Acorns 2021: Lewis Greenwood, 29

Co-founder and director, Fink Street Food, Newbury, Berkshire

Nominator James Reid, co-founder and director, Fink Street Food

Lewis Greenwood has worked in hospitality for 15 years, starting out in BaxterStorey’s graduate programme and progressing through management roles at the Genuine Dining Co (GDC).

His star quality earned recognition at GDC, where he project-managed a new payroll system and gained the Financial Performance of the Year award for delivering consistent profit for the first time for a £1m turnover site.

In 2019, he co-founded a social enterprise catering company, Fink Street Food. This events and street food company aims to use food to promote mental health awareness and tackle stigma through workplace pop-ups.

At Fink, he has introduced digital detox days, an evening work email and phone curfew, and ensured the business has enough resources to prevent any team members suffering burn-out. He has also undertaken mental health training to become an ambassador for the Burnt Chef Project.

Despite the pandemic, Greenwood and his co-director have grown Fink into a profitable business, transforming an initial £8,000 start-up investment into £100,000 of first-year revenue. Fink now employs four staff and is forecasting sales of £230,000 in year two.

The young company uses 50% of its profits to support mental health projects. Recognising that learning new skills is one of the NHS’s ‘five steps to mental wellbeing’, Greenwood has been teaching cooking life-skills to young care leavers. During the pandemic, he and his co-director cooked 6,000 meals for the homeless.

What is the most positive people change you see for your sector post-restrictions?

“Customers have been keen to spend and support local businesses throughout, and that has been fantastic to witness. Street food and meal-creation kits have seen strong growth, with communities pulling together to support local independents that have a sustainable and ethical ethos.”

Photography: Hospitality Media/Adrian Franklin

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