Pizza Pilgrims

Budget is due at lunch time, so here is some light relief. 😉 Wednesday can only mean one thing... another podcast drop 🎙️🎧 This week I chatted with Oli Cavaliero, Head of People and Engagement at Pizza Pilgrims. Sitting outside their flagship Pizzeria in Kingly Court, we got to chatting about Pizza Pilgrims latest recruit, Joshua. “Joshua”—their AI chatbot that’s reshaping employee experience! Inspired by the AI in the 80's film,War Games,( ask Thom Elliot), Joshua does much more than answer questions; it’s a powerhouse for boosting team connection and streamlining processes. The success of Joshua in enhancing engagement is truly remarkable, to the point where they have reduced open shifts ( hours that need working!) by 30%. But what else can this new recruit do? 🤖 Company Culture & Engagement: How Joshua enhances team spirit with personalised birthday reminders and shift updates. 🍕 Real-Time Pizza Insights: Real-time data helps team members perfect each pizza. 👨🔧 Streamlined Employee Assistance: Joshua answers policy and menu questions instantly, reducing handbook overwhelm. 💻 Digital Engagement: Exploring the role of digital platforms in keeping teams connected, Joshua uncovers the questions employees might feel hesitant to ask, fostering a culture of openness. 🔢 Insights into Employee Engagement: Oli discusses strategies that make Joshua indispensable for staff, showing the power of tech in humanising the workplace. Skip to the bit you love ❤️ [00:01:34]Company culture and engagement. [00:03:42]AI in "War Games" inspires Joshua. [00:10:22] Human nature and menu discovery. [00:12:31] Using Joshua for Employee Assistance. [00:15:25] Personalized real-time pizza data. [00:20:14] AI in customer service [00:21:42] Streamlining company handbooks. [00:25:14] Unearthing unanswered employee questions. [00:29:36] Engagement through digital platforms. [00:31:43] Workplace engagement insights. [00:35:31] Employee engagement strategies. If you’re interested in how AI can drive engagement and simplify life for hospitality teams, this episode is a must-listen! 🍕 Listen now and see what AI can do for employee engagement in hospitality. 🎧 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eeaGm-AM Season #10 of the Tech on Toast podcast is brought to you by OpenTable the most complete, easiest-to-use, and truly reliable restaurant platform out there. Serving the best restaurants for 25 years and counting.

All hail Andrej! Meet our new Second Chef in Cambridge. He's just completed his Pizza School Training and has every right to look chuffed to bits. 8 weeks ago he had never made a pizza, nor worked in a pizzeria. There's a huge amount of skill to learn and Anrej has truly represented our 'Push Yourself' value - dedicating himself to the mission. Now he can make Neapolitan Pizzas like he's been here for years. If you're in Cambridge pop in for a pizza. Here's to many pizzas together, Andrej! 🫶

Championing Progress with Purpose We're incredibly proud to be recognised by Foodservice Equipment Journal (FEJ) as a sustainable business champion! 🙌 This isn't about claiming we've cracked the code on sustainability - it's about the collective journey we’re on to be better every single day. From our teams across Pizza Pilgrims, and our friends at blue+yellow, we are constantly challenging ourselves to make smarter, more responsible choices and reduce our impact wherever we can. A journey (not destination) to make people happier, one pizza at a time. 🍕 Let’s keep it going! 💚 #Sustainability #TeamEffort #PizzaPilgrims

The winners of The Sliceys Awards 🍕 Every year at our summer party we give awards out to a bunch of Pilgrims who we think have just been total legends over the last 12 months. Here they are climbing the O2 Arena to celebrate. Well done team! 🫶

Last week we sent a whole bunch of our managers and support team to Naples to soak in some of the experiences that our co-founders Thom and James did during the original pilgrimage 11 years ago. ✅ Pizza ✅ Pizza ✅ Spritz ✅ Supplier visits ✅ Rum Baba ✅ More pizza Until next time Naples 😘

Ciao, Edinburgh! We couldn't be any more excited about opening a brand new pizzeria in Edinburgh, our first in Scotland. We think we've found the perfect venue, and we can't wait to introduce ourselves to the community. With that in mind, we're on the lookout for a General Manager and Head Chef to join our mission making people happier one pizza at a time. Pizza Pilgrims isn't for everyone, and that's cool with us. However, If you think driving around Italy in a Tuk-Tuk on a 6 week Pilgrimage learning to make pizzas from some of the best pizza chefs in Naples is as ridiculously cool as we do, and you're obsessed about pizza as we are - then you'll likely fit right in. Click the link to read more about our culture, perks, and how you can get a slice of the action 👇 https://lnkd.in/etRcfETx 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Afternoon all, Enjoying the rain? Yup. me neither. This week on Tech On Toast meets....we meet Oli Cavaliero, Head Of People & Engagement at Pizza Pilgrims. Oli introduces us to Joshua, their newest recruit. Joshua is a highly intelligent AI tool that’s swiftly becoming a key player in Pizza Pilgrims’ operations. As we always say tech should be an enabler, not, a distraction to operations, so imagine if your tech could help fill open shifts, ensure birthdays aren't missed and make sure that recipes, compliance and any other documentation could be grabbed in seconds. What would that look like? Would it inform your teams faster? ✅ Would it take pressure of GM's and central support for repetitive questions that require the same answer? ✅ Would it extend your culture and improve engagement ? ✅ Would it help align standards across a group of restaurants ? ✅ Would it replace humans? ❌ Of course it will help, of course it will do all of the above but Oli continuously referred to the humans in the business, the people that make the brand so special, tech cannot replace them. We can teach tone of voice and provide data to tech but that server who laughed and joked with you at your table last week, that GM that covered their assistant managers shift because they were sick and that chef that adjusted the pizza to spec before it went out, no one is replacing them. Thanks to Oli and the team at Kingly court for looking after us. https://lnkd.in/eA-W-Cx2

We're excited to announce the latest episode featuring Gavin Smith, Managing Director of Pizza Pilgrims! In this insightful discussion, Gavin shares his experiences and thoughts on the ever-evolving world of restaurant delivery. Here’s what we cover: 🔹 Exclusivity vs. Multi-Platform Delivery: The pros and cons of committing to a single delivery platform versus spreading across multiple ones. 🔹 Balancing Revenue and Operations: How exclusive deals can impact sales and operational efficiency. 🔹 Adapting During COVID-19: The success story of "Pizza in the Post" and how it kept Pizza Pilgrims connected with their customers during lockdowns. 🔹 Future Trends: What’s next for the delivery landscape and how restaurants can stay ahead of the curve. 🎧Don’t miss out on this episode! Listen here: https://lnkd.in/e7Evj_TC #delivery #food #restaurants #technology #insights #podcast #TheDeliveryProphets #TheDeliveryWorld Jon Borzacchiello, Aviko UK & Ireland, Peter Backman

It's that time of the year again... 🤩 🥊THE DOUGHDOWN 2024🥊 It feels only yesterday that we had a HC from each of our pizzerias going dough to dough at the pre-finals of this amazing internal pizza competition. 23 Head Chefs, 23 incredible pizza creations 🤤 but there can only be one winner for next months guest pizza across all pizzerias 😬😰 Here's some highlights from the semifinals. Finalists incoming. Watch this space! 🍕🏆 🍕&💚

Here's our team in Cardiff ahead of our brand new pizzeria opening today. If you're in Cardiff, pop in for a pizza and a spritz with China, Lloyd, Karim and the rest of the team. We're looking forward to seeing you 😘