A feast for your ears.
What's Cooking? is the podcast for hospitality operators scaling smart. Hosted by Conor Sheridan – CEO and co-founder of Nory, and a former operator who built and ran multi-site restaurant brands himself.
Each episode goes behind the scenes of fast-growing restaurant groups to explore the operational challenges that actually matter – like disconnected systems, staffing chaos, and margin pressure.
What’s Cooking EP #08
Discover how aligning culture with systems drives results in team retention, guest sentiment, and commercial performance.
What does operational excellence really look like in the real world of hospitality? In this episode of What’s Cooking? Conor Sheridan, CEO and founder of Nory, sits down with Jonny Bramwell, Regional Head of Operations at Rosa’s Thai, to explore how the brand scaled a transformative internal programme—Rosa’s Done Right. Jonny shares leadership lessons, key challenges, and how to balance beautiful chaos with brand consistency across 46+ locations. Discover how aligning culture with systems drives results in team retention, guest sentiment, and commercial performance.
The fast and furious arrival of Dave’s Hot Chicken to the UK
In this episode of What’s Cooking? Neil Remedios, Operations Lead for Dave’s Hot Chicken UK and Ireland, joins Conor Sheridan, CEO and founder of Nory, live from the 2025 Hospitality Tech Expo to unpack the fast, furious journey of scaling one of the world’s hottest QSR brands, under the Azzurri Group umbrella. From why a copy-and-paste localisation isn’t always possible, to launching 7 sites in under 12 months, Neil shares how operational discipline, team culture, and strategic systems fuel sustainable growth.
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How Blaze Pizza (US) scales tech across 300 franchise locations
In this episode of What’s Cooking? Chris Demery, CTO of Blaze Pizza, joins Conor Sheridan CEO and founder of Nory, to unpack the gritty realities of tech transformation in hospitality. From piloting new systems to navigating franchise complexity, Chris shares how Blaze Pizza balances innovation with profitability.
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Inside Nory’s Series B: disrupting hospitality with AI
In this special episode of What’s Cooking?, host Conor Sheridan, CEO and founder of Nory, is joined by Jose Gaytan de Ayala, Investment Manager at Kinnevik, to unpack Nory’s recent $37 million Series B raise. They dive into what attracted Kinnevik to Nory and how AI is revolutionising restaurant operations in this candid conversation about capital, culture, and creating real-world impact.
Prezzo Italian: why brand is an operating system, not a campaign
What does it take to align brand, culture, and operations in hospitality? Mark McCulloch, Founder of Hospitality Marketing Guru and CMO of Prezzo Italian, joins Conor Sheridan, CEO and founder of Nory, on the latest episode of What’s Cooking? to share how he led a successful brand repositioning at national scale.
Inside Rosa Thai’s playbook
What does operational excellence really look like in the real world of hospitality? In this episode of What’s Cooking? Conor Sheridan, CEO and founder of Nory, sits down with Jonny Bramwell, Regional Head of Operations at Rosa’s Thai, to explore how the brand scaled a transformative internal programme—Rosa’s Done Right. Jonny shares leadership lessons, key challenges, and how to balance beautiful chaos with brand consistency across 46+ locations. Discover how aligning culture with systems drives results in team retention, guest sentiment, and commercial performance.
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Inside Blacklock's People-First Growth Strategy
In this episode of What’s Cooking? Conor Sheridan, CEO and founder of Nory, sits down with Maria McCaan, Operations Director at Blacklock, to uncover how the brand has grown without compromising its people-first ethos.
How Chaos Helped Giggling Squid Thrive
In this episode of What’s Cooking? Conor Sheridan, CEO and founder of Nory, sits down with Darko Salaj, Operations Director at Giggling Squid, to uncover the unconventional strategies behind the brand's rapid expansion. From thriving amid Covid to rejecting corporate rigidity, Darko shares his unique approach to operations, leadership, and scaling sustainably.
Change management lessons from Bill's Restaurants
Tom James, Managing Director at Bill’s Restaurants, joins Conor Sheridan, CEO and founder of Nory, to share how he led the brand through record-breaking growth over the past 4 years by doubling down on guest experience, change management, and technology. With decades of experience and a deep operational background, Tom shares how he’s led Bill’s Restaurants through significant transformation, balancing heritage and innovation while maintaining a relentless focus on the guest experience. Listeners will gain insights into how Tom approaches change management, builds alignment across teams, and integrates new technologies without losing sight of what makes a hospitality brand thrive.