Ellis and Liam Barrie crowdfund £30,000 in two weeks to launch cookery school

Ellis and Liam Barrie have raised more than £30,000 in two weeks to realise their hopes of launching a crowdfunded cookery school.

The school, to be located at their Marram Grass restaurant in Anglesey, will offer a variety of classes and courses, including butchery and fishmongery.

The Acorn Award winners tweeted from the restaurant's account to share the news: "The COOKERY SCHOOL happening. We've smashed the £30k mark. Its still live til the 5/11/18 then we sort rewards and will be in touch. In the meantime there are plenty of rewards left. It's nearly Christmas do your thing and have fun #foodsheducation."

The money raised will help set up the unit with kitchens that will serve as multi-purpose classrooms.

The brothers will be opening up the school to paying guests and to young people who can apply for a sponsorship programme.

"Unfortunately, not many parents can afford to send their children to these type of courses, so we are offering places. It will cost £200, so any investors can buy into that," he said.

For Ellis, who this year made it to the banquet of Great British Menu with his fish course, the idea for the cookery school came from his memory of spending Saturday mornings at the local community college, where he learnt to cook cakes and pies.

"The idea is a no-brainer for me; it is something as business we need to start thinking about. We can't rely on government to put money in the next generation of chefs. We need to have a bigger impact. If we want to grow our businesses we need to find talent and nurture that. It's so very important."

The brothers recently announced they have secured a site in Liverpool’s Albert Dock and will open the second restaurant in 2019. They launched their first restaurant, the Marram Grass, in 2011.

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