Navigating cancelled visas at check in, months of planning going to smoke & is there ever such a thing as a holiday when you own a business? Listen here to see how it all worked out in the end.

Chatting though a busy two weeks, staff gossips, the restaurant rumour mill, does everyone actually think Im really a monster, when we see screenshots about us, a gorgeous wedding menagerie style, wedding details, famous guests and parking tickets.

In this episode of The Bathtub Diaries, Karina Jadhav shares the behind-the-scenes happenings at Menagerie Restaurant, discussing the challenges and humorous moments of restaurant management including the most ridiculous request they received this week. She reflects on the evolution of dining experiences in Manchester, particularly her role in bringing brunch clubs to Manchester..

Takeaways

Karina Jadhav hosts The Bathtub Diaries from Menagerie restaurant's bathtub.

The past week at Menagerie Restaurant has been filled with humorous challenges.

Planning events years in advance can be overwhelming for restaurant management.

Creating a vibrant dining experience is essential for customer satisfaction.

The restaurant industry has evolved from formal dining to more relaxed experiences.

Reminisces about a trip to New York tasting burgers for 4 DAYS

Karina's brought the first brunch club to Manchester along with a DJ from New York

The energy of a full venue can be contagious and uplifting.

Customer engagement and enjoyment are key to a successful dining experience.

Karina looks forward to upcoming events and the continued evolution of her restaurant.

Summary

In this episode of The Bathtub Diaries, Karina Jadhav reflects on her experiences as a mother and business owner, triggered by the appearance of her restaurant in Molly Mae's documentary. She discusses the emotional challenges of motherhood, the impact on her work and memory, and the complexities of celebrity culture in hospitality. Karina shares personal anecdotes from her restaurant, the chaos of her weekend, and her struggles with insecurity, emphasising the importance of self-care and finding balance in a demanding environment.

Takeaways

Molly Mae's event at Menagerie and forgetting it had happened.

Motherhood, sleep deprivation and running a business

The Paps; Crucial to success but sometimes a curse?

Being a secret keeper

Transcript

Welcome to The Bathtub Diaries. I am Karina Jadhav and I am sat in the bathtub at Menagerie. I decided this week it made sense to sit in the bathtub to record this. So last week I started getting messages on Friday night saying, Menagerie's on the Molly Mae documentary.

was thinking, how is this possible? I do not remember Molly Mae being in Menagerie. Anyway, Molly Mae has a new documentary out, I can't remember what it's called, it's on Amazon Prime anyway, and I watched it last night to see why we were on there, and basically she hosted a BeautyWorks event.

for her Beauty Works line at the restaurant in October 2019. And it's a gorgeous event. I think she looks stunning. They're saying that her face has too much filler in it, but she just looks so glossy and glam and yeah, just fresh faced. But she held this event and they got all the branded balloons around the bathtub and there's photos of her with the bathtub that I'm sat in right now.

There's photos of them being packed outside, inside, press board. It looks great and it's full of celebs. It's amazing. But when I looked back at why I did not remember when this event happened, it's mad. Like I remember most things. There is a roster of celebrities that have been in the restaurant. And generally, I have been here somewhere in the background and have worked on the event or know what went on. But I've...

blanked on this one and it's because when I look back at the photos there's a row of photos and it's Molly Mae, gorgeous event, celebs, the venue decor looks gorgeous and then

There's photos of me with a four week old baby. So I'd have my baby, my first baby, Henry, in September. And he was four weeks old at the time and was not sleeping and crying his sleep. And we were just absolutely broken. And so I don't remember anything of that time really. Like I have to remember, remind myself about what happened with him, let alone Molly May being in the restaurant.

And I think it kind of, it made us really emotional last night. I showed Ben the photos because we watched it to see the restaurant. And he was saying, God, like you forget how hard it was and how, I mean, with Henry, it wasn't a normal circumstance. It was more difficult because there was things going on that we didn't know about and we didn't understand. But it was so, it was rough and...

We were sleep deprived. I mean, I feel as though we've been sleep deprived since September 2019. And then that really affects your memory, affects the way that you perform at work, and how you feel as a human being, how you approach things, how you respond to things. And definitely for me, since that all happened, I felt so much more vulnerable as a human being and so much more emotional. And so...

In this episode of the Bathtub Diaries, Owner Karina Jadhav shares her experiences running a busy restaurant over a long weekend, discussing the chaos, joy, and challenges of hospitality. She reflects on her hands-on approach to leadership, the dynamics of customer interactions, and the balance between family life and work. Karina also delves into the restaurant scene in Manchester, the importance of guest feedback, and the what goes on BTS amongst local businesses.

Highlights

Karina enjoys the chaos of running her restaurant.

Hands-on leadership is essential in hospitality.

Customer interactions reveal different personalities.

Balancing family life with work is challenging but rewarding.

Event planning can be a joyful experience.

The restaurant scene in Manchester is tightly knit.

Guest feedback can be both entertaining and insightful.

Karina values the immediate satisfaction of hands-on work.

There is a stigma around manual labor in hospitality.

Building a community among customers creates a unique atmosphere.

Keywords

hospitality, restaurant management, customer service, event planning, work-life balance, Manchester, hands-on leadership, restaurant industry, family life, guest feedback

29th of April 2025

What does it mean when your front door actually explodes and everything else going on last week at menagerie.