Speaking
& Media

I speak from inside a working restaurant. Still running services at BANK and Lapin in Bristol. That changes the conversation.

Dan O'Regan on the floor at Lapin, mid-service

Hospitality is offered.
Servitude is demanded.

The difference between hospitality and servitude is something I think about every shift. That's what I bring to a room.

What I talk about

These come from running two restaurants and writing about the same questions every week for two years.

i.

The host's power

The restaurant controls the room: the table, the menu, the timing, the rules. Good hospitality is what happens when you choose to give some of that back. Everything else in the room follows from that decision.

ii.

Kindness as infrastructure

How you treat the person taking the order determines how the guest feels about being served. It is a system. Culture is the product. Build the right conditions and warmth transmits itself.

iii.

Service as craft

Charisma fills a room. Charm notices the particular person sitting in it. One is a performance. The other is a discipline that can be taught. That distinction is where the work starts.

iv.

The public living room

Restaurants are businesses with tables, margins and rent. They are also temporary communities. The economics have to work. So does the room. A room that works holds both at once.

v.

Dignity over transaction

The £5 customer and the £500 customer deserve the same human attention. That is a radical position in this industry. It is also the one that holds up if you believe hospitality is a relationship built on trust.

Every appearance starts with a conversation. The talk is shaped around your audience and built from there.

Formats

Keynote 20 – 45 min One argument, built around your audience. Works well for operators, food industry events, and hospitality culture conferences. Q&A optional.
In-conversation 45 – 60 min Interviewed by a host, briefed in advance. Works well when the audience knows the subject and wants a live conversation with friction in it.
Panel 30 – 60 min I come with a position I will hold. A panel that agrees on everything wastes everyone's morning.
Podcast & broadcast Any In conversation on hospitality culture, restaurant economics, or the writing. Contact via DML Talent.

Past appearances

The Go To Food Podcast April 2026
In conversation on hospitality culture and Notes on a Napkin.
CODE Hospitality Panel September 2025
Staffing, retention, and what it costs to look after a team.

Make an enquiry.

Fill in what you know. I read every enquiry and come back within two working days. Every booking starts with a call. The talk is built around your room from that conversation.

All speaking, media and broadcast enquiries can also go directly to DML Talent, who represent me for all opportunities. For writing commissions, write to [email protected].
The more specific, the faster we can have a useful conversation.
I respond to all speaking enquiries personally.

Received. I'll come back within two working days. If it's time-sensitive: [email protected]