Maison Bab's London restaurant co-operative delivers over 9,000 meals to NHS

Today, The London Restaurant Co-operative has announced it has delivered over 9,000 meals to the NHS. The not-for-profit social kitchen was launched by Maison Bab and Le Bab co-founders, Stephen Tozer and Ed Brunet at the end of March.

The scheme was intended as a high quality, low cost, ready meal delivery service, designed to offer some extra financial relief to chefs and waiters who’d lost their jobs due to the Coronavirus crisis, and also as means of providing free meals for NHS workers and the homeless.

To date, the scheme has delivered over 200 meals a day to NHS staff across London at; The Whittington, St Pancras hospital, Homerton University Hospital, Royal Brompton, Royal Marsden, Croydon University Hospital, Great Ormond street, Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital, and also to The Connection at St Martin’s Field Homeless Shelter.

Maison Bab and Le Bab co-founder, Stephen Tozer, said: “We began this initiative as a way of trying to keep people in work. Overnight one million hospitality staff (now more) lost their jobs. The JRS didn't exist, and we were seriously worried by the mental health implications of people who are used to working on an intense schedule suddenly transitioning to doing nothing. 

“We also saw this initiative as a way of creating extra support to those in need, particularly the amazing front line doctors and nurses of the NHS, who at the peak of this quite literally barely had time to eat. We’re delighted to have reached the milestone of providing 9,000 meals for the NHS, and thousands more for others who are in need. We hope to continue to be able to support those in the hospitality industry who are in need of help, and to keep feeding people who need feeding. Sadly, the damage of this crisis has now spread way beyond the NHS, and we're just here to do our bit in supporting anyone we can."

The London Restaurant Co-operative is based at Le Bab, Top Floor, Kingly Court, Carnaby Street, London W1B 5PW.

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For further information, please contact Amy Cassidy or Yasemin Kiani at Aver via: amycassidy@averpr.com/yaseminkiani@averpr.com

Notes to Editors  

About  The  Mercers’ Company   

The Mercers’ Company is a nearly 700 year old City of London Livery Company and is first in the order of precedence. The Company, and its associated charitable trusts, make substantial grants to support young people, education, older people, churches and communities, predominantly funded through a large property portfolio, located in the City of London, and in Covent Garden in the West End of London, including a Joint Venture with Shaftesbury PLC for St Martins Courtyard.  

 A network of almshouses and other homes for the elderly are also managed by the charitable trusts associated with the Company. The Company is involved with the running of 16 schools  across the country and supports them primarily through the appointment of governors.