Thanks to these 3 teams of legends who collectively raised awareness and donated funds from selling tickets to their Food for Thought dinners this month - all funds going to R U OK? and Lifeline Australia.
The teams from Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne generously gave their time and creativity to prepare menus for their guests. The Food for Thought dinner was masterminded by Mal Meiers who suffered from anxiety which affected him and his career. He also saw how depression was affecting his team mates. This is what Food for Thought dinners are all about.
"A coming together of hospitality excellence to break down the stigma surrounding mental health."
Since 2014, the annual Food for Thought charity dinners, have founded a unique collaboration of emerging and talented hospitality professionals to create exceptional dinners for a higher cause. The core theme to Food for Thought is encouraging conversation around the dinner table or through hospitality to ease the weight of the stigma around mental health.
“These dinners were sparked by my own experience, having personally faced this. My hope is to help broaden the awareness of the support that’s available – to not only my peers, but to the wider community, for all those who suffer in silence.” Says Mal Meiers
“After 5 years the conversation is just beginning, but we need to work together as an industry if we want make serious change. Hospitality is only the tip of our industries “iceberg,” awareness needs to be considered as it is with a sense of paddock to plate with our producers often more at risk and isolated”. concludes Mal Meiers
Thank you Mal and Kate, for traveling the country, and to the Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne teams. You are all legends.