A GROUP working tirelessly to help feed Ayrshire residents through the COVID-19 crisis, has surpassed cooking 40,000 meals in just nine weeks.
The group of chefs and front of house staff from Buzzworks Holdings joined forces with Ayrshire charity Centrestage, as the demand for meals to feed vulnerable locals rose when the Coronavirus lockdown came into effect.
The determined team, headed up by Buzzworks chef director Trevor Garden, have been working five days a week, creating wholesome meals with ingredients kindly gifted by charity Fareshare, public donations and Buzzworks own suppliers.
Trevor Garden, who before lockdown oversaw food operations across all twelve of Buzzworks venues in Ayrshire and beyond, said: “With the kitchen at Centrestage equipped for only producing around 1,000 meals per week, we have relished the challenge of putting our skills to good use and producing over 5,000 meals for those in need on a weekly basis.
“The dedication from both chefs and our front of house team, who have been integral in packaging up each meal to be distributed, makes me incredibly proud and to have already ensured 40,000 meals have gone out to people facing hardship and difficulties in the communities we work, I’m sure that we are helping to make a difference.”
The team receive weekly ingredient donations and are then tasked with creating meal plans that can be dished out on a large scale. So far, meals have ranged from filling mac and cheese to full Sunday roasts along with daily fresh soup and even pheasant one week, which was kindly donated by Braehead Foods.
Paul Mathieson, CEO at Centrestage said: ”This challenging time has significantly impacted many people across our communities. Our priority at Centrestage during this pandemic has been to support where we can. The unprecedented volume of food and meals that have been required for our community due to Covid-19 could have overwhelmed Centrestage if it were not for the offer of support from Kenny, Trevor and the staff at Buzzworks.
"The team of volunteer chefs and front of house staff are creating thousands of meals each week at our Kitchen in Dundonald, supporting the health & wellbeing of over 1100 people per week across Ayrshire.
“We are all very grateful for the support, professionalism and dignity of the Buzzworks Team and I hope that we will continue to support each other through the challenging months ahead and beyond.”
Alongside providing volunteers to help Centrestage, Buzzworks has also given use of its Bakehouse premises to store cooked meals safely, whilst its refrigerated van has helped distribute thousands of meals to those who require them.
Colin Blair, Buzzworks Chairman, said: “Supporting charities and communities where we operate has always been a key pillar for Buzzworks for many years. However, in these unprecedented times it has never been more important to give back and we have been truly inspired by our selfless team going above and beyond to help those who require it. Our suppliers have also been fantastic in this effort, kindly donating ingredients and supplies, helping us to surpass 40,000 meals and counting.”