The hospitality consultant for new venue openings
Strategic F&B consultancy from London for start-ups, growing hospitality groups and new venues, from someone who has delivered more than 100 openings in the UK and abroad.
Arrange a callBrands I have worked with
OttolenghiCarluccio’sThe Old VicMandarin Oriental- 100+
- Openings delivered, UK and international
- 25+
- Years in strategic F&B leadership
- 7
- International countries where I have launched brands
- 2x
- Sales at the Old Vic’s Backstage within three months
About me
Mike Stocks, F&B consultant, London
I’m a strategic F&B consultant with more than 25 years across luxury, lifestyle and high-growth hospitality brands: scaling Carluccio’s international estate, leading Ottolenghi’s expansion into Switzerland with Mandarin Oriental, and mobilising the Old Vic Theatre’s new £20m Backstage café, restaurant and bar.
I work across concept development, guest experience, commercial modelling and market adaptation, turning a brand idea into a venue that is culturally relevant and commercially sound. I’m as comfortable in a boardroom as I am on the floor during a soft launch.
There is no team behind me and no delegation. You deal with me from the first conversation to the first full week of trading.
Who I work with
Start-ups and first sites
Founders turning a concept into a first venue: shaping the idea, testing the numbers and getting the doors open without expensive mistakes.
New venue openings
Restaurants, bars, cafés and cultural venues adding F&B. Concept, service model, menus, suppliers, systems, recruitment and training, delivered to an opening date.
Growing groups
Operators adding sites or refreshing an estate: feasibility, rollout planning, refurbishments and the operational detail that keeps every new site on brand.
Brands going international
Adapting a concept for new markets while protecting what makes it work. I have launched brands across Europe, the Middle East and North America.
Recent results
- The Old Vic, 2025
Loss to surplus in four months
Launched Backstage inside the theatre’s £20m extension. Sales doubled within three months, with 95% staff retention from pre-opening to six months.
- Ottolenghi, 2023 to 2025
First international site
Partnered with Mandarin Oriental in Geneva. The site exceeded revenue forecasts, alongside three new UK locations delivered on time and on budget.
- Carluccio’s, 1999 to 2019
4 to 12 sites in the Middle East
Grew the Middle East estate, launched Turkey to five locations and lifted franchise income from £200,000 to £1,100,000 a year.
Simple to start
Every project begins with a conversation about where you are, what you want to open and when.
- Call or send a message to arrange a chat or an initial meeting, free of charge
- I put together a proposal based on that conversation
- We agree a scope that suits your timescale and budget
- You get 100% of my attention, with no hand-off to a junior team
Openingsomething new?
Start the conversation early, before the big decisions are made
Arrange a call