Show Notes
"If your local cafe is serving free-range eggs and sourdough while the place next door uses cheap, battery-farmed eggs—why are you paying the exact same price for your breakfast?"
Welcome back to the podcast. Today, we’re joined by Joe Macken—one of Irish hospitality’s most seasoned operators and the co-founder of Tiller Index. Having built, scaled, and run iconic Dublin restaurant brands like Jo’Burger, Crackbird, Skinflint, and Bear, Joe knows the gritty, commercial realities of running a kitchen from the inside out.
In this episode, Joe pulls back the curtain on "menu greenwashing" and the sourcing opacity sweeping through the Irish food service industry. Instead of self-reported surveys or paid promotional badges, Tiller Index acts as a financial-style audit for provenance—diving straight into kitchen supplier invoices to verify what's actually coming through the back door. From protecting genuine Irish farmers and fishers to auditing fixed staff rosters and ethical working standards, Joe shares why radical transparency is the only way forward for Irish dining.
If you’ve ever wondered where your food really comes from when you dine out, this episode is your ultimate guide. Let’s dive in. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from Tracie - The Food Business Coach
"We import over 80% of our food on an island made of gold, while multinationals pocket the profits and our farmers get driven to the wall."
In this unmissable episode, Siobhan of St. Tola- a proud third-generation teacher and one of Ireland’s most celebrated, award-winning artisan cheesemakers—takes us on a raw, deeply truthful journey through the realities of her craft. She pulls back the curtain on the gut-punch feeling of discovering food businesses lying about using her iconic cheese on their menus, or worse, watching kitchens dilute her hard work with flour and inferior fillers just to stretch a margin. She walks us through the turbulent ups and downs of farm life and food production, but above all, delivers exceptional, battle-tested wisdom. With 27 years of building a thriving business and creating one of the country's most delicious, pure, and natural products, Siobhan’s insights offer a masterclass in resilience, integrity, and passion that every chef, producer, and food lover needs to hear. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Hidden Crisis Behind the Pass Let’s be clear: this isn’t one bad boss or a single toxic workplace. It’s systemic. According to Fáilte Ireland’s 2024 Labour Market Insights Report, over 60% of hospitality workers report regularly working beyond their contracted hours. The Irish Hospitality Institute noted that 41% of employees experienced harassment or bullying at work, while research from the University of Galway (2023) highlights that burnout rates among hospitality staff are nearly double the national average. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Entitled consumer behaviour is quietly stripping the profit, joy, and humanity out of my world – the world of independent Irish hospitality that I have given my life to. We do not permit BYO food into our cafe!
Meet the Maker: Felix of Mor Taste – How to Crack Retail in 12 Months Ever wonder how a brand-new food product gets into every major Irish retailer within a year? Felix of Mor Taste is here to share everything—no closed doors, no secrets held back. Because when you achieve nationwide retail domination with a one-year-old business, the industry sits up and takes notice. In this conversation, we're diving deep into three game-changing areas that transformed Mor Taste from concept to consumer favourite: