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Norwich restaurant giving leftover steak to the homeless
Head chef Barry Wood who ensures nothing goes to waste at the Edith Cavell bar and restaurant in Norwich, where off cuts of meat are minced and donated to a homeless charity. Picture: Neil Didsbury - Credit: Archant
The team at a Norwich restaurant are making sure no food goes to waste by giving its leftover steak to the homeless.
The Edith Cavell bar and restaurant in Tombland, Norwich are handing over off cuts of their prime steaks to a homeless charity for food. Picture: Neil Didsbury - Credit: Archant
Prime at The Edith Cavell, in Tombland, has launched a partnership with Food and Beverage Buggies (FABB), which is based in Norwich and gives hot food, drinks and sandwiches to rough sleepers in the city.
The restaurant specialises in steaks served on hot rocks, and since they started ordering whole sirloin, fillet and ribeye steaks last year they found there was around 10pc wastage.
Not wanting to waste food, Ben Edwards, 30, who runs The Edith Cavell with brother Tom, 26, approached the Norwich Food Hub about donating leftover steak, which in turn put them in touch with FABB.
Head chef Barry Wood now turns the off-cuts into meatballs and mince and freezes it for collection.
The Edith Cavell bar and restaurant in Tombland, Norwich are handing over off cuts of their prime steaks to a homeless charity for food. Picture: Neil Didsbury - Credit: Archant
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The group, which also provides warm clothing and sleeping bags, has been able to cook a wider variety of dishes including casserole, stroganoff, chilli and cottage pie.
Tom Edwards said: 'My brother originally called them as we were wasting steak and instead of throwing it in the bin we thought we would do something productive with it.
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'They asked us to freeze it and now we have a freezer full of food for them and they have been really appreciative and have been able to cook more varied meals.'
The Edith Cavell, owned by Ei Publican Partnerships, opened in September 2012 after Mr Edwards decided he 'wanted to be his own boss', having worked at various Norfolk restaurants including Fatso's in Sprowston and the former Artorios at Riverside.
The Edith Cavell bar and restaurant in Tombland, Norwich are handing over off cuts of their prime steaks to a homeless charity for food. Picture: Neil Didsbury - Credit: Archant
They started selling traditional pub food and after it didn't prove popular with customers, they decided to 'do something different' and serve their steaks on volcanic rocks.
It proved popular - and Mr Edwards thinks the success has been down to giving people value for money and a focus on good service.
He added: 'We grew organically and hardly did any marketing which allowed us to grow organically as a business and make mistakes while not being overwhelmed by being fully booked.
'A lot of our success has been down to word of mouth and every night we see someone who has been in before.'
