We are always keen to champion those who take a positive approach to a difficult situation. When the hospitality industry was hit with closures during lockdown, Brunswick House (brunswickhouse.london) chef Jackson Boxer made the decision to protect the industry while supporting the NHS by offering a delivery service, which included providing free meals to NHS workers in Lewisham and Paddington.
Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge helped raise £100,000 in just 48 hours to fund free meals for frontline NHS workers and the vulnerable through his Meals from Marlow campaign, and chef Stevie Parle launched a range of Pastaio T-shirts with profits going to a hardship fund for unemployed hospitality staff. Parle also launched Joy (joyatportobello.co.uk), an initiative in Ladbroke Grove encompassing a restaurant called Flora and a shop to create jobs for hospitality workers and provide a lifeline for supplies that have been able to sell direct to consumers. Our heroes.