Strategic Food and Beverage Consultancy Services

Expertise and support for restaurant and bar owners, hotel food and beverage operators

About me

Based in the UK, I possess 30 years of food and beverage expertise, mainly in hotels. My background as a hotel general manager offers valuable insights into challenges faced at property and corporate levels. Working as the Corporate Director of Food and Beverage in Zurich across Europe and India has equipped me to provide tried and tested solutions.

As a freelance food and beverage consultant, I have collaborated with notable clients like Niklas Ekstedt and Hyatt Corporate in Zurich, working on projects in Prague and London. I provide expertise on restaurant revenue management to the Basque Culinary Center and offer operational insights and post-acquisition strategies for hotel food and beverage operations to a Luxembourg-based private equity company. My successful collaboration with Nespresso received positive feedback.

Provenire

I have been cooperating with a software development team based in the United Kingdom since 2009, and together co-created 365Audits, an online audit tool that can be used for businesses to move them from their paper-based excel or word-based audits to a paperless cloud-based system. The system was successfully piloted in the UK. We have the capability to develop augmented reality tools and other online strategies coded in various languages. We can also create highly functional websites if required to meet different budgets and needs.

I’m driven by my values

For me, purpose and values are important.

My purpose is to support the hospitality industry in finding new paths to success and I always choose the right path over the easy one when working with clients and partners.

My motivation is knowing that I have and can help a lot of people/businesses have great food and beverage experiences and that these experiences are planet friendly, memorable and profitable.

Asset Management

We offer global hospitality businesses asset management support with a focus on enhancing their Food & Beverage operations. Leveraging data-driven strategies, we aim to increase performance, revenue, and reputation, while building resilience and promoting sustainability. This is achieved in alignment with stakeholder aspirations. Remote F&B evaluations can be executed via video conferencing, implementing agreed-upon sustainable improvements. If needed, comprehensive audits can identify priority commercial opportunities that boost resilience and promote sustainable growth.

Concepts

Understanding all the stakeholders’ viewpoints, budgets and identifying the local market opportunity through data, we can develop and create sustainable, destination worthy restaurant and bar concepts, that prioritise success whilst embracing eco-friendly practices. We can support you with your existing third-party concept developers to implement their concepts where they do not provide operational implementation guidance and support. We can create and project manage the redevelopment of an existing restaurant, redesign and reimagine your hotel’s breakfast offering, events setup, and bar in a more sustainable way in collaboration with your corporate or property team. We are pragmatic, proven and experienced at turning food and beverage operational results around and driving incremental income.

Marketing and Branding

Creating an effective F&B marketing plan for hotels can be challenging due to limited resources and expertise. A clear, targeted, and differentiated plan is crucial to stand out in the local market. With years of experience supporting hotel marcom teams and F&B leaders, we can help validate and improve your marketing strategies to ensure success. Our services include but are not limited to developing websites with API integrations for booking channels.

Featured work

I have been working with Niklas supporting him with his London restaurant. The project included recruitment of a restaurant GM, supporting him to find a new PR company, acting as the communication bridge between the hotel leadership team, Niklas and the corporate office and oversight of the restaurant on a daily basis. All objectives were achieved and it is my belief the restaurant is more than capable of achieving its first star with the current team. Going forward Niklas and I will continue to remain in contact.

This project was very close to my heart as it was the first paid project I had gotten since the health crisis impacted my employment role. I had been a consultant in the UK successfully for eight years before being a corporate DOFB for Hyatt covering Europe and India. I was lucky to be able to collaborate with Martin B Jones. I think we both learnt a lot about Nespresso. While I can’t go into detail about the work we did, It was strategic and in particular we were both impressed by how sustainability-focused they are and how integrated they are in Switzerland locally. A great brand with a wonderful team who have genuine intentions to make the planet a better place while selling coffee to hospitality businesses across the world.

ZEM restaurant is based at the Andaz in Prague, I was appointed as the project consultant and worked on behalf of Hyatt International performing the function of being the approval point between the designer and the property ensuring the necessary actions were in place to ensure this restaurant opened successfully with a concept that had a clear identity, worked locally and would be destination-worthy. Feedback from Hyatt has been that this restaurant is working extremely well and goals were achieved as per consultancy arrangement.

Testimonials

Srdjan Milekovic SVP Hotel Operations EAME

His ability to question the established order in a very calm but firm way, and to provide practical insight and suggestion in terms of operation and marketing were very much appreciated by our hotel teams. Michael was involved in too many projects to mention – repositioning of The Bank Brasserie and Bar in Vienna, renovation of Hotel Martinez in Cannes, opening of Great Scotland Yard hotel in London and Grand Hyatt Kochi are some of the highlights.

Stephen Ansell General Manager Park Hyatt Zurich / Area VP at Hyatt Hotels Corporation

I have worked collaboratively with Michael, in his capacity as Corporate Director of Food and Beverage, over the last 5 years. Michael is a talented hospitality expert with extensive food and beverage knowledge. His advice and foresight has contributed much to the diverse operations in hotels where I was responsible. I have enjoyed the challenges and opportunities that we have addressed together and have no hesitation to recommend Michael as a true professional who’s support has been most valuable.

Gorka Bergareche Cluster Hotel GM Amsterdam

His knowledge of the F&B business made him capable to read the trends that are happening in the market and suggest the right approach to them, continuously challenging the “status quo”. I appreciate his ability to change and adapt to different operations and business climates. This is a strength that is extremely valuable in our industry. With his support, we managed to successfully achieve and consolidate a second Michelin star in the Gastronomical restaurant, and increase profit margins.

Let’s work together on your next Food & Beverage project

Offering an independent perspective, I bridge gaps between operations, corporate, and owner ambitions, emphasising sustainability. Uniting stakeholders through empathy and challenging norms, I find validated, sustainable solutions. Contact Michael Butler for food and beverage strategic asset management with a focus on sustainability and responsible practices.

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