Britain: Another chance at life

DW (English)

A new top restaurant in London is giving people threatened with homelessness a chance to become a chef or waiter, offering them a new lease on life.

Transcript

00:00Last-minute prep.

00:03The new restaurant Home Kitchen in central London

00:06is getting ready for the first guests to arrive.

00:10The waitstaff still have plenty to learn.

00:13Not many of them have any experience in the catering industry.

00:17Home Kitchen helps socially vulnerable people

00:19get out of poverty and into work.

00:22They all were at risk of being homeless

00:24and this is giving them a second chance.

00:27I feel great, confident, yeah.

00:29We've been doing this for a few weeks now.

00:31Started with training and induction.

00:34We've had a series of soft launches

00:36and it's still a process, this is still new.

00:41For a long time, Jeremy Coates had no permanent home.

00:45He says he had a difficult childhood

00:47and has never really had a proper job,

00:49but he's gained self-confidence from being part of a team.

00:54Someone like me,

00:56who didn't come from a stable upbringing,

01:00stable family,

01:02can get easily lost in life with no purpose

01:06and with no networks,

01:08that's what everyone needs to strive

01:11and build themselves up.

01:15The restaurant wants to be such a network.

01:19One of the initiators of the project

01:21is top chef Adam Simmons.

01:26Years ago, he himself went through a tricky time

01:29and almost ended up on the street.

01:34Everybody deserves an opportunity.

01:36People see somebody on the street or homeless or in trouble

01:39from the outside, not from the inside,

01:42and they don't realise potentially why they're there.

01:45People don't choose to be on the streets,

01:47it's circumstances.

01:50Paul, who did not want to share his surname,

01:52spent a long time in prison.

01:54That's where he took cooking classes.

01:58When I was in jail, I wanted to have my own place,

02:01my own cafe,

02:03and that was my dream.

02:05And when I came out, I thought I couldn't get that

02:07because of the stigma of,

02:09yeah, you're an ex-convict, da-da-da,

02:12but now they're supporting people like me.

02:16And for me, having a dream like this come true,

02:18I always have to pinch myself to think,

02:20is this really happening?

02:22OK, guys, so good evening.

02:24Tonight's service, we have 12 tables,

02:26we have 31 covers in total.

02:28At last, pep talk from the manager.

02:31So we start with the crab.

02:33There's crab, fresh vegetables and fish on the menu,

02:37and the six-course meal isn't cheap.

02:40Don't the guests have a right to expect impeccable service?

02:43Yes, we're going to be slower.

02:45Yes, there's going to be mistakes.

02:47But hopefully the people that come through the door

02:49will understand that and say that it's OK

02:51if they have to wait another 10, 15 minutes for a plate of food.

02:57The restaurant is located in an expensive part of London

03:00where diners are used to high standards.

03:05Everyone in the kitchen is now working at full speed,

03:08both the top chef and those who still have a lot to learn.

03:13Home Kitchen is partly financed by donations,

03:16so it doesn't have to make a profit right from the start.

03:19But it is important that guests are satisfied

03:22for the project to work out in the long run.

03:27This first evening seems to be going well.

03:31So we have the grill, the kohlrabi, the mussels and mussel soup.

03:35I will just show you the garnish.

03:37Thank you very much.

03:39So, yeah, I think it's an excellent idea.

03:41I mean, I'd like to think that they maybe go on from there.

03:45To further themselves.

03:47And maybe if they're interested in going into catering,

03:50start at the bottom and work their way up.

03:54And that's exactly what many of the staff here want.

03:58Jeremy Coates is highly focused tonight and optimistic about the future.

04:07I am like a black hole.

04:09I'm hungry and I want to swallow it all up

04:11and then build myself up fully.

04:15And then, with the skills, perhaps move on in the future

04:20and perhaps make this a career for myself.

04:26Home Kitchen wants to nurture talents that once were hidden

04:30and help everybody here hone their skills and careers.

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