A Bermondsey restaurant that helps homeless people off the streets and into work is celebrating its tenth anniversary this week.
Brigade, a restaurant and bar on Tooley Street, was set up in 2011 as a social enterprise. The restaurant has taken on about 6,000 vulnerable people since then, many of them homeless, as apprentices in the kitchen and in other parts of the business.
Brigade is celebrating with a four-course dinner on Saturday night (November 13) to raise money for the Beyond Food Foundation, which supports vulnerable adults towards independent living beyond homelessness.
Apprentices will be cooking alongside Brigade founder and CEO Simon Boyle and Stephan and Stefan Pini, from Fishmongers Hall on the north side of London Bridge, who have helped the restaurant with funding.
Simon said: “We are very proud to be hosting this special event alongside Stephen and Stefan Pini and The Fishmongers Livery who have been incredibly supportive over many years.
“Whilst we are proud to have been able to help and support so many people onto our programmes over the last ten years, the issues we are seeing around homelessness right now are heart-breaking. The problem hasn’t gone away and our work has never been more important. We need to raise funds now more than ever since the pandemic to ensure we support those who are on the periphery of society.”
“Charities like ours make a real difference to the lives or so many people, it’s really important that we continue to keep doing what we can to help alleviate some of the difficulties people are going through. Events like this are crucial to help raise awareness and funds for the many programmes and courses we run.”