More than £3,000 raised for Fifteen Cornwall staff following closure

More than £3,000 has been raised for the former employees of Fifteen Cornwall, who lost their jobs when the restaurant closed suddenly last week.

The restaurant, one of the last remaining Jamie Oliver sites in the UK, was run under a licence by charitable trust the Cornwall Food Foundation. Both the charity and restaurant are set to be liquidated following an independent financial review.

Last week a fundraising page was set up on Crowdfunder to support staff. The founders ‘Fifteen friends’ wrote: “Two weeks before Christmas Day the staff of Fifteen Cornwall have lost their jobs and their wages due to the sudden and unexpected closure of the restaurant.

“A group of us have come together to raise whatever we can to support the staff through Christmas, to show our support and to share some funding to help these people get through the next few weeks.”

The founders have said all money raised will be split between the team via an independent financial supporter.

The closure was announced via a statement, which read: "We are deeply saddened to announce that today Fifteen Cornwall will close and cease trading with immediate effect.

"We are profoundly sorry for the hurt, loss and distress this announcement will undoubtedly cause. We are extremely grateful to all our loyal customers, supporters and amazing suppliers and to the partners, staff and trainees that have made Fifteen Cornwall and the Cornwall Food Foundation so special for almost 14 years."

Oliver said: “I am very surprised and saddened to learn that Fifteen Cornwall and the Cornwall Food Foundation have closed. Both organisations have always been run separately from us, but the team has done an amazing job with the trainee programme, training over 200 chefs and reaching so many more along the way - so this is a huge blow. My thoughts are with everyone affected.”

The celebrity chef launched his Fifteen initiative in 2002, training 15 people a year to work in hospitality. The original London site closed in May this year when Oliver’s UK restaurant group fell into administration. Fifteen Cornwall was not been affected by the restaurant group’s collapse as it was operated under a licence agreement.

Already 90 supporters have raised more than £3,400. The fundraising page can be found here.

**This story was update at 8:52am on 16 December 2019 to reflect the change in value of contributions. **