Former Leon duo launch consultancy, Deliverance and Akkeron Hotels already on-board

Two former senior members of the award-winning healthy fast food chain Leon have revealed that they have set up Public House, a new consultancy for the restaurant, bar, pub and hotel sector.

Benny Peverelli and Richard Holmes told BigHospitality they will be taking a ‘hands-on’ approach to Public House consultancy, as well as being in the planning stages for a chain of pubs and a food-based charity.

“There’s something very rewarding in being able to help others through our skills,” said Holmes. “We did that working for Leon, but there’s something really exciting about being able to go in and be a part of other peoples projects and helping them achieve their goals.”

“What sets us apart from other consultancies is that we are taking a hands on approach. If people hire public house, it will be Benny and I undertaking the project. It’s not about quick wins, quick fixes or short-term visions, it’s about building something sustainable which stands the test of time.”

Simplicity

Public House will focus on two core areas to drive long-term profit for clients: attention to detail to improve the customer experience and the re-introduction of kitchen skills to drive down kitchen costs. The co-founders believe that simplicity within a business is often more effective than complicated practices.

Holmes continued: “By getting everything perfect – from the volume of the music to the serving temperature of the food - everything else follows. It’s simply a case of putting credibility before visibility.”

“At the very forefront is having a set of values that everyone can believe,” added Peverelli. “You come across a lot of super-large menus which just don’t work, so you’ve got to simplify them. But we have to make sure that whatever we give them is sustainable.”

This approach has already proved popular, with two major clients already signed up at launch. Deliverance, the London-based high-end food delivery service, is currently working with Public House, while Akkeron Hotels has also engaged Public House’s services to help manage a major investments programme into selected hotels across Britain.

Three-pronged approach

Peverelli and Holmes revealed that their business will eventually take a three-pronged, fork-like approach, with a chain of pubs and a food-based charity in the pipeline to run alongside the consultancy.

Holmes added: “We would like to open a pub at some point next year, but right now 100 per cent of our focus is on Public House.

“The inspiration behind the charity is wanting to give something back. We don’t want to appear tokenistic and we want to look close to home, perhaps teaching school children about the industry.”

Both Holmes and Peverelli moved on from healthy fast food chain Leon in March. For more information on their consultancy, visit www.publichouseltd.co.uk.