Forest Holidays asked me for a food and drink strategy. I took it all the way: from the first site visits to a three-year plan, new menus now live across the estate, and a Head of Food Development ready to lead it from here.
Nine locations, every meal occasion, in the Retreat and in the cabin. Before a word of strategy, I ate, drank and listened.
The look, feel and intent of the food already fitted a nature-first holiday company built on togetherness. The opportunity was in the hospitality. Every time I spoke with a team member, they met me with genuine friendliness and a real willingness to help. What they needed was confidence, and a shared picture of what great hospitality looks and feels like at Forest Holidays.
In the cabins, the spirit of the brand came through naturally. The Retreat, the social hub at every location, was ready to become far more: the place foresters and locals choose to spend their evening.
That was the line in the strategy, and I meant every word. A Retreat at the emotional and social heart of the holiday, food and drink that give the business real commercial strength, and teams proud of everything they serve.
Four pillars to build on and six big initiatives to drive the numbers, set out as a three-year roadmap with every milestone named and owned.
| Pillar | What it does |
|---|---|
| The Forest Holidays Way | Six service steps lived by every team member, from the first smile to the farewell |
| Bang-On Tidy | Standards agreed with the teams who keep them, from the car park to the bin store |
| Home Grown | Burger, pizza and Retreat brands developed in-house and held with authority |
| Acting Local | Local dishes, producers and events that give every forest its own reason to visit |
Commercial discipline runs underneath all four: revenue per occupied cabin, blended margin, menu availability and the gap between the strongest and the rest of the estate, all measured and all reviewed.
Every weekend brings a full forest of guests with time on their hands. The Big Weekender gives them something to look forward to from Friday afternoon to Sunday lunch.
Après-ski for the woods. Back from the trail to seasonal food and drink, an acoustic set, children playing in view, and fading early enough to give the forest its calm back.
Curry and beer for the family or the group, out on the decking or under the trees.
A breakfast feast to remember, a Bloody Mary station, pastries worth the walk and a Sunday roast wherever the kitchen can deliver it.
Pizza and burgers from the home-grown brands, ordered on the app and brought to the cabin door.
"Welcome to the forest: the moment guests step into something quieter, deeper and more memorable."
Built for every kitchen on the estate, with room for the bigger sites to show what they can do.
Every Retreat now works from a house menu carrying around three quarters of sales: the breakfasts, the all-day dishes, the burgers and the pizzas, built to cook beautifully and reliably in any kitchen. Sites with the space, the skills and the ambition then flex up, with Sunday roasts, extended ranges and dishes from their own part of the country.
The burger and pizza offers became Forest Holidays' own brands, with fresh builds, new packaging and identities fit for any high street. Holding them in-house keeps the ten to fifteen percent of margin a franchise would take, and keeps the teams trusted with a product they are proud of. When locals come in for their burger fix, the brand is working.
Every section was worked through dish by dish with the kitchen team: breakfast and brunch, all-day dining, desserts and cakes, drinks and coffee.
The strategy finished where it should, on the table. The winter menus launched across every location with the teams trained, the cook-offs done and the drinks poured. The summer 2026 menus are live across the estate today: the woodland breakfast, chicken and waffles, Mexican eggs, sourdough pizza, small plates and a smoothie list built for families.
Hospitality lives in people. The plan gives every team the confidence, the standards and the recognition to lead with it.
Each general manager writes a Location Charter, a personal promise to their team and their guests, signed off by the senior leadership team. Teams set their standards with their managers, from the essentials shared across the estate to the ones that fit their own site. Then come unannounced graduation visits, scored and published in a league table, with prizes for the best and coaching and re-grading for anyone under seventy-five percent.
Twice a year, every year, feeding straight into GM of the Year. The culture that holds it together is simple: take it personally, and never walk past a problem.
A steady rhythm keeps it alive: weekly on site, monthly by region, quarterly with the executive team and once a year with the board. Short meetings, clear owners, and leaders who show up.
Alongside the strategy I worked closely with the Head of Food Development, supporting them through menu development, costings, the launch and the leadership that holds it all together. The menus are theirs to carry forward now, with the whole estate behind them.
Every forest is different, and its food and drink should celebrate that.
General managers curate their own calendar of events: star-gazing nights with seasonal snacks, ranger-led breakfasts, wild cooking by the fire, picnic hampers and a coffee cart out on the walking trail. It builds pride in the team, gives guests another reason to come back, and takes a bigger share of the holiday spend.
Local ingredients researched site by site, local ales and wines on the list, and a retail shelf that reads like a food map of the area. Details that belong to Forest Holidays alone, and a team proud to tell their story.
"Improvements were landed successfully in a short space of time and delivered measurable results. David combines commercial rigour with a practical, hands-on approach."
