Cheers with Nat

Welcome back to Cheers with Nat – the podcast dedicated to cheering on women in drinks. Today's guest is Claudia Carrozi, Fleet Beverage Development Manager with Cunard cruises and President of the UK Bartenders' Guild. Claudia and I had a lot to chat about, so our conversation will be coming at you in two parts. Now, for those of you who listened in to last week's episode with Jo, you might feel a bit of déjà vu here, as part of Claudia's story also takes place on a ship – but this time, we're in the bar! Claudia knew from a young age that she wanted to be a traveling bartender, so in this first part of our conversation, you'll hear how she seized the opportunity to make that happen, where she went in her four years at sea, and how her role changed when Covid brought her back shore side. Then, in part two, we'll we cover Claudia's role with the UK Bartenders' Guild.   What stuck with me from this conversation: On her first hotel job: "He was like 'Well, this is a job for men', and I was like, I can do it." On her plan after finishing school: "My plan was learn English, travel the world. You know, be a traveling bartender." On Amit Sood, one of her mentors: "He really mentored me on the basics – how to read a class, how to talk to people, how to explain things. And that was another person that I was like, I really want to be like him. I'll have this experience in my heart probably for the rest of my life, because that was the other kickstart for the other part of my career." On seizing opportunities: "This person picked up the phone and was like, 'I have an opportunity for you'. And I had no idea who this person was, but I was like, bring it on."   Links & things: What we're drinking: "The bartender's favourite drink", aka Claudia's daiquiri made with Kakira gold rum Where Claudia works: Present Cunard cruises President of the UK Bartenders Guild Past Shaker Bar School Shout out to a key mentor there, Amit Sood, former Head of Training Claudia's original cocktails, available on the Cunard cruise lines: Cunard Spritz, with Cunard gin, Aperol, yuzu, tonic and cucumber peel Cunard Rum Punch, a blend of rums with passion fruit, pineapple, and a little bit of absinthe   Recording info: August 2026 at Harbour Hotel Southampton (thank you for hosting us!)   Subscribe | Follow on Instagram | Email

Welcome back to Cheers with Nat – the podcast dedicated to cheering on women in drinks. Today's guest is Joanne Love, Craft Marketing Manager at hop company BarthHaas and co-host of the podcast A Woman's Brew. Jo's been working in the beer industry for just over 4 years now, but she discovered her love of beer in her previous role… as a costumer on a cruise ship! A self-proclaimed 'creative person', Jo studied textiles and spent 8 years at sea as a wardrobe supervisor, helping to bring the ship's shows to life. So, how the heck did she go from that role to working in the drinks industry? Well, you're just going to have to listen in to find out! For anyone curious about making a transition into drinks from another industry, this episode is for you. Jo reflects on her transferrable skills, the thread that's carried through all of her roles to date, the many hobbies that keep her busy outside of work – and how they've helped her to get to where she is today, too.   What stuck with me from this conversation: On her role as craft marketing manager: "It's a bit of strategy, a bit of planning, a bit of running events. I quite like that it's not the same every day." On doing a little bit of everything:"I found this phrase lately that I really like, 'I'm a jack of all trades and a hoe of all hobbies'." On recognising her own skills: "You are still not sure right up until the end of that contract if you're going to get another one… I was lucky because, well, I say I was lucky, but actually I was good at my job. And so then I kept getting taken back on to the next thing and the next thing." On the thread throughout her career: "I didn't think I was strategic, but now when I look back at it, it's all of these things that I did along the way that are very strategic." On her podcast: "We really wanted it to be an opportunity to elevate other peoples' voices. Like, it's not really about us. It's about getting information out to people about beer, so they feel more confident about it. And it's about getting other people's voices out…you know, we've tried to get some of those lesser known breweries out there to be heard. And we just kinda do that and we don't really think about the impact that that's had." On her impact: "I had a brewer come up to me once at a festival and say 'I'm a brewer because of you'." On what keeps her in the drinks industry: "The creativity, beause this is art, as well. Craft brewers are doing amazing, crazy things. And I love that we're a small, artisanal industry that's still trying things, still trying to push the boundaries, and having a good time doing it."   Links & things: What we're drinking: Merakai Espresso for my Depresso coffee stout (5.4%) Brewed for International Women's Collaboration Brew Day Using Edge Tea & Coffee Where Jo works: BarthHaas Hop products, including Spectrum and Prysma Hop academy and webinars Jo's video with the Malt Miller Curious to try some green hop beers? Check out your local cask beer pub next month. Mine is The Pembury Tavern in Hackney and they do a Green Hop Beer Festival every October. Keep tabs on their social here for dates! Jo's other hats: Love Beer Learning A Woman's Brew podcast Conversation with Wild Weather Ales Conversation with We Are Beer Jo's qualifications: Certified Beer Server & Certified Cicerone Jo's awards: Women in Beer Awards Communicator of the Year British Guild of Beer Writers Citizen Beer Communicator with Tori Powell for A Woman's Brew Last call recommendations: What do drink: PSL & pumpkin beers What to watch: from a self-proclaimed "Vampire girlie"… Buffy The Vampire Lestat, based on Ann Rice's The Vampire Chronicles Where to go: Worthing, including Merakai (for their Pastry Palooza in November), Old Bike Store, Beer No Evil, The Selden Arms, & The Brooksteed Who to know: Tori Powell, Jo's co-host on A Woman's Brew Emma O'Neill-Parsons from Merakai Brewing   Recording info: July 2026 in London   Subscribe | Follow on Instagram | Email

