Walking into the newly renovated Home Kitchen which is just a stone’s throw away from Primrose Mews, I was struck by the transformation of what was once Odette’s, a fine dining modern European restaurant and Primrose Hill institution. “It’s very low lighting which is nice in the evenings and winter,” explains Michael Brown, Chair of Home Kitchen CIC, as he takes me around the premises. We pass a terrace which is set up for eating al fresco and head to the back.
“There’s going to be a private dining area here and then, if we walk into the kitchen, we’re going to have a chef’s table experience,” he continues, as we step into the large, spotless kitchen where the magic is waiting to happen. “One of the things that attracted us to this site is the kitchen. It’s brilliant.”
So far, so regular. But there is something that sets Home Kitchen apart from any other fine dining restaurant: the staff are homeless.
“It was Alexander Brown’s idea to set up a restaurant staffed by homeless people,” Michael says. Alex (no relation to Michael) is the Director of Soup Kitchen London – he is directly responsible for the success of what is an amazing charity. The charity neighboured Michael’s offices and after walking past it every day, he finally decided to get involved, and that’s how the two met.
“Spending time at the soup kitchen led Michael to understand the challenges that the homeless community face – he says that it is very often the personal resilience they show in dealing with their situation which he finds an impressive quality.”
Founded in 1986, Soup Kitchen London feeds nearly 200 people each day, right in the heart of central London, serving 69,000 meals in 2023. Over the years, it has fostered a real community among the homeless, with the centre offering a mental health service drop in and consultation clinic inside. It also provides a walk-in wardrobe that provides clothes and sleeping bags for when the temperature drops, haircuts and simply a place for people to charge their phone. In essence, it is a safe space for homeless people, and those living with poverty to access essentials and support.
Spending time at the soup kitchen led Michael to understand the challenges that the homeless community face – he says that it is very often the personal resilience they show in dealing with their situation which he finds an impressive quality. “There are so many stereotypes around homelessness,” he tells me. “People assume it must be your fault, or that you’re an addict, which is a preconception that is nowhere near the whole story. Such stereotypes do of course exist, but those designated as homeless includes entire households including children living in temporary accommodation, it includes young care leavers, it includes many, the lion’s share in fact, who have no addiction issues at all, but still the negative perceptions prevail.”
The feeling that this was an unfair situation was the first seed that grew the idea for Home Kitchen. “We thought, if we can create a case study to show that you can make a successful business out of employing homeless people and those who are threatened by homelessness, then we have a real opportunity to reverse the negative perceptions surrounding this community – and if that opportunity is in the world of fine dining, then we’re really changing perceptions.”
Taking the experience they already had running Soup Kitchen London, and in particular during the pandemic when they were only one of a small handful of London’s over 500 soup kitchens to stay open in North London, they started to raise capital to make their idea a reality.
“To ensure that the restaurant’s food is of the highest quality, two-time Michelin star chef and winner of the Great British Menu, Adam Simmonds, joined the enterprise as one of five Co-Founders and as Executive Chef.”
Michael explains to me why they were so determined to get Home Kitchen up and running: “our ethos is all about providing an opportunity for all our recruits to gain life-enhancing skills, and improve future employability, so even if our candidates fail their interviews, it’s still experiential learning – they’ll have practice with CV writing and attending the interview. We also give them feedback when they get the job, or if they’re unsuccessful, we’ll explain why.”
So how does a homeless person, or anyone vulnerable to homelessness apply? “We realised we needed to create this opportunity across London and that our first cohort would need to be the very best from that community to make this a success, so the interview process has been competitive,” Michael says. Initially, an applicant is referred through one of Home Kitchen’s partners – whether that’s Beam, Crisis UK, Change Please, Beyond Food Foundation, Only A Pavement Away or The Big Issue – who work with local councils and authorities to refer vulnerable people. Homeless is defined as anything from sofa surfing and living in hostels, to living on the street.
When they are employed, the staff are compensated generously; they are all paid the London Living Wage and are given full-time contracts of at least 37.5 hours a week. Home Kitchen will also cover a travel card and further front of house or culinary training if they pass their three-month probationary period. This is all being funded by the £500,000 that has been raised through crowdfunding and investment from partners like the Big Issue who has put in £210,000.
To ensure that the restaurant’s food is of the highest quality, two-time Michelin star chef and winner of the Great British Menu, Adam Simmonds, joined the enterprise as one of five Co-Founders and as Executive Chef. His relationship with his Co-Founders began when he stepped in to volunteer his skills in the kitchen at Soup Kitchen London during the pandemic, he’s been involved ever since. Michael tells me that homelessness holds a special place in Adam’s heart because he has suffered with addiction problems in his own life that would have seen him homeless had his family not helped him.
For Home Kitchen’s launch, “Adam’s made a six-course tasting menu that’s British cuisine with a tasty twist, it’s got a little bit of imagination as befits a Michelin star winner but it’s not too complex in consideration of the wider team of recruits – who are developing their culinary skills under Adam,” Michael says. There will be a £65 tasting menu (not including wine) and that will be extrapolated to a three course à la carte.
“Once you’ve been homeless, you’re eternally vulnerable to being homeless again, which is why we are helping homeless people, and those threatened by it – prevention is better than cure.”
This venture isn’t without its stumbling blocks, as the first question that came to my mind when hearing about the opening was, ‘what happens when the staff stop being homeless?’. Michael explains to me, “once you’ve been homeless, you’re eternally vulnerable to being homeless again, which is why we are helping homeless people, and those threatened by it – prevention is better than cure, so our main ethos is to stop people falling into homelessness in the first place. But we’re seeing this as a feeder for our staff to move onto other, potentially higher paid jobs in the hospitality industry. It’s going to be difficult because we want this business to succeed and your people are key to that, ideally we don’t want to see our best team members moving onto other jobs, but at the same time, there are so many people living under the scourge of homelessness that we need to be able to help as many people as possible.”
The ambitions of Michael, alongside Alexander, Adam and their other Co-Founders Andrew Fishwick and Elias Diaz, and Home Kitchen brand ambassador Danni Menzies is to expand this idea into other locations across the country and, eventually, the world. “We’re already looking at a site in Brighton and have had interest from an investor in the US about a US branch,” Michael says. “We’re interested in franchising in the future so this can help as many people as possible.” Can Home Kitchen help take strides towards breaking the homelessness stigma? With the restaurant opening its doors on 11th September, we’re about to find out.
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