rory-slater-the-story-of-the-angry-gardener/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/hospitality-meets-with-phil-street-122320/263-hospitality-meets-rory-slater-the-story-of-the-angry-gardener.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}