Furloughed chefs are being encouraged to come up with a five ingredient soup to raise awareness of the plight of the homeless.
Pub operators can get involved by posting recipes on social media with the #ServeOurSoup hashtag and encouraging punters to donate a suggested minimum £5 to support the charity.
New recipes can also be incorporated into pub takeaway offers, charity founder Greg Mangham said.
“What better than a takeaway? If you’re in tonight, why don’t you order some soup as well," he explained. "You’re not just ordering soup, you’re helping someone. Everyone has been touched by this pandemic.”
Pubs in England have been closed since Thursday 5 November in a ‘circuit breaker’ lockdown that is expected to expire on 2 December.
SOS: Serve Our Soup will run until 11 December when a winner will be picked by Michelin star chef, and OAPA ambassador, Tom Aikens, and included as a starter on the menu at the charity’s annual Cook and Dine Event in 2021.
Extreme pressure
“Following the success of the charity cooking challenge we launched earlier this year, and now with the industry once again facing such extreme pressure, there is no better time than now to bring the hospitality community back together, getting members of the public and furloughed chefs alike to put their aprons on and help raise funds for such an essential cause,” Aikens said of the campaign.
OAPA connects individuals who are homeless or former offenders with jobs within hospitality. It has created a coronavirus-resource hub to signpost individuals to schemes such as Universal Credit.
The Hospitality Against Homelessness campaign aims to help those in the hospitality sector have found themselves homeless because of recent job losses. It uses donations to fund meals, kitchen facilities/equipment and accommodation.
An onslaught of restrictions and lockdowns on the sector had created “chaos” and great uncertainty for workers, the charity's founder said.
"It’s making it more uncertain for hosp workers who have lost their jobs and employers who are looking down the barrel of the gun," Mangham said. It’s the stopping and starting."
Businesses can contact the charity to learn more about how to get involved in raising money for the charity.
