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The Andaz Liverpool Street Hotel has won a Dragon Award from the City of London for training the homeless to be chefs.
The hotel was awarded the Social Inclusion award for its partnership with east London charity Providence Row, which has been working with London’s homeless for over 150 years.
The scheme, which provides a real-world employment experience to its trainees, began as donations of towels and toiletries in 2009 before growing to include workshops in its hotel kitchens and work placements.
Since November 2011, 24 out of 31 people completed the scheme, five have moved into paid employment, four have moved into accredited training and six have moved into further volunteering.
Majdop Sadiq, who is now training as a chef at Andaz, was living on the streets after fleeing the war in Sudan before taking part in the scheme.
Sadiq said: “The outreach team found me on the street and they brought me to Providence Row. I love cooking and Providence Row offered me the opportunity to be one of the volunteer staff in the kitchen. Through them, I’ve met many professional chefs and improved my catering skills. In the future I’d love to work as a chef.”
This article was written by Alexandra Holt
