Behind.podcast

  • Home
  • Behind.podcast

Behind.podcast Behind! is a podcast by Australian hospitality veterans Tony Kelly & Peter Marchant. Available on Spotify & YouTube.

Join them for candid stories and insider insights behind the hospitality industry.

12/09/2026

There’s another cost to bringing your own cake that most diners probably never think about: “time” ⏱️🎂

If cake adds another 30 minutes to the meal, that could mean another 30 minutes before the restaurant can turn the table. 📌

No dessert sale. A longer sitting. Potentially one less booking.

That doesn’t mean every restaurant should charge cakeage the same way — but it does explain why bringing your own food into a restaurant isn’t quite as simple as it sounds. 😬

Everything has a cost. Even cutting the cake.

🎧 Watch the full conversation on YouTube
👉 Subscribe to BehindPodcast

09/09/2026

Remove the credit card surcharge and the fee doesn’t disappear.
Someone still has to pay it. 💳 ✅

The bank still takes its cut. The business still carries the cost. So does the restaurant absorb it and lose margin — or increase menu prices to compensate? 💰😬

What looks like a small percentage becomes a much bigger conversation when you apply it across an entire hospitality business. 😎

And eventually, the cost has to land somewhere. 💵

🎧 Watch the full conversation on YouTube
👉 Subscribe to BehindPodcast

07/09/2026

Why should you pay cakeage when you brought the cake yourself? 🎂

Because bringing the cake doesn’t make it free for the restaurant. 📌

Someone still has to store it, cut it, plate it, serve it, clear it and wash everything afterwards — all while you’re occupying a table in the venue.

So… fair charge or hospitality cash grab? 😬

🎧 Watch the full conversation on YouTube
👉 Subscribe to BehindPodcast

05/09/2026

Hospitality legislation can get complicated very quickly.

And if you’re operating somewhere in the grey area, guessing probably isn’t the best strategy. 😅

TK’s advice is simple: “Pick up the phone and ask”.

Regulators aren’t only there to enforce the rules — they can also help businesses understand them.

You might not get the answer you hoped for, but at least you know exactly where the line is. ✅

🎧 Watch the full conversation on YouTube
👉 Subscribe to BehindPodcast

02/09/2026

“We promote Happy Hour… we just don’t promote what Happy Hour is.” 👀🍸

When the rules are complicated, hospitality operators learn pretty quickly where the boundaries are.

Sometimes that means finding a way to market an offer without actually telling everyone what the offer is.

Welcome to the grey area of hospitality marketing. 🧐😬

🎧 Watch the full conversation on YouTube
👉 Subscribe to BehindPodcast
RestaurantBusiness

31/08/2026

Happy Hour sounds simple enough… until you read the rules. 🍻🥂

In Queensland, the regulations around how Happy Hour and drink promotions can be advertised are surprisingly specific — including where that advertising can be seen or heard. ‼️

Which raises a pretty interesting question: 
How do you market a Happy Hour when there are limits on how you can talk about it? 👀

29/08/2026

Fresh tulips. Aesop soap. Rolled linen face washers. Beautiful little details that elevate the restaurant experience. 🌷✨

There’s just one problem… People keep stealing them. 😂

TK remembers starting a service with 20 freshly rolled face washers in the bathroom and finishing with 10.

Soap vessels? Taken.
Ornaments? Taken.
Some things literally had to be glued down. 😬

Apparently, creating a beautiful restaurant bathroom also requires accepting that part of it might go home with your customers. 🤦‍♂️

🎧 Watch the full episode on YouTube
👉 Subscribe to BehindPodcast

26/08/2026

A beautiful restaurant can still be a bad restaurant. 👀

Design matters — the room, lighting, furniture, glassware and all the little details that shape how a venue feels.

But underneath all of that? It still has to work.

Great hospitality sits somewhere between beauty and practicality. Because if a venue looks incredible but doesn’t function for the people working or dining in it, the design can only take it so far.

As Pete puts it: if it looks pretty but it’s s**t… it’s still s**t. 😂

🎧 Watch the full episode on YouTube
👉 Subscribe to BehindPodcast

24/08/2026

What makes a restaurant truly iconic? 🍽️

Five years is a long time in hospitality.
36 years? That’s generational.

Stokehouse has become part of Melbourne’s dining history — built across decades, generations and an extraordinary attention to hospitality.

For TK, seeing that image of Frank van Haandel walking towards Stokehouse nearly brought him to tears. ❤️

Restaurants come and go. Very few leave a legacy like this. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

🎧 Watch the full episode on YouTube
👉 Subscribe to BehindPodcast

22/08/2026

Booking a hotel? You might want to check direct first. 🏨

Online travel agents make booking incredibly convenient — and give hotels access to customers they might never reach otherwise.

But that convenience comes at a cost. 💰

So before hitting “book”, it might be worth calling the hotel or checking their website and asking: “Can you do better if I book direct?”

Sometimes the answer might surprise you. 👀

There’s a place for both — but knowing how the system works can make a difference for the hotel and the guest. ⭐️⭐️

🎧 Watch the full episode on YouTube
👉 Subscribe to BehindPodcast

Address

8 Market Lane

4558

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Behind.podcast posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

  • Want your business to be the top-listed media company?

Share