Only A Pavement Away calls for industry donors to help publish charity cookbook

Charity Only A Pavement Away is calling for funding to publish a cookbook of recipes from the Tom Aikens Charity Cookery Challenge it ran last year.

The cookbook will feature 50 recipes along with a QR code which will take readers to the original video of the dish being made by both professional chefs and the general public.

Only A Pavement Away is seeking donors to support the publication of the cookbook in October, with the aim of raising further funds for the charity and its members. In return for donations, brands can take out space to advertise their company and products, with various levels of sponsorship packages available.

The initial challenge saw more than 200 participants take part online to create their own ‘five-minute feast’. Each participant donated £5 to the Hospitality Against Homelessness campaign and nominated five friends to take on the challenge. Many high-profile chefs and restaurateurs took part, including Tom Kerridge, Judy Joo, Richard Bertinet and Nieves Barragán Mohacho.

The challenge raised £5,000, will all proceeds used to support the charity’s pay gap fund, which provided financial assistance to members who were on furlough to bridge the 20% pay gap.

For every £1 donated to Only A Pavement Away, 85p goes directly towards supporting members into work. All proceeds from the sale of the Tom Aikens Charity Cookery Cookbook will be used to support members into employment and independent living.

Greg Mangham, founder of Only a Pavement Away, said: “It was a real joy to watch the Tom Aikens Charity Cookery Challenge unfold last year. To see how it brought everyone in hospitality together to help raise funds for those in our industry who had fallen on hard times was such a privilege, and I’ll forever be grateful to all those who got involved.

"While the outlook for the next few months may now be looking more positive, there remains a lot of work to be done in extending our support to as many individuals as possible and we would love to hear from any businesses who may be interested in finding out more about the new cookbooks. The new cookbook will be ideal as a gift, for use at conferences and events in ‘goody bags’ or even just as a user-friendly, personal cookbook.”

Chef Aikens said: “I’ve loved getting to know Greg and the whole team at Only A Pavement Away over the past 12 months, and helping to galvanise support for the Charity Cookery Challenge was one of the most rewarding highlights of my year. Through working together for a common cause, we all showed just how much can be achieved and I hope that this spirit will continue to flourish over the coming months as we look to get the new Charity Cookery Challenge cookbooks published.”

Only A Pavement Away was established by hospitality industry consultant Mangham to help those living on the streets, as well as ex-offenders and vulnerable veterans, find employment in the hospitality industry. To date, the charity has placed 77 people into work and hopes to support a further 250 people who are either experiencing or at risk of homelessness in 2021.