Celeb dessert shop helping people back into work
A CITY centre dessert shop with fans from celebrities to royals has been using macaroons to help young people across the city get back into work.
Over the last 10 years, Rosie Ginday has been hard at work as owner of Miss Macaroon, based in the Great Western Arcade.
She has made over 2.5 million tasty macaroons and even whipped up treats for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on a visit to the city.
But instead of reaping the rewards, profits from the shop have been set aside to fund the store’s own ‘Macaroons Make a Difference’ social enterprise.
Over ten weeks, using work sessions and even a psychotherapist, the programme supports young people to overcome barriers that have prevented them from working.
Ms Ginday has been helping the long-term unemployed, ex-offenders or care leavers to gain training, skills and jobs – changing the lives of 82 young people, from 18 to 35 years old, in the last decade.
Denise Worth is one of those who has found a new purpose in life in the programme, turning her passion for cooking into a new job. The 27-yearold, from Moseley, had suffered longterm bullying because of a disability, missing two years of school in the process.
Ms Worth said: “I was shocked, it turned out to be a real turning point in my life.”
Low on confidence and suffering issues with her speech and writing skills, Ms Worth did very little mixing outside of her immediate family. She is now employed by Miss Macaroon as a part-time business administrator.
She said: “For the first two weeks I hardly spoke, but thanks to the mentoring and inclusiveness of the training,
I slowly gained confidence and eventually gave a speech in front of my class. Never did I think I’d be able to do that.
“I received praise when I did a good job or helped other teammates and was taught that I can do anything if I put my mind to it. I felt like a normal human being and it gave me the safe environment I needed to successfully overcome my barriers. It is now my chance to give something back and help other people.”
Ms Ginday first trained as a pastry chef under renowned Birmingham Michelin star chef Glynn Purnell,
after attending
Birmingham.
“A lot has happened since I set the business up with £500 and a bit of kitchen space donated by University College Birmingham,” she said.
“In the last ten years, we have made over 2.5 million macaroons in 50 different flavours, opened our own macaroon and prosecco bar in Great Western Arcade and had our products enjoyed by celebrity chef James Martin, TV and radio presenter Jeremy Vine and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as part of their engagement tour.
“We’ve even built a complete wall of macaroons for Instagram and had Glynn Purnell from Purnell’s and Saturday Kitchen.”
University
College
Despite the pandemic, Ms Ginday is pushing forward to continue her efforts to help the lives of young people in Birmingham. She has recently received a secured a £150,000 grant from the John Lewis Partnership’s Community Investment Fund. She said: “Like many businesses, Covid19 has caused us lots of issues and things have been very tough, but we have been able to keep the MacsMAD course going during the lockdowns. “This latest funding boost from John Lewis means we can extend the level of support we can offer our most recent graduates and some of the 60 young people we expect to support over the next two years. They are the people we set the business up for and they remain our main priority.”
A KILLER who was jailed for life for murdering a Midland schoolgirl is to be moved to an open prison.
Edwin Hopkins murdered and mutilated Naomi Smith, aged 15, of Nuneaton.
He was sentenced to life imprisonment in Birmingham in 1997, with a minimum of 18 years.
A parole board hearing has now recommended that Hopkins should be moved from a Category A high risk jail.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “The independent Parole Board conducts a thorough risk assessment before recommending transfer to a category D prison. Public protection is our priority and offenders can be returned to closed conditions at the first sign of any concern.”
It has been more than a quarter of a century since Naomi’s body was discovered in a playground near her family home in September 1995 after she had gone to post a letter for her mum.
Hopkins refused point blank to accept his guilt despite overwhelming DNA evidence.
In a statement, a Parole Board spokesman said: “The Parole Board recommended that Edwin Hopkins is suitable for a move to an open conditions prison following an oral hearing.
“We will only make a recommendation for open conditions if a Parole Board panel is satisfied that the risk to the public has reduced sufficiently to be manageable in an open prison. Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community, or in open prison.
“The panel carefully examined a whole range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as understood the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims.
“Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority. This was a recommendation only and the Ministry of Justice considers the advice and makes the final decision. A move to open conditions involves testing the prisoner’s readiness for future release. “Prisoners moved to open conditions can be returned to closed conditions if there is concern about their behaviour.”