Kitchen Day Podcast

Hosted by Dominique Fourie McMillan, the Kitchen Day Podcast celebrates the people who bring hospitality to life through service. Each episode features chats with some incredible folk who work in service - from hosts and bartenders to sommeliers and owners - sharing their philosophies, challenges, triumphs, and why they believe service is the best job in the world. Whether you work in hospo (or did once!) or simply love dining out, these stories will reveal why service is an honourable craft, and those who do it well are worth celebrating.

Kitchen Day Podcast is a society podcast hosted by Kitchen Day, with 23 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Kitchen Day hosts Kitchen Day Podcast, a society show with 23 episodes published.

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  Episode #3

  Judith Tabron of First Mates, Last Laugh: 50 years of lessons worth sharing

  Sep 27, 20261h 11mS3

  Judith Tabron has spent nearly 50 years in hospitality, from accidentally landing an apprenticeship as a teenager, to cooking in London, running Sails through the '87 crash, owning Ramses in Newmarket at just 26, and spending 18 years at the helm of the iconic Soul Bar & Bistro. Now, with First Mates, Last Laugh at Westhaven, she’s back doing what she loves.. and with five decades behind her, Judith has plenty of lessons worth sharing. Judith joins Dom for a brilliantly candid chat about what it really takes to build and run great restaurants: knowing your numbers, learning from the best, front-footing the hard conversations, understanding your customers, opening slowly, and knowing when it’s time to move on. There are brilliant stories along the way, but underneath them is something every hospitality professional can take away: keep learning, keep adapting, and don’t spend too much time looking backwards. THE KITCHEN DAY PODCAST IS PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY DROPPAH. See why Droppah is the leading choice for hospitality rostering. Kitchen Day listeners can try Droppah for a month free. Click here! WITH THANKS TO OUR SUPPORTING PARTNERS Tevalis - Leaders in POS technology Angie Atkinson at Blanc Distribution Goodman Fielder Foodservice Episodes of the Kitchen Day Podcast were filmed at Apero on K'Road in Auckland, and Loretta on Cuba Street in Wellington. Created, hosted and produced by Dominique Fourie McMillanFilm production and editing by Jono Tucker at Empire Films Got a question? Drop us a line: hello@kitchenday.co.nz Thank you for listening!

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  Episode #2

  Charles Williams of Bowler on turning past failures into future success

  Sep 20, 20261h 25mS3

  Charles Williams of Bowler has spent the last decade learning from businesses that didn’t quite go to plan. From opening Ceremony in Grafton with a $20,000 car loan, to a gallery café at the Pah Homestead and then seven years running the uber chic Williams Eatery, Charles talks openly about the mistakes, setbacks and hard-won lessons that eventually led him to the supernova that is Bowler. It’s a conversation about why past failures can set you up for future success, and why sometimes the thing that feels like a constraint can become the Big Idea itself. We get into the thinking behind Bowler: the tiny kitchen that shaped the menu, the influence of fast-casual brands overseas, the winter that nearly undid the business, and the family reset that became Bowler 2.0. We talk about building a business with his brother Patrick, bringing in partners, and the ambition to take healthy fast food to the masses. This is a candid chat about hospitality, resilience, family, and staying in the game long enough to find what works - I hope you enjoy! THE KITCHEN DAY PODCAST IS PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY DROPPAH. See why Droppah is the leading choice for hospitality rostering. Kitchen Day listeners can try Droppah for a month free. Click here! WITH THANKS TO OUR SUPPORTING PARTNERS Tevalis - Leaders in POS technology Angie Atkinson at Blanc Distribution Goodman Fielder Foodservice Episodes of the Kitchen Day Podcast were filmed at Apero on K'Road in Auckland, and Loretta on Cuba Street in Wellington. Created, hosted and produced by Dominique Fourie McMillan Film production and editing by Jono Tucker at Empire Films Got a question? Drop us a line: hello@kitchenday.co.nz Thank you for listening!

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  Episode #1

  Sophie Egan on the pride of building a career in service

  Sep 13, 20261h 26mS3

  Sophie Egan has hospitality in her bones. She started as a glassy at 12, spent five years at Caravan in London where she was running a restaurant by 23, then came home to lead teams at Onslow and Gilt. She is a brilliant front of house operator, a natural host, and someone who cares very deeply about the people on both sides of the pass. Now, after taking some much-needed time away from restaurants, she’s figuring out what the next version of a life in hospitality looks like. This is such a fun, generous conversation about the craft of service and the pride that comes with choosing to make a career of it. We talk about hiring for personality, why you can teach someone to carry three plates but you can’t teach them to care, 500-cover brunches in London, two-minute martinis, burning menus, Friday-night fights and what happens when caring deeply about your work starts to cost you. Sophie also talks candidly about leaving Gilt, learning to put herself back on the priority list, and finding a new way to stay connected to an industry she very clearly still loves. I hope you enjoy this episode, the very first of Season 3. I’m so happy to be back in your ears. And if you like what you hear, please subscribe! THE KITCHEN DAY PODCAST IS PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY DROPPAH. See why Droppah is the leading choice for hospitality rostering. Kitchen Day listeners can try Droppah for a month free. Click here! WITH THANKS TO OUR SUPPORTING PARTNERS Andrew at Tevalis - Leaders in POS technology Angie Atkinson at Blanc Distribution Anna, Sarah and the team at Goodman Fielder Foodservice Episodes of the Kitchen Day Podcast were filmed at Apero on K'Road in Auckland, and Loretta on Cuba Street in Wellington. Created, hosted and produced by Dominique Fourie McMillan Film production and editing by Jono Tucker at Empire Films Got a question? Drop us a line: hello@kitchenday.co.nz Thank you for listening!

  ListenShow Notes
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  Episode #10

  Eric Kong of Dragons on living up to a family legacy in service.

  Jun 6, 20261h 4mS2

  <p>Eric Kong is 24 years old and runs Dragons, Wellington's most beloved yum cha institution on Tory Street in Wellington. But the story starts in 1908, when his great-great-grandfather arrived in New Zealand alone at 14, paid the Chinese poll tax, and started a fruiterers' guild that gave the Chinese community a foothold in Wellington. Five generations of hospitality has followed, and Eric has been part of it since before he could really choose otherwise.</p><p>In this episode Dom sits down with Eric to trace the whole arc. The fruit shops, the fish and chip shops, the fine dining restaurant...

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  Episode #9

  Melissa Lind of Charley Noble on walking the line between control and chaos in a busy service

  May 30, 20261h 6mS2

  <p>Melissa Lind didn’t plan to become the General Manager of one of Wellington’s busiest restaurants. She walked into Charley Noble with a single CV, no appointment, and asked for a job. Three months later, she was running the floor. Eight years on, Mel oversees Charley Noble and The Food Lab as GM of Knife Block Hospitality, leading huge services, managing teams of up to 75 staff, and navigating the beautiful chaos of modern hospitality. This episode is packed with the kinds of stories you genuinely couldn’t make up: clarified butter taking out the power during a packed dinner...

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