Founder - toasthospitality

Meet Leo De Bartolo, industry expert and founder of Toast Hospitality. He draws on a 25+ year career, spanning Casual dining, QSR, Pubs and Fine dining- including his most recent role as Operations Director of Marco Pierre White Restaurants in the UK.

Now back in Melbourne, Leo brings his international experience and strategic mindset to venues across Australia and abroad, helping operators unlock growth with transformative hospitality consulting.

Experience You Can Trust:

From front of house to group-level strategy, Leo has worked across every level of the hospitality industry. He’s built high-performing teams, opened over 100 venues, and led multi-site operations for iconic brands.

He understands what works and what breaks, using that insight to help others avoid costly mistakes and move faster, with less stress.

Why Toast?

Leo created Toast Hospitality to offer a new kind of consulting:
One that combines clear strategy, hands on support and a deep understanding of what it actually takes to lead a successful venue.

What He Brings to Every Client:

Clear structure and financial discipline
Systemisation that empowers people
Operational confidence and cultural alignment
A straight talking, get things done approach

An invaluable part of our executive team—Leo brought deep industry knowledge and commercial focus.

'With a strong background in food retail and operations leadership, Leo's expertise is a valuable asset to any organisation'

We've spent the last eight weeks working with Toast Hospitality and have completely overhauled our kitchen operations. Our menu is geared for better margins, our workflows are simplified, and our customers are loving it! Highly recommend!

Brings deep experience across company-owned and franchised restaurants.

'Smart and genuinely engaging-Leo adds enormous value. Driving outstanding growth, via exceptional leadership'

Strategic oversight, brand consistency, and operational excellence—Leo delivers across the board.

That transition evolved into a long-term partnership through Toast Hospitality—he continued to add real value.

We’ve been working with Toast Hospitality for a few months now and the difference is massive. We’ve tightened up our systems, simplified the day-to-day, and finally feel in control of how the venue runs. The team’s more focused, the pressure’s eased, and we’ve got time to step back and work on the big picture.

Leo excelled at leading multi-site operations and translating strategy into action.

Leo’s leadership, brand expertise, and strategic thinking made a lasting impact on our business.

Leo has a proven track record of helping franchisees grow-with genuine respect and results that speak for themselves.

In three months working with Toast Hospitality, we have reduced our COGS by 20%, streamlined operations and lifted some serious weight off our shoulders! Best investment we've made in a long time!

Brands we've worked with