Welcome to Season 2 of Leadership Recipes!

Ben Voyer’s story begins in Paris, where his grandfather’s fillet mignon with caramelised potatoes and onions became the defining dish of his childhood. It was simple, balanced and prepared with care. Qualities that stayed with him as he grew up, moved abroad and built a career studying how people think, lead and work together.

Now a professor of behavioural science, Ben divides his time between London and Wellington teaching the next generation of leaders. His chosen dish becomes a lens for exploring tradition, memory and the subtle balance that good leadership requires.

In our conversation, we look at how Gen Z differs from millennials, and how collective leadership emerges when people understand each other’s constraints. He also reflects on how he believes experienced leaders should adapt to new generations in the workforce.

In part two, Valentine and I break down the origins of the dish and show you how to make it with minimal stress and maximum flavour.

Bon Appétit!

“Creativity comes from constraints in cooking and leadership.” – Ben Voyer

Episode resources:

ESCP Business School – https://escp.eu Pierre Gagnaire Restaurants – https://pierre-gagnaire.com

Find out more about Ben:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/benvoyer/

Ben’s Website - https://www.benvoyer.com/

Listen to Ben’s Podcast We All Make Mistakes - https://open.spotify.com/show/2yu9pBb8rXqrOYL8WAwj8W

Contact François:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/francoismoscovici/

Valentine’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valentine-moscovici/

François’ Instagram food feed:

@moscoffier

For the final episode of Season 1 we have our first French leader: Thibault Laumonier.

Thibault manages the French division of cardboard packaging group DS Smith, a major actor in Europe’s circular economy. A former Paratrooper who studied finance in Paris, he worked his way up in industrial sales before taking up increasingly complex managing director roles for American, Australian and British businesses.

His leadership style can be summarised by his moto: a healthy mind in a healthy body. He shares with us what it means and how to get the best out of a diverse team.

Thibault loves food: both for itself and for its ability to build connections. This is why he chose a very convivial cooking instrument for today’s recipe: the plancha. He shares his recipe of portuguese clams, along with three tapas to cook while socialising.

In part 2 Valentine and I explore the origins of the plancha cooking style, the main and bonus recipes – with a little twist due to the availability of the ingredients.

Bon Appétit!

“It’s a time and moment when you bring people together” – Thibault Laumonier

You’ll hear about:

02:12 - From jumping out of aeroplanes to the circular economy

05:50 - What makes a good leader?

10:00 - How to deal with being the ‘jam in the sandwich’

12:00 - The role of food in Thibault's life

15:10 - Thibault's favourite recipe

23:52 - Quickfire questions

31:54 - Part 2 - Portuguese clams a la plancha: etymology, tips and banter

Episode resources:

Download Thibault’s recipe here

Find out more about Thibault:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/thibault-laumonier-4464806/

DS Smith - https://www.dssmith.com/company

Contact François:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/francoismoscovici/

Valentine’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valentine-moscovici/

François’ Instagram food feed:

@moscoffier

Today’s guest is not just a social business leader, he is also a policy wonk, a tech entrepreneur, and a crossbench (non political) Peer.

Born and bred in Wakefield, Victor dropped out of school and worked as a road sweeper before branching into council housing management and getting his first CEO role aged 24. He ran increasingly complex social enterprises and joined the House of Lords where he advocates important neglected issues. He currently sits on the board of the Co-op Group and chairs the NHS Confederation. He also chairs Visionable, a video and data tech platform designed to bring healthcare to everyone, everywhere.

Victor’s chosen dish is one of comfort: Nigerian chicken stew. Growing up this was his Sunday lunch, and an opportunity for his parent’s Yoruban roots to shine through in food.

It’s a dish with many variations, and we explore the impatient cook’s version along with the slower, more detailed way to cook it in part 2 of the episode.

Bon Appétit!

“Enjoy leadership and food because they don’t last forever” – Victor Adebowale

You’ll hear about:

02:06 – An introduction to Victor

12:26 – The inverse care law

15:26 – Why 9/11 was so important for Victor

18:30 – Politicians are in the wrong job

19:20 – Victor’s desert island dish

24:33 – You can’t cut your way to growth

29:49 – Why Empathy is a fundamental quality

40:31 – Part 2 – Nigerian Chicken Stew recipes

44:40 – The bish bash bosh version

48:21 – The advanced recipe

Episode resources:

Polpo: A Venetian Cookbook - https://rb.gy/wsd8py

Find out more about Victor:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/loadebowale/

Visionable - https://visionable.com/

Contact François:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/francoismoscovici/

Valentine’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valentine-moscovici/

François’ Instagram food feed:

@moscoffier