Organisations Offering Support to those Working in Hospitality
It’s often said that hospitality is a family and the impact of the pandemic has proved that beyond all doubt. Industry people have pulled out all the stops to provide valuable support and assistance to those who need it.
Here we have listed organisations who are offering a lifeline and support to those in the industry who may need a helping hand.
The Female Hospitality Network
Many people have taken time during restrictions and lockdown to re-evaluate their lives and careers. Some of us might wish to work less, some might want a career change. Sometimes, we know where we want to be, we just don’t know how to get there. Knowing who to speak to for guidance and advice is all important.
The Female Hospitality Network is a place for female hospitality career professionals, hospitality & event entrepreneurs, agencies and freelancers, hospitality and event graduates, or even veterans within the industries to come together and discuss issues and concerns affecting them.
Its main objectives are to offer a platform for personal and professional development. By being around like-minded professionals, members gain experiences and knowledge that benefit them both personally, and professionally within their organisations. FHN offer talks and seminars and it’s hoped to return to live networking events later this year.
We spoke to FHN founder, Abbie Hart about the network and it’s mission.
Watch the interview
Chefs in Schools
Chefs in Schools help schools design menus, support them in learning the dishes and help from afar once they are up and running. Chefs have access to the Chefs Alliance, where school chefs share inspiration and advice.
Chefs in Schools also recruit chefs for schools, helping chefs make the transition from professional kitchens to a busy school canteen.
They also run The Hackney School of Food, a learning environment for chefs of all ages and abilities to come together and learn from the professionals. Profits from the cooking school are invested in food education, community workshops and charitable work to transform school food.
Several programmes to help improve the quality of food in schools, teach children about the importance of eating healthily and to provide support to families in local communities are currently ongoing.
Be Inclusive Hospitality
Be Inclusive Hospitality CIC is a not-for-profit organisation founded by Lorraine Copes in November 2019 and incorporated in July 2020.
The absence of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people within positions of influence, or seniority has consistently been a visible problem throughout Lorraine’s career, and she is keen to help change the narrative for those impacted by the barriers to progress.
BIH welcomes Black, Asian and other Ethnic Minorities within Hospitality, Food and Drink to join their community.as well as allies who are keen to champion driving change in the acceleration of racial equality within the hospitality sector.
In addition, Be Inclusive Hospitality offers a mentorship programme and moderates the Inside Hospitality Survey, which aims to capture the experiences of hospitality professionals and understand those experiences pertaining to race, bias, training and career progression.
Watch the interview
The Burnt Chef Project
The Burnt Chef Project is a non-profit social enterprise setup and run to raise awareness for mental health issues within hospitality. Through sales of branded merchandise and donations, profits are used to re-invest into mental health training and useful resources for all of hospitality.
Burnt Chef recently conducted a survey of 1273 hospitality professionals which showed that 8 out of 10 (84%) of respondents had experienced mental health issues within their career and 46% would not feel comfortable talking about their health concerns with their colleagues.
Hospitality staff should be able to discuss the state of their mental health and gain support from their peers and employers.
Apart from merchandise sales, Burnt Chef provide a free text-based service available 24/7 to anyone involved in hospitality who wishes to talk about their mental health. In addition, they offer an online training and resource centre dedicated to providing both individuals and management teams across the world with a market leading level of knowledge and understanding when it comes to the subject of wellbeing and mental health.
Help us to share some of the amazing work of organisations helping those in the hospitality industry
If you know of a Hospitality organisations doing great work or offering help and support for those working in the the hospitality sector, please do contact us via our social channels on Twitter or LinkedIn.