In this episode, we sit down with Bex and Sarah, founders of Makers of Hospitality, to talk about how they turned The Wildmoor Oak into one of the most popular pubs around, known for outstanding home-cooked food, legendary Sunday roasts, and genuinely warm service.

With a kitchen led by a Pete Jackson of Michelin-starred carters fame, quality is a given — but what really sets The Wildmoor apart is how the team is treated. Bex and Sarah believe in Will Guidara’s “unreasonable hospitality” philosophy: look after your staff properly, and they’ll look after your guests even better.

We talk about:

• How The Wildmoor Oak was opened and what it took to get it right

• Why staff happiness directly impacts food, service, and atmosphere

• What “unreasonable hospitality” looks like in a real country pub

• Lessons any pub, café, or restaurant owner can take from their approach

• Their ambitions to open more venues and build a values-led pub group

Whether you love great pubs, care about hospitality culture, or are thinking about opening your own place one day, this conversation is packed with honest insight and practical lessons.

Pull up a chair — this one’s worth your time.

Follow-

Makers O Hospitality-

https://www.instagram.com/makersofhospitality/

The Wildmoor-

https://www.instagram.com/thewildmooroak/

https://thewildmooroak.co.uk/

The Plough-

https://www.instagram.com/theploughinn_wollaston/

https://theploughinnwollaston.co.uk/

Us-

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.i⁠⁠nstagram.com/breakingbreadpodcastbirmingham/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://facebook.com/breakingbreadpodcastuk ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Opening Drone Footage From Rob At Alto Drones-⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://www.instagram.com/alto.drones/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Music From Tom Ford-⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://www.instagram.com/thetennischampion/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Support Us/Buy Merch- ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://breakingbreadbirmingham.co.uk/shop/⁠⁠⁠

’Tis the season for festive chaos, bad decisions, and crumbs everywhere.Foka Wolf and Tat Vision are back—those self-appointed ministers of mayhem—returning with their annual Christmas charity cabaret built around Britain’s greatest invention: the humble crisp. Yes, really.To mark the occasion, we sat down with them to create a crisp-fuelled, slightly unhinged take on our *favourite things in Birmingham* series. What followed was exactly what you’d expect: sharp wit, daft ideas, cultural love letters, and a sense that things could derail at any second (they do).This year’s glorious carnage is all in aid of the brilliant **St Basil’s**, supporting young people at risk of homelessness. So there’s heart beneath the madness—and plenty of laughter on top of it.If you like your Christmas spirit loud, your comedy a little feral, and your crisps taken far too seriously, this one’s for you. Watch it all. Trust us.Crisp Mass takes place on Thursday, 11th December, 7pm Norton's Digbeth. Buy Tickets Here- https://www.skiddle.com/whats-on/Birmingham/Nortons-Digbeth/Crisp-MASS/41415769/

Hospitality is unlike any other industry.
It gives people purpose, creativity, camaraderie, and a sense of belonging you rarely find anywhere else. Lifelong friendships are formed in kitchens and behind bars. For many, it’s a home.

But it can also take more than it gives.

In this powerful episode of Breaking Bread Birmingham, we sit down with Matt Loughrey, a former career hotelier, now Partnerships Manager at The Burnt Chef Project, to have an open, necessary conversation about mental health in hospitality, and how we can protect the people who make this industry so special.

⚠️ Trigger warning: This episode discusses suicide and mental health struggles in hospitality.

Matt shares why hospitality attracts such passionate, creative, and diverse people and why that same intensity can sometimes lead to burnout, silence, and crisis. Long hours, pressure-packed services, and a culture of “pushing through” have become normalised, even though they shouldn’t be.

What makes this episode powerful is its hope.

You’ll hear:

• Why hospitality is still one of the most rewarding industries to work in

• The hidden mental health challenges many workers quietly carry

• How The Burnt Chef Project is changing kitchen culture for the better

  What The Burnt Chef Project actually does to support chefs, front-of-house teams, and hospitality leaders

• • Practical tools, free training, and real-world support are available right now

  • How workplaces can change without losing the magic that makes hospitality what it is

• • What leaders, colleagues, and individuals can do to look after each other

  The Burnt Chef Project exists because hospitality matters. Because the people in it matter. And because this industry can be better without losing its soul.

  This episode isn’t about walking away from hospitality; it’s about making it sustainable, kinder, and safer for everyone who pours themselves into it.

  If you work in hospitality, love the industry, or simply want to understand the people behind the plate, this is an episode you need to hear.

  Because great hospitality starts with healthy people.
  And nobody should suffer in silence.

  🎧 Listen now. Talk more. Support each other.

  Follow Matt

  https://www.instagram.com/thechubbybrummie/

  Follow The Burnt Chef Project

  https://www.theburntchefproject.com/

  https://www.instagram.com/theburntchefproject/

  Support Us/Buy Merch- ⁠⁠⁠https://breakingbreadbirmingham.co.uk/shop/⁠⁠⁠

  Follow Us

  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/breakingbreadpodcastbirmingham/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://facebook.com/breakingbreadpodcastuk ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

  Opening Drone Footage From Rob At Alto Drones-⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://www.instagram.com/alto.drones/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

  Music From Tom Ford-⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://www.instagram.com/thetennischampion/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