be more carnival

Mike is the RK Managing Director, although if you asked him he would prefer to be called Skip (obsession with pirates and boats!) He literally lives and breathes Rum Kitchen:

I’ve spent 25 enjoyable years working with brands such as Pitcher & Piano and Las Iguanas and this has given me the experience and know how to feel confident leading Rum Kitchen in the next stage of the brand’s journey. I joined RK 3 years ago with the idea of wanting to create something unique; a brand that lives its values every day, focuses on the teams development, adds to the local community and most importantly is a fun place to be for everyone. My Carnival Dance moves aren’t for the feint hearted but I definitely live our ‘Be More Carnival’ mission every day. On my plate you’ll find the KFC Supreme and in my glass it’s got to be a Mai Tai (which I was introduced to by none other than Joy Spence herself!)

Michal has progressed from Assistant Manager in our Soho restaurant into this role which he pretty much created for himself based on his strengths and the things he loves – he’s definitely a behind the scenes ninja.

I’ve been in hospitality for nearly 15 years (including 2 years at Hard Rock Café – not everyone knows about that) and at Rum Kitchen since the end of 2017. I started as a Front of House Manager, but as time went on I started to feel there was so much more I could give to the brand and it’s growth and so talked my way into a Head Office move. First I became responsible for all comms, systems rollouts and management as well as internal visual content. Since summer 2022 I was made Head of Marketing & Communications.

As a long time vegetarian and huge animal lover I also make sure that our menu has enough options for vegetarians and vegans as I believe they do have friends. On my plate it’s got to be the T&T style veg curry and in my glass nothing can beat an Abuelo 7 rum with ginger beer.

Jo can spark love for hospitality in every person she meets and after falling in love with RK from the first sight she’s headding the ops team continously improving our standards.

For the past 20 years I have been working for numerous brands: Bills, Megan’s, VEL, Soho House and consulted for hospitality businesses in Europe. I love food and am dedicated to improving businesses through motivational leadership and exceptional attention to detail. I have recently joined RK and I am very excited to be working with some amazing individuals with great passion for the brand and it’s values. In my role I have a lot of freedom of expression, bringing new ideas and working on elevating the teams and our food and drink offer.

I believe in celebrating creativity and encourage collaboration across all sites. Photography and art are also very important in my life I always want my food to be picture perfect and our Mai Tai or Daiquiri are definitely the ideal way to end the day.

Deenie is our Social Media and Brand Partnerships Manager, she’s the go to for all things content and collaboration related. Starting off as a Consultant Partner in 2020, Deenie is now a solid member of the RK team.

My route into hospitality is far from traditional. I’ve spent the last 10+ years working in the colourful world of fashion and beauty across branding, trend insights, shoot production, artist management and partnerships. Feel free to call me a ’Sarah of all trades’. Ultimately I love to create extraordinary content and find imaginative ways to tell brand stories by leveraging partnerships rooted in entertainment, influence, culture and society. I’m the worlds biggest cat lover and the proud owner to 2 divas, Honey and Baby. Food and music is deep rooted in my blood, thanks to my Jamaican heritage and a mum who’s a killer cook. No I’m not bias and yes my taste buds are spoilt. I might not smile in photos but rest assured, I’m full of giggles on the inside. Good energy, meditation and yoga are daily rituals. On my plate it’s got to be the Pepper Prawns and in my glass no other than the Pineapple Daiquiri.

Kaleam used to hang around Prince Harry, Ed Sheeran, Stormzy and some other big names while rocking her tables at the original RK in Notting Hill. Now she’s rocking at our HQ:

Where do I start… I’ve been here longer than our MD Mike, call me a part of the furniture at this point. RK was my first hospitality job, I found my feet here after working in the creative industry for a couple years and wanting to try something different, I started off as a “Bottle girl” in our now closed iconic Notting Hill brunch in the bar located underneath the restaurant… if you know, you know ;). I always knew I wanted to do more and expressed early on that I wanted to do more, eventually moving on to brand and sales role.

Sara is a first half of our People Team and brings all the great talent through the door. That’s when she’s not working as a ‘blue nun’ at the Glastonbury.

Having started at the age of 15 in hospitality I have known nothing else. I have worked in Bath, Liverpool, Melbourne, and London. Starting off as a sandwich maker I worked my way up to become a General Manager.

I started in The Rum Kitchen as the General Manager of Shoreditch and have now moved to head office as People Manager. I love working with people and hospitality is a perfect fit for me in order to do this. In my spare time I love to travel and spend time with my family and friends.

Natalia is the other half of our People Team, and she has been growing with the company since joining RK Soho as a team manager back in 2019.

I love people so it is not a surprise that I have been in hospitality for over 13 years – all my best years, and still do not have enough! My journey with Rum Kitchen started at the bottom of the management ladder – I have climbed from being an AM, through AGM, holding GM to finally moved into Head Office as a People Manager. My home base was Soho, but Brixton venue has special space in my heart. I like reading good crime books and I love good food, especially where is sugar involved. A lot of sugar! I cannot wake up without at least two coffees in the morning, and when I am hungry, I am also hu(a)ngry kind of person. I am all about Carnival vibes and I love dancing. All the staff and DJs know what ‘my’ song is, so when I am in the venue, there is always Spice and Vybz Kartel in the speakers together with me.

On my plate you would find a Curry Goat and in my glass Pina Colada or Kingston Spritz when the weather is hot.

If loving chicken wings is wrong, then I don’t want to be right. Oh, and have I told you that I am an epic baker too (just ask Mike)

I have been working in Sales and Events for almost 10 years,  predominantly in the hospitality sector. I can honestly say that as stressful as it can be at times, there is nothing else I would rather do (apart from eating chicken wings of course).

When I’m not planning events and parties at the Rum Kitchen, you can find me hiking and climbing mountains somewhere in the UK, and as Marvin Gaye would tell you,”ain’t no mountain high enough” and I agreed!

As a real foodie, you can you just imagine how excited I was when I finally joined the Rum Kitchen and got to try all of the amazing food. I swear by the Golden Chicken Bites to start with or Wing Wing Dinner (obviously) & my favourite cocktail is a Mai Tai or a Pineapple Daiquiri.