‘If you need it... come and get it’
Daniel lynch MEETS A FORMER EASTENDERS STAR AND HER CHEF FIANCé WHO HAVE TURNED THEIR PUB INTO A COMMUNITY HUB TO FEED THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN AND ADULTS OVER LOCKDOWN
THE year may have changed, but much remains the same. We find ourselves in lockdown (albeit version 3.0), our NHS is still very much under pressure and infection and death rates continue to climb. But while Covid brought us the worst of times, the best of people emerged and when, last year, the government announced that they wouldn’t be extending their free school meals vouchers scheme, people took up the reins to help the children in need and their families.
Among those to step up was the Duke Of
Richmond pub and restaurant in Hackney, east London. ‘We worked out that we could afford to pay for 60 school meals a day,’ says co-owner Meryl Fernandes, who runs the pub with her fiancé and head chef Tom Oldroyd. ‘We just felt like we needed to do something for Hackney.’ Meryl, a former EastEnders actress and CBeebies presenter, has a sizeable following on social media, and it proved a great platform to launch the scheme. She says: ‘We had contacted all the local charities, nurseries and schools, then I put it on my Instagram and it just went mad. It got shared over 7,000 times. We had so many people getting in touch wanting to help and donate. We set up a Paypal account and in the end we raised enough money to make 1,200 packed lunches that week. It was amazing.’ Following footballer Marcus Rashford’s national campaign, the government eventually made a dramatic U-turn and agreed to continue the school meals scheme but, by then, Meryl and the team had built something meaningful – and wanted to keep the momentum going. ‘I really got to know these families. We had made a connection with these people.’ ple ’
Meryl and Tom then went one step further and launched a soup kitchen, which operates every Tuesday from 1-5pm, offering hot, home-made vegetable soup. Meryl explains: ‘We live in a diverse community with lots of different cultures and religions. We wanted to be inclusive for all.
Everyone can eat a veggie soup.’ Accompanying bagels are sourced from a local social enterprise, Better Health Bakery, which focuses on providing work skills training placements for those distanced from employment due to mental and/or ill-health. Around 75 portions per week are being handed out to meet demand. They have a number of regulars, too. ‘There’s one older gent. He loves the soup and tells us it’s how proper soup should taste. That’s what Covid has done – it’s connecting that local community. We
don’t want to stop doing the soup kitchen and as long as we can afford to do it we want to keep doing it.
‘The one rule is that we never ask anyone any questions. If you need it, come and get it.’
Just before Christmas, the pub launched a takeaway service, which has been ticking over nicely, thanks in no small part to their signature burgers, including the popular Cornish crab chip butty – a favourite of restaurant critic Jay Rayner, no less.
Meryl says: ‘We have a tight team of 15 staff. On takeaway nights we have four staff on rotation. It’s been really good for morale. Everyone wants to work.’
With the kitchen operational again, th the pub has provided meal packages for staff at the local Homerton ho hospital – cooking up 60 burgers with sid sides of chips. When they placed the or order with their meat suppliers Turner &G & George, they were asked what the oc occasion was. Once they explained, Tu Turner & George donated the patties for free. Cases of kombucha were then donated by another supplier to accompany the meal.
Is Meryl worried that, when locals see this story, there may be a few more knocking on the door each Tuesday? ‘Bring it on,’ she says. ‘We want to feed as many as we can”