Episodes

With restaurants and bars reopening this week, I wanted to get a live stream Q&A with Ian Tostenson of the BC Restaurant and Foodservice Association and Jeff Guignard of ABLE BC. We chatted about the fundamentals int he reopening, new legislation and answered questions given before and during the Q&A. You can email Ian and Jeff directly with questions at itostenson@bcrfa.com and jeff@ablebc.ca. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of th...

Franky Marshall is a tour de force bartender out of NYC, we discuss where she has come from, how 2012 was a huge year for her, her love of all things French including the super obscure Pineau de Charentes and sticking to you guns; professionally and personally. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of the hospitality industries top talents from around the world including bartenders, venue owners, distillers and industry supporters. Get po...

We look at the meteoritic rise to one of the top bartenders and consultants in the world. This was a great episode that covers so much about where Chris came from and his plans in the future. His outlook on the APAC market pre and post COVID is inspirational and you should apply the things happening in the Chinese hospitality market to your business. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of the hospitality industries top talents from arou...

To give this man a title in the hospitality industry would be a grave disservice, flair god, OG mixology magician, just all-round industry legend. Dean started in small-town Ontario and took the flair world by storm, competing and organising competitions all over the world. He has been a mentor of mine since I could flair myself, great chat about what he's up to these days and what his plans are for the future. If you are a flairtender, this is the guy that helped catapult it. Join us every Tue...

Dean and I go back almost 20 years to our days starting out in Brisbane. The conversation was full of great stories, taking Monkey Shoulder world wide and the reason he started the Dean Callan Show. This was just a great catch up with an old friend. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of the hospitality industries top talents from around the world including bartenders, venue owners, distillers and industry supporters. Get points of view...

This is the first of most likely 3 restaurant reopening episodes in the coming weeks. This one focuses on the BCRFA's recommendations to the government for restaurant reopenings. Some good pointers in here, ABLE BC sent me a few as well, along with Restaurants Canada. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of the hospitality industries top talents from around the world including bartenders, venue owners, distillers and industry supporters....

Sit down with long time friend and mentor, Philip Duff and chat about his career, Old Duff Genever and the state of the hospitality industry in New York and the future of the industry as a whole. This is the second time Philip has been on the show, check out the first episode here. We also start the "Question of the Day", this one from Gerry Jobe, "Now that this is in full swing “reimagine” mode, are we all going to finally address the bullshit of Tip skimming from ownership? The practice of “ke...

One of the longest-standing brand ambassadors in the game, Charlotte has helped shape the way brand ambassadors are trained and respected. With a huge and diverse portfolio to work with William Grant & Sons, she gives insight into Hendrick's and how to make the transition and stay balanced as a brand ambassador. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of the hospitality industries top talents from around the world including bartenders, venu...

Great to catch up with a dear friend and peer, Sven Almenning from Speakeasy Group and Ananas Academy, touching on the jump from consultant to the owner and then owner of multiple venues. This was a great eye-opener for any hospitality entrepreneur. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of the hospitality industries top talents from around the world including bartenders, venue owners, distillers and industry supporters. Get points of view...

I took a larger view of the macro of small business this week and chatted to Michael Smith from Save Small Business.ca and chat about the things they are lobbying from the government along with changes they want to see stretch long after we see normalcy. This is a great big picture episode. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of the hospitality industries top talents from around the world including bartenders, venue owners, distillers a...

Side hustles and projects are more important than ever in this current climate of quarantine, but should you always have a side hustle, a passion project or something that can produce some passive income? Turn whatever your passion is into a source of income now and continue it after the lock down is lifted. I will show you the tools to go from A to B without breaking the bank and maximizing a little extra cash in your pocket. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, S...

Had a great live stream with Jason Littrell out of New York about his humble beginnings, working with the late great Sasha Petreske and making the leap from bartending to consultant and how branding, social media and online presence is more important now than ever. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of the hospitality industries top talents from around the world including bartenders, venue owners, distillers and industry supporters. Ge...

