​The Ceres Podcast: Celebrating a Milestone of 100 Episodes

This month, we recorded our 100th Ceres podcast episode, and I’m blown away when I look back at the calibre of the guests we’ve featured.

When I started the podcasts two years ago, they focused on the fish and chip industry, where Ceres started.

But we’ve branched out since then and interviewed leading figures from all corners of the hospitality industry, as well as many completely unconnected to foodservice, because I strongly believe we can all learn something from delving into the inner workings of other people’s businesses and minds, regardless of the sector they come from.

Every podcast we do, we set out to challenge, educate, present a fresh perspective and help inspire businesses to move forward, and we’ve covered a vast range of topics, from sourcing ingredients to racial diversity to the future of food. I hope you have found many of the points discussed useful for your own businesses but, if not, I’d like to think you’ve at least found them interesting all the same.

I’m sure you’ve all got your favourite episodes or topics but, for me, there are a few that stick in my mind. The first is an early one with Gregg Howard, owner of Our Plaice in Hagley, Stourbridge. Although we knew of each other, we’d never really sat down and talked before and we actually had to pause the podcast at one point when Gregg broke down whilst talking about his dad who was a huge inspiration to him. That human element was really endearing and I think for the same reason another of my favourite guests was James Ritchie, owner of Simpsons in Stroud, Gloucestershire. He bravely spoke about the very personal issue of being transgender, a topic I never thought we would have broached at the beginning of this journey, but one that I’m so glad we did.

And if I had to pick another, it would probably be Darren Burns of Timpsons who spoke about employing ex-criminals. It made me think that if we are as pro-diversity as we all like to make out, perhaps more of us should be looking to employ people from different and challenging backgrounds.

I really hope you’ve enjoyed listening to the Ceres Podcasts as much as I have recording them. We’ve got some truly inspiring guests coming up, including chef and author Ken Hom and chef and restaurateur Stuart Collins, so do continue listening.

And do get in touch via our socials if you have an idea for a guest or a topic you would like featured to ensure we keep future podcasts relevant and fresh.