Welcome back to Cheers with Nat – the podcast dedicated to cheering on women in drinks. Today's guest is Claire Warner, consultant and co-founder of the Good Measure Guild. Claire shares how she went from studying law, to succeeding in cocktail competitions – yes, there's a link there – and how that catapulted her into to a career as a brand ambassador, and later in spirit creation and innovation. Eventually worn down by the industry's demanding lifestyle, but not yet ready to leave it, she began to focus more on health and well-being and became central to the creation of a whole new category… of no and low alcohol drinks. Always listening for signals and staying ahead of the curve, Claire now tells us where to look next: not at physical or mental health, but social health and hospitality's role in it. How can hospitality serve as a force for social good? You're about to find out.   What stuck with me from this conversation: On how times have changed: "At that time, so 2014/2015, you know, this concept of a non-alcoholic distilled spirit was a crazy idea." On predicting the future: "I don't have a crystal ball, but I do love to look for patterns… I think I'm just quite aware of listening for all of those very faint signals and trying to pull them together." On hospitality and social health: "I think that hospitality is the intervention for social health. And my sole aim, I think for the next few years, is to make other policymakers aware that there is a missing piece of the puzzle. Because there is a whole World Health Organisation commission on social connection, a 234-page report on what we need to be doing at a country level to help eradicate or mitigate social isolation and loneliness, and hospitality is not mentioned once." On the importance of hospitality venues: "…not to be too grandiose, I think these are the places where we learn how to be human. We go into public places to rub along people who don't look like us, sound like us, dress like us, vote like us, perhaps. And that's how we build tolerance for one another. And that's how we learn how to rub along in the sand pit of life." On networking: "It's the reason I think I am where I am today, because of my huge network and because I've always been really happy to do the cringe thing."   Links & things: What we're drinking: Le Rixi mid-strength vodka (25.3% abv) Claire's work: Present: Consultant Founder of the Good Measure Guild More on social health from The Lancet and the World Health Organisation Co-chair of the Futures Track at Tales of the Cocktail Foundation Master's in Business Psychology from University of East London Previous: Brand ambassador for Wyborowa, Żubrówka, and Belvedere vokdas Dick Bradsell's The Lonsdale With Ben Branson on Seedlip and Aecorn As Head of Luxury Advocacy at Diageo, working with Diageo's World Class Bartenders Claire's drink reccs: Le Rixi Sabliere Cala Flaco   Recording info: July 2026 in London   Subscribe | Follow on Instagram | Email

Welcome back to Cheers with Nat – the podcast dedicated to cheering on women in drinks. Today's guest is Michelle Brampton, CEO of WSET, the world's leading provider of drinks education. Michelle shares how she first 'fell into' the drinks industry two decades ago, all thanks to a 6-month contract as a finance analyst in wine company. After working her way up to finance director then managing director there, she was ready for her next chapter and, as you'll hear, it sounds like she manifested her ideal role… with WSET! Michelle tells us what her day-to-day as CEO looks like, how she learned to do the job, and how she learned to believe that she could – all thanks to the transformational power of coaching. Now a trained coach herself, Michelle lets us in on the limiting beliefs that once held her back, the skills she's still developing, the importance of finding courage, learning by doing, and a whole lot more. ... I should mention that Michelle and I do know each other outside of this conversation, as I also work at WSET (in my day job as a beer educator), but any views shared on the Cheers with Nat podcast are my own.  And any mess ups are mine to own, too. Unfortunately, Michelle's audio is a bit quieter than it should be, as I didn't quite get the mic set up right on this occasion. The conversation is still well worth a listen though, so please do bear with.    What stuck with me from this conversation: On how to progress in your career: "…you won't progress if you can't let go. You can't do every job in the company before you do the MD role, it just doesn't work like that." On the importance of courage: "So often women are talked about not being confident enough, and it's not confidence, it's just finding some courage. Women are never really encouraged to find courage. For men, you get on with stuff. You feel the fear and do it anyway..." On the value of coaching: "It helped in me doing the role, but it helped me believe I could do the role, as well. That I didn't need to come in knowing all the answers, it was ok to come in and ask a lot of questions and just go from there." On empowerment: "If you like people and you want them to do great work and you want to create an environment where they can just be themselves and do their best work – that just kind of becomes self-fulfilling as well. People rise to the occasion, if you just give them the space to go figure it." On the importance of learning by doing: "The fastest way to learn is to act. If you don't do anything, you won't learn anything."   Links & things: What we're drinking: M&S Southwold Pale Ale 0.5% Where Michelle works: WSET Global What we do More on WSET's recent brand refresh (featuring Michelle on The Drinks Business podcast) Coaching training: Mastering the Coach Approach Book recc: The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni TV recc: Shrinking   Recording info: July 2026 in London   Subscribe | Follow on Instagram | Email    

Welcome back to Cheers with Nat – the podcast dedicated to cheering on women in drinks. Exciting news! Cheers with Nat season two kicks off this Wednesday, September 16th. Each week on the show, I host curious, career-focused conversations with women who work in the drinks industry, so you can learn how each guest got to where they are today, what their day-to-day looks like now, what keeps them grounded outside of work, and a whole lot more. And every episode is recorded in-person… so we can kick off by sharing each guest's favourite beverage, of course! The aim of this show is to make us all feel connected, celebrated, cheered up and cheered on, whether you're a fellow drinks professional, an enthusiast, or somewhere in between. Listen in to find out who you can expect to hear from when the show returns – and be sure to get subscribed in the meantime! Cheers! Subscribe | Follow on Instagram | Email