Your support helps us tell the story.
My recent work focusing on Latino voters in Arizona has shown me how crucial independent journalism is to giving voice to underrepresented communities.
Your support is what allows us to tell these stories and draw attention to issues that are often overlooked. Without your contribution, these voices may not be heard.
Every dollar you donate helps us continue to shed light on these critical issues in the run-up to the election and beyond.
Eric Garcia
Washington Office Chief
According to Shelter, there are currently more than 309,000 people in England who are considered homeless, including 140,000 children, an increase of 14 per cent in just one year.
With the cost of living rising and avenues for support limited, many of those affected feel they have nowhere to turn, whether they have recently been released from prison, are sleeping on couches, living in shelters or are estranged from family and friends.
Not having a fixed address or even a criminal record makes it difficult to become a functioning part of society again, but now a new London company is breaking down barriers to help marginalised groups get a second chance to rebuild their lives.
Home Kitchen, a new fine dining restaurant located in Primrose Hill (on the former site of Odette's) and the first of its kind in the UK, is staffed entirely by socially vulnerable people.
Led by Michelin-starred chef Adam Simmonds, the restaurant opened in September 2024 and employs 15 people who are currently considered homeless.
The charity is not only offering them a higher-than-London salary and a travel card to get to and from work, but also a qualification in catering to help them kick-start their new future.
Despite having worked in some of the world’s most prestigious kitchens throughout his career (Simmonds remains head chef at The Megaro when not at Home Kitchen), he admits that this venture has been the most rewarding, and not just because of the impact on the employees he helps.
“I’m an addict. I haven’t been homeless, but I was close to it,” he tells us. “Because my family took me in, it was okay. A lot of these kids don’t have that.”
And he adds: “People look at those on the street from the outside, not from the inside, and they don’t understand why they are there… many of them don’t want to be in that situation.”
Simmonds admits that having worked in intense environments such as The Ritz, Le Gavroche and L'Escargot means he will have to adapt his way of working to meet the demands of Home Kitchen. Many staff have never worked in restaurants before.
Its opening menu includes tasting and à la carte options influenced by the changing seasons, with succulent lamb belly, 72-hour sourdough and egg custard tart all gracing the first edition.
“For me, mackerel is the signature dish,” says Simmonds. “It’s all about the flavours and the simplicity of the dish.”
On a visit to the restaurant on its launch day, we also met some of the staff members, who are currently homeless but have big dreams of starting their own restaurants and bakeries.
One of them was Paul, who was recently released from prison and has since struggled to find his place in society as many businesses are not as welcoming to those with criminal records.
“When you go out into a new world you don’t think that society will accept you, everyone puts a label on you… you want people to see you and not where you come from,” she tells us.
“I can't keep remembering the past, it's already passed and it no longer exists. [Home Kitchen] “It has changed my life.”
After graduating from the Change Please Barista training program and the Beyond Food Foundation’s Fresh Life training program, Simmonds and his team saw potential in Paul’s skills.
On his time at Home Kitchen so far, where he is now training to be a chef, he adds: “It's refreshing to be here, we all have different backgrounds, it's nice to have a different path you can follow.
“If you make a mistake you don’t get scolded, you learn a lot.”
What is your message to other companies? “You have to give people a second chance… a third, even. If that person has potential, everyone deserves it; if they blow it, it’s their own fault.”
But this isn't the end. Home Kitchen's website suggests that locations in Brighton and San Francisco could soon open, as the chef has big plans for the venture.
“The important thing is to be able to see the people we employ grow and thrive,” Simmonds says, adding that he hopes that current employees will continue to run future Home Kitchen restaurants. “I’m just a tool to help them get to where they want to go… and then the world is their oyster.”
Home Kitchen is now taking Reservations
