The Caterer’s Inspiring Women in Bars & Restaurants Lunch: ‘Embarrassment is the price of progress’

Attendees heard from keynote speaker Lottie Whyte, co-founder of wellness brand MyoMaster. Her business has scaled to £10m revenue from its launch in 2021, spurred by a viral appearance on the BBC series Dragon’s Den, which saw Whyte dubbed ‘the dragon slayer’ by the programme’s panel of multimillionaire investor judges.

During her talk, Whyte unveiled the five key lessons she had learned about building and scaling a business. She spoke candidly about the value of rejection, describing the feedback she gleaned across 250 rejections from prospective investors as “a gift” that strengthened her business, which today has more than 100,000 customers and is the 11th fastest-growing firm in Britain.

Whyte encouraged guests to lean on the power of community with their fellow operators as their “greatest asset”, for everything from troubleshooting operational issues to soundboarding a new venture.

She also described embarrassment as “the price of entry for pursuing your dreams” – encouraging women to pitch their ideas and tackle awkward conversations head-on in pursuits of their ambitions – be it asking for feedback from a disgruntled customer to making a case for business investment.

Following the talk, guests sat down to a three-course lunch prepared by chef patron Sarit Packer, co-founder of Honey & Co.

Lunch consisted of warm Kalamata olive cheese twists with yogurt dip; seeded lavoush with pea and mint purée with pickled shallots; smoked haddock beignets with caper sauce; tuna crudo with grated tomato, chilli and tahini; lamb chops with fermented chilli sauce, lime and fennel; seared pork belly with oregano and candied lemons and cauliflower rice with amba, mango and coriander salsa.

For dessert, guests enjoyed feta cheesecake and Dubai chocolate mousse with pistachio oil.

From our sponsor Woods Foodservice

We were honoured to attend The Caterer’s Inspiring Women in Restaurant & Bar lunch. It was a real privilege to join such a vibrant and influential community, celebrate the achievements of women across hospitality, and connect with inspiring leaders driving positive change.

We’re especially proud to champion and support our own women leaders, whose talent, dedication, and leadership continue to shape Woods and the wider industry.

“Helping this event come to life was a pleasure. We built some very valuable connections, and having a space for women to connect in what is such a male dominated industry, is extremely special and powerful.”