Striking the Balance

PROFILE Kate Brooke-Green Head of Food, Mollie’s

As Head of Food at Mollie’s, the fastgrowing concept from Soho House, Kate Brooke-Green has been charged with leading the disruptive brand’s immediate expansion in the UK. Focusing on food strategy, she also heads up people development for an 80-strong foodservice team and will guide the group through the opening of its first city centre concept, set to launch in Manchester in 2023, with onsite F&B outlets including a 164-cover diner, a lounge bar, a shared workspace, private events catering and a grab-and-go offering. Her previous career as a chef and experience as Head of Food Development at The Ivy Collection should stand her in good stead to rise to the challenge.

Upcoming Openings: Manchester, UK (2023)

Hip hotel-diner concept Mollie’s has big plans in the UK – and at its helm is Head of Food Kate Brooke-Green, who discusses her winning formula of fostering passion in teams and keeping things simple in the kitchen.

Words: Shanna McGoldrick

Putting a rakish spin on the classic American roadside pitstop has placed Mollie’s well and truly on the map in the UK. The affordable hotel-diner concept has set itself the mission of transforming travel via a distinctive ‘budgetluxe’ offering that leans on nostalgia but applies a contemporary approach to everything from in-room tech to its statement interiors, which are exclusively designed by Soho House. Its allday dining offering is equally as stylish, with a menu running the gamut from build-yourown breakfast waffles and pancakes to classic American grilled cheese sandwiches, ribs doused in BBQ sauce and indulgent bar food such as loaded nachos, hot wings with blue cheese and sweetcorn fritters with spicy mayo. But this is far from a fanciful undertaking: the group has ambitious expansion plans that include opening numerous venues across the UK over the next three to five years, and has already earmarked 10 further locations around the country that will boost its portfolio, which currently comprises outlets in Bristol and Oxfordshire. First up is Manchester, where the new Mollie’s will open its doors in Q2 of 2023 in the city’s seminal former Granada TV Studios location.

MAKING FOOD FUN

With its convivial booth seating and its penchant for comfort food, Mollie’s strives to offer a crowd-pleasing dining experience that blends a laidback outlook with culinary originality. “It’s a nod to American food, but it’s not strictly that,” embellishes Brooke-Green, explaining that flexibility lies at the heart of the menu. “With the food itself, what we’re trying to do is make it unfussy, but also – and this is a challenge - I’m really conscious that I want it to stick within a certain price point. I want it to be accessible to everybody.” On navigating the challenge of striking the right balance between quality and affordability, she says: “We go out of our way to avoid unnecessary frills.”

Brooke-Green is focused on creating a roster of Mollie’s classics, from ice creams to milkshakes, that incorporate innovation but remain accessible for both customers and employees, catering simultaneously to the group’s demographically diverse clientele and a business need to keep things straightforward as possible for the inhouse team. “We’ve got quirky flavours of soft serve coming for the summer and retro desserts like banana split,” she hints, adding that lobster rolls and desserts served tableside are also in the pipeline. “Manchester is going to have a different menu and it’s going to have all those snippets of things,” she reveals.

Naturally, sustainability is also a key piece of the strategy. “Mollie’s has committed to ensuring all plastic items are made from

recycled, recyclable and compostable materials and has opted for refillable products in its motel bathrooms,” says Brooke-Green. “Sustainable thinking will continue to sit at the heart of its expansion as it implements measures to manage environmental impact and further reduce carbon footprint in the years to come.”

PEOPLE POWER

Brooke-Green initially trained and worked as a chef for the first chapter of her career – a foundation she believes provided her with an invaluable understanding of the highs and lows of working in the hospitality industry. At Mollie’s she is driving a culture of positivity in terms of recruitment and retention, and is keen to motivate and champion younger generations who are learning the ropes. “What we’re trying to do is inspire people to fall in love with hospitality again and give them the grassroots training that will allow them to succeed,” she explains.

Given the group’s appetite for growth, an effective staff retention strategy is crucial – but Brooke-Green believes that openness, transparency and an ability to help employees discover various facets of the hospitality machine can be used to help people find their passion. “Whenever I talk to young people coming into this industry, I think it’s important to talk about all the different possibilities that are out there,” she says. “There’s the restaurant and hospitality world, but as an offshoot of that that there’s a bigger piece; I think that’s super exciting. There’s so much that goes into building a brand, a restaurant, a business; you can start to inspire people in that way.” In Bristol, for example, Mollie’s is working with hospitality students at local colleges who are invited to come and work in-house – and though they might want to start out as a chef, there are options for them to move into areas such as events or management, depending on their talents and interests. “We have an amazing talent base within the business, a passionate and inclusive team culture, and I look forward to working collectively to establish inspiring training programmes,” she surmises.

ALL ABOUT BALANCE

Cultivating a sense of workplace wellbeing and ensuring that staff are able to enjoy a reasonable work-life balance is a major factor in achieving these sought-after retention levels. “The world is so fast-changing and I’m glad that the hospitality industry is changing for the better,” says Brooke-Green. “Looking back at my past, I wouldn’t want somebody to work an 80-hour week in a London restaurant and slog really hard and then be asked to do something like mend the tiles at the end of the shift. That’s not particularly inspiring.”

In an effort to foster an inclusive environment, she ensures that all recipes are clearly photographed and easy to follow on iPads, making the process as self-explanatory as possible for kitchen employees, while also creating the time for people to pursue training as necessary.

Adaptability is also front of mind when it comes to her focus on remaining competitive. “Inflation is going up, as is the cost of electricity and energy; even to just open the doors is quite an expensive thing, so we have to get the balance just right,” she explains of the group’s imminent launch in Manchester. In response to the challenging climate, Mollie’s is testing out different workflows and means of harnessing staff resources. “If our diner isn’t busy, or our bar downstairs isn’t busy, we’re talking about how we can create a really positive culture and mentality by looking at cross-training, or perhaps moving somebody away to provide help upstairs in the rooms, because they might be really busy,” she says. “We’re trying to build a more harmonious business that can work a lot more effectively, as opposed to everyone working in silo. It comes with its challenges, but I think giving a really good work-life balance and having a great working atmosphere is so important… If you reward your staff and look after them then effectively, they will reward you and make it a great business.”