It's All Gravy
Work can be all gravy - it doesn't have to boring, heavy, stressful. The best hospitality businesses design systems that allow them to scale the fun and effectiveness, without scaling the chaos. This podcast asks people leaders about how they do it.
It's All Gravy
Honest Burgers: We use AI to Supercharge our Managers! - Tommy “Tech” Giraux
Tommy “Tech” Giraux pulls back the curtain on how Honest Burgers scaled fast, kept the vibes, survived chaos (rain-soaked 600-burger giveaways, voucher meltdowns), cooked on a billionaire’s yacht, and is now using AI to free managers to do real hospitality.
Tommy Giraux is Head of Systems at Honest Burgers. He joined 12 years ago when there were 3 sites, helped open through the boom to 45 pre-COVID (now 39), and shifted from GM/Ops to building the tech stack that powers speed and consistency. He also helped pilot Smash + Grab after Honest crowdfunded £3m.
He explains:
◼️ Why 600-burger launch days worked (until they didn’t) and what he’d change now
◼️ How an Oxford Circus voucher fiasco became a live lesson in crisis comms
◼️ Why brunch flopped three times—and how focusing on “one thing done well” saved the brand
◼️ What COVID taught them about redeploying “superstars” and running 5-person teams
◼️ How an in-house AI bot (“Pickle”) cuts admin, answers staff questions 24/7, and keeps forecasting steady
◼️ What a billionaire’s yacht service revealed about standards, improvisation, and team chemistry
◼️ How stagecraft from his pop-punk band days still shapes pre-shift and leadership
Timestamps
00:00 Intro — Tommy Tech, 39 sites (50+ now)
00:12 Abu Dhabi billionaire’s yacht: building Honest on a boat
01:28 Culture at scale: slips, fixes, and values in practice
02:50 Joining Honest (2012): training at King’s Cross, opening Site #6
05:19 Launch giveaways: 600 burgers, rain, and queues round the block
07:14 Why the big giveaways stopped
07:40 Scaling 3→45→39: COVID whiplash and moving “superstars”
08:56 Brunch attempts (x3): great beans, bad fit—lessons learned
11:07 Smash burgers + Smash & Grab; £3m crowdfund; Liverpool St pilot
12:23 “Tommy Tech” origin story
12:36 AI at Honest: killing admin, boosting manager insight; the “Pickle” bot
16:00 Forecasting, personalisation, and keeping the human touch
17:42 Managers out of the office: from coaching to laptops
19:59 Into systems during COVID: best-of-breed stack and partnerships
22:17 Tech vs culture: what tools can’t fix
24:01 Hiring, first 90 days, promoting from within
32:04 The legendary opening team
33:44 Pop-punk to hospitality: stagecraft, confidence, and service
35:33 Wrap
It's All Gravy is a hospitality podcast where we dig out the best stories from industry leaders - about comms, learning, AI, and Gen Z.