I got to know Jesse during my time in Singapore last year, an amazing bartender and manager who always had me in awe of his skill set. I wanted to find out where he had come from and where he was heading, great origin story and how to get what you want in the industry. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of the hospitality industries top talents from around the world including bartenders, venue owners, distillers and industry supporters...

This is a special edition episode as we delve into the impact of the pandemic on the craft spirits industry in BC with Tyler Dyck, co-owner of Okanagan Spirits and the head of the Craft Distiller's Guild, the lobbyist to the government for the industry. Interesting take as many distilleries are solely making sanitizer for from line workers, but the issues before Covid-19 are still being discussed and pushed through. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole ...

Had an amazing chat with Sean Finter from Barmetrix and Business of Bars, a long term peer who has helped thousands of businesses across the world with being more dynamic strategies. It was an enlightening discussion about the industries past, present and future. This was a really raw chat and I was blown away by it. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of the hospitality industries top talents from around the world including bartenders,...

I was asked to present a few seminars for the Fever-Tree Canada Seminar Series online, this is the first of a couple in the coming weeks. Chatting about the use of and strategy for each individual platform and how to leverage them for the future after the lockdown is over. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of the hospitality industries top talents from around the world including bartenders, venue owners, distillers and industry suppor...

The week kicks off with a special edition with Victorian entrepreneur and coffee master, Sam Jones from 2% Jazz as we chat about the humble beginnings of the store, his learning curve on business and operations and his new found love of chocolate. Of course, we also broach the subject of his business during Covid-19. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of the hospitality industries top talents from around the world including bartenders,...

This was a great interview that I had with Tobin while I was in Vegas before the pandemic disseminated the industry, I have a few interviews that I had to go back on and discuss the new norm with the interviewees which give a unique perspective on the state of change that the industry has undergone. In the secondary interview, Tobin goes into his new efforts, Hospitality Relief Dashboard.

I get to chat about the way I see the industry going with Brad Bodnarchuk on his podcast, Half a Dozen Hospitality. I loved this episode, it was a great back and forth between Brad and I as we are fellow consultants and see how the industry and our clients have handled this stage of the pandemic. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of the hospitality industries top talents from around the world including bartenders, venue owners, distil...

Had a great chat with Calen McNeil from Big Wheel Burgers and Zambri's; thinking that we would be talking business, we quickly started exploring his philanthropy work along with the pivot his business has taken while keeping the mental health of his staff in mind. Check out the Big Wheel Community Foundation and Food Eco District for more information. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of the hospitality industries top talents from aro...

Creating a Shopify Store, embedding it into your website and then piggy backing drop shipping apps like Printify, Printiful and Dropify onto it sounds complicated but it is quite easy and a google search away for even the most technology stunted person. I also cover selling on EBay and flipping in this episode. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of the hospitality industries top talents from around the world including bartenders, venue...

On this very special edition of the podcast, we chat to Jon Gray, one of the directors of the Bartenders Benevolent Fund based in Toronto but doing amazing hospitality relief work across the country. We chat about the humble beginnings of the fund, the 0-60 nature that the pandemic created and how to get some relief from them. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of the hospitality industries top talents from around the world including b...

This was another pre Covid-19 episode that I recorded while I was in Las Vegas in February. Francesco is the consummate gentleman, so the interview is actually in two parts after the pandemic struck and the original interview. I think it gives a huge amount of context to how the pandemic has effected the industry across the country. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of the hospitality industries top talents from around the world inclu...

I chatted with the gents from Dork Uncorked on CFAX about the impact of Covid-19 on the industry here in Victoria and the rest of the country. This one was much more sombre and deep than the last time I was on the show, but it is weird times to say the least. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of the hospitality industries top talents from around the world including bartenders, venue owners, distillers and industry supporters. Get poin...