We have been operators
Our advice comes from having run restaurants, food halls and food retail businesses ourselves — including a division with revenues in excess of £38 million and some 650 staff. We know which decisions cost money later.
About Ford McDonald Consultancy
Ford McDonald Consultancy is an independent food and beverage consultancy based in Mayfair, London, working with retailers, hotels, restaurant groups and food markets in the UK and internationally.
Who we are
The consultancy was founded by Dominic Ford and Pat McDonald, who have between them run food and beverage divisions of major department stores, operated their own restaurants and advised on projects across four continents. Dominic's career began in the London wine trade and includes the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong and the creation of the Harvey Nichols Restaurant and Food Division from start-up in 1992. Pat specialises in food retail strategy, product ranging and own-label development.
We are deliberately small and senior. The people who scope your project are the people who deliver it, and we do not take on work where we cannot add measurable value.
What makes us different
Independent position
We are not tied to a supplier, a kitchen house or a design practice. Specification and sourcing recommendations are made on commercial merit, which is why clients use us to review proposals as well as write them.
Concept to trading
Most consultancies stop at the drawing or the report. We carry the project through construction, recruitment, training and opening, and stay for the initial trading period.
Experience across the sector
- Department stores and food halls — la Rinascente, Harvey Nichols, Selfridges, Arnotts Dublin, Tsvetnoy Central Market, Fenwick.
- Hotels and resorts — InterContinental Hotels Group, Hotel Indigo, Park Plaza Hotels, Jumeirah and Burj Al Arab, The Savoy.
- Restaurants and bars — Prism, Oxo Tower, Fifth Floor, The Quince Tree, Waterloo Brasserie.
- Visitor attractions and brands — the Eden Project and the LEGO Brand House.
- Own restaurant businesses — The Butcher & Grill and Liberty Restaurants, through Ford Restaurants Limited.
Read the detailed case studies or browse clients and projects by year.
The team
Full backgrounds for the board and consultants are on the professional profiles page.
Dominic Ford
Co-Managing Director. Twenty-five years across wine, restaurants, hotels and food retail, including the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, Harvey Nichols and Ford Restaurants Limited.
Pat McDonald
Co-Managing Director. Food retail strategy, product ranging, own-label development and buying across department store food halls.
Work with us
Tell us what you are trying to open, fix or grow, and we will tell you how we would approach it.