Hello! I’m Jodie

So, I left school at 18 with good A levels but no idea what I wanted to do with them. I tried many different things; worked in a juice factory, worked abroad in Zante for the summer, did the first year of a law degree before leaving and then went on to become an administrator and work part time in a bar. This is where the opportunity presented itself for me to become a self-employed landlady at 22.

I had no experience, knowledge or background in hospitality, just my ambition and determination. Within my first year I won best new business and publican in the Regional Awards 2016. During this ceremony I was approached with a whole new risky opportunity to open a restaurant by another leading management company – and then the Penny Farthing was born. I was running 2 establishments at 24 and had a team of 40 staff members.

I have been in the hospitality industry for just over 8 years now and been at the Penny Farthing for 6 of them. With a fantastic team we have we have grown from strength to strength and transformed a small run-down restaurant into a thriving, ever growing, highly popular business. We pride ourselves on providing the best dining experience for all our customers.

We’ve had many hard times and set-backs with Covid being one of the worst - but we adapted, arose to the challenge and came out the other side stronger than we were before and with an established place in the market. We did this by selling vast amounts of takeaway food & cocktails through lockdowns which essentially put us on the map.

Last year I spotted a gap in the market and added a new venture to my business portfolio called ‘In the Mix.’ We provide fun cocktail making classes to both professional and social groups in the comfort of their own environment. We host the party and cocktail creating whilst teaching skills, tricks, recipes and injecting fun into the party! This year we are bringing ‘In The Mix’ to the Penny Farthing and offering a location/venue along with the masterclass services that we provide. This will enable more opportunities for staff in house and out whilst widening our audience and promoting growth.

“Sometimes you don’t have to find your path in life… Sometimes your path finds you”

“It’s not choosing the ‘right’ path that matters. It’s knowing what ignites your passion. Once you’ve figured out what brings you joy you don’t have worry about finding the right path. Any route will take you there, there are no wrong turns - an unexpected path.”