Be Inclusive Hospitality to launch in Birmingham

Be Inclusive Hospitality – a non-profit aiming to accelerate race equity within the hospitality, food, and drink sector – will be launching in Birmingham next month, its first in-person initiative outside of London.

A launch event will take place on the 24 April at the city’s Grand hotel, and will include a panel discussion, scholarship launch, and networking opportunities. The event is planned to create space for Black, Asian and ethnic minority hospitality people in Birmingham to build their networks, while providing the opportunity for attendees to join the community and apply for scholarships aimed at Birmingham-based professionals.

The panel will include chef Aktar Islam, culinary director of the Grand hotel Adam Bateman, managing director of 2 Much Passion Vanessa Kelly and wine director of the Wilderness restaurant Sonal Clare, and will be followed by a reading from poet Cassey Bailey.

The organisation is on the lookout for Birmingham-based ambassadors who can help to champion its work within the Midlands. Details on how to apply will be made available on the night.

Founder Lorraine Copes said: “I am so very happy to be launching Be Inclusive Hospitality within my home town of Birmingham. As we approach our third year of trade, my goal is to ensure that we deliver an increased social impact up and down the country, and an important way to do this is to have a physical presence in cities outside of London.”

Having spent two decades as an executive director for brands including Gordon Ramsay Restaurants and Corbin & King, Copes founded Be Inclusive Hospitality due to her own lived experience of a lack of representation of Black, Asian and ethnic minorities within positions of influence or the supply chain.

She launched the non-profit and social enterprise launched in June 2020, which conducts annual research and delivers a broad array of initiatives to advance change.

Since launching, Be Inclusive Hospitality has supported more than 2,000 employees and 50 founders with mentorship, scholarships, and grant funding, and has delivered educational workshops for more than 900 hospitality leaders on topics including culture, race equity and fostering inclusion. It has 450 members, 50 partners, 90 ambassadors and 95 mentors.