Covid-19: Positive hospitality industry pivots that give back

From cook-along-at-home recipe kits to care package for the vulnerable, many hospitality operators have changed direction to keep afloat and help the vulnerable

A second lockdown in the UK would sound the death knell for a third of hospitality businesses, according to a new survey. The study, by MCA Insight/HIM, found that 31% of operators believed they would not survive, and a further 44% said they were unsure.

It’s far from a happy picture for the sector, but some innovative teams are making clever pivots to not only see them through this time of uncertainty but to also help those in need.

London caterer Rocket, who has previously provided hospitality at F1 and masterminded Burberry’s first cafe, have set up Rocket Masterclass, a series of cook-along online classes using delivered recipe kits, with a share of the profits going to the Ace of Clubs to support the Capital’s homeless and vulnerable.

Airing on Tuesdays throughout the summer, those who sign up for a Rocket Masterclass will be sent a box of luxury ingredients, carefully chosen from the caterer’s little black book of suppliers, to arrive in time for the Masterclass led by the company’s charismatic Executive Chef, Ryan Stafford. The one-hour sessions will kick off with ‘Perfecting Steak’ on 30th June, with a Japanese cusine special the following Tuesday.

For many restaurateurs forced to bring the shutters down, there has been a new focus to connect the dots between food waste and oversupply on the one hand and dire food shortages in the community on the other - an issue that became the focus of the Independent's campaign to Help The Hungry. When the crisis hit Alex Clayton, who owns Spanish restaurants Flamenco and Tasca Dali in Warwick, he launched an initiative to put together care packages of groceries to either be bought by customers or donated to those in need. While available to everyone, the pick and mix-style packages - which are to include cleaning and food shopping services - aimed to particularly support the elderly and vulnerable self-isolating. Similarly, Brigade Bar + Kitchen - a social enterprise restaurant that works with homeless and disadvantaged Londoners - delivered thousands of free meals to vulnerable people in its local community.

When TV chef Angela Hartnett closed her London restaurants Murano and Cafe Murano in March, she wanted to do something other than “tidy my cupboards”. She joined forces with friend Lulu Dillon, who had set up a project called Cook-19 to help feed the frontline. Angela started cooking from home the next day, along with her husband and fellow chef Neil Borthwick, creating free, nutritious meals to be delivered to local hospitals.

Cook-19 quickly grew a large team of food-prep and delivery volunteers, and the not-for-profit project also began to distribute food, drink, care products, toiletries and other essentials to key workers.

The fallout from Covid-19 will be significant for every corner of hospitality sector, the degree of which is still unknown. But amongst unprecedented challenges for producers, merchants and the food service industry, and a rise in household food insecurity, there are green shoots of hope.