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Our Organisation

Our values

Deep
Compassion

We genuinely care about people, showing empathy for their struggles, and belief when theirs runs out. We believe society is precious and doesn’t have to crumble.

Respectful
Inclusion

We know everyone deserves a second chance. We believe in outrageous inclusion. We welcome all with respect. Some call us “family”. We don’t  let go.

Chef
Expertise

We are founded & led by a chef. We bring the rigour of world-class kitchens to our work. We believe in teamwork and imparting both skills and camaraderie for a better life.

Resilient
Courage

We ask our participants to show courage as they face their challenges. We’ve the guts to tackle the hard stuff. We show courage every day as we fight for their happiness.

Personal
Growth

We know growth is bumpy and will look different for everyone. We support our participants to take charge of their lives, helping them grow beyond their current reality.

The people beyond food

The passion of the kitchen, resilient dedication and genuine care for all: our team is built on these pillars and values. To this, we add lived experience, our secret ingredient, as every member of our team has first-hand experience with unravelled lives, being able to empathise and break down barriers.

Simon Boyle

Founder & CEO

Simon is the Founder and CEO of Beyond Food Foundation and Brigade Bar+Kitchen. Since 2004, he has been the driving force behind the organisation, tirelessly working to support individuals in London as they rebuild their lives and regain their confidence. With a deep passion for the power of cooking food, Simon shares his skills and knowledge to empower others and create lasting change.

Jo Littman

Partnerships & Finance Director

Jo is our Partnerships and Finance Director, fulfilling a crucial role in driving income generation for Beyond Food Foundation through strategic partnerships, engaging events, and impactful fundraising initiatives. Jo manages our external contracts and supports all aspects of the charities finance. With over 30 years of experience in education and training, Jo brings a wealth of knowledge and experience.

George Smith

Programmes Manager

George serves as the Programmes Manager, overseeing the logistics and resources for our dynamic programmes calendar. With a decade of experience in another training and personal development charity, he brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to Beyond Food Foundation.

Leon Seraphin

Chef Trainer

Leon serves as our Chef Trainer at Beyond Food Foundation. He began his culinary journey as an apprentice at the Hoxton Apprentice in 2004, where he eventually rose to the position of Head Chef. Since joining Beyond Food in 2013, Leon has been instrumental in supporting kitchen training and fostering career development for our participants.

Giovanni Greco

Events Chef

Giovanni is our long-standing Events Chef, supporting fundraising events and training our participants for over 10 years. With his Italian heritage, he brings a deep passion for creating amazing food every day. Giovanni’s dedication to culinary excellence and his commitment to empowering others through food make him an invaluable member of our team.

Alisha Gibson

Front Of House Trainer

Alisha is our Front of House Trainer, dedicated to developing and implementing effective training for Front of House skills, knowledge, and practical demonstrations. She plays a key role in monitoring the progress of our participants in both the Freshlife and Work Experience programmes, ensuring they gain valuable skills for their future careers.

Simon Boyle

Founder & CEO

Simon is the Founder and CEO of Beyond Food Foundation and Brigade Bar+Kitchen. Since 2004, he has been the driving force behind the organisation, tirelessly working to support individuals in London as they rebuild their lives and regain their confidence. With a deep passion for the power of cooking food, Simon shares his skills and knowledge to empower others and create lasting change.

Jo Littman

Partnerships & Finance Director

Jo is our Partnerships and Finance Director, fulfilling a crucial role in driving income generation for Beyond Food Foundation through strategic partnerships, engaging events, and impactful fundraising initiatives. Jo manages our external contracts and supports all aspects of the charities finance. With over 30 years of experience in education and training, Jo brings a wealth of knowledge and experience.

George Smith

Programmes Manager

George serves as the Programmes Manager, overseeing the logistics and resources for our dynamic programmes calendar. With a decade of experience in another training and personal development charity, he brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to Beyond Food Foundation.

Leon Seraphin

Chef Trainer

Leon serves as our Chef Trainer at Beyond Food Foundation. He began his culinary journey as an apprentice at the Hoxton Apprentice in 2004, where he eventually rose to the position of Head Chef. Since joining Beyond Food in 2013, Leon has been instrumental in supporting kitchen training and fostering career development for our participants.

Giovanni Greco

Events Chef

Giovanni is our long-standing Events Chef, supporting fundraising events and training our participants for over 10 years. With his Italian heritage, he brings a deep passion for creating amazing food every day. Giovanni’s dedication to culinary excellence and his commitment to empowering others through food make him an invaluable member of our team.

Alisha Gibson

Front Of House Trainer

Alisha is our Front of House Trainer, dedicated to developing and implementing effective training for Front of House skills, knowledge, and practical demonstrations. She plays a key role in monitoring the progress of our participants in both the Freshlife and Work Experience programmes, ensuring they gain valuable skills for their future careers.

Joanne Tierney

Support Manager

Joanne is our Support Manager at Beyond Food Foundation, joining the team in October 2021. She dedicates her time to give support and guidance to our beneficiaries and Alumni, drawing on over 20 years experience in education and helping people with neurodiversity. Joanne is committed to empowering individuals and helping them thrive.

Eden Hutchinson

Group Support Lead

Eden is our Group Support Lead, providing essential support to our beneficiaries. With a strong commitment to fostering a positive environment, Eden plays a crucial role in creating group dynamics that enhance the learning experience. Her dedication to empowering individuals ensures that our participants receive the guidance and encouragement they need to succeed.

Trustees

Marcus Hines

Chair of Trustees

Marcus is a non executive director providing insurance and related risk management services to the international transport and logistics industry; non executive director, Audit and Risk Chair at Barclays Investment Solutions Limited, an FCA regulated asset and wealth manager; an independent member of the Audit and Risk Committee at NHS Resolution, manager of indemnity schemes across NHS England, and Trustee and Chair of Governance Committee at The Beyond Food Foundation, a registered charity.

Marcus Hines

Chair of Trustees

Marcus is a non executive director providing insurance and related risk management services to the international transport and logistics industry; non executive director, Audit and Risk Chair at Barclays Investment Solutions Limited, an FCA regulated asset and wealth manager; an independent member of the Audit and Risk Committee at NHS Resolution, manager of indemnity schemes across NHS England, and Trustee and Chair of Governance Committee at The Beyond Food Foundation, a registered charity.

Oliver Hatch

Charity Secretary

Oliver has worked in public libraries, run his own photography business. He directed the European conference series ‘Velo-city’ dedicated to promoting the bicycle as a sustainable form of transport. He also headed a collaboration to help found the All-Party Parliamentary Group for London. Olly has a passion for improving life for Londoners, volunteers at Tate Modern and sings in the ENO community choir.

Ian Oakley Smith

Trustee

Ian is a retired Chartered Accountant, who spent most of his career at PwC, largely working with a wide variety of charities and not-for-profit organisations and spending his final five years as PwC’s Head of Charities. Ian therefore brings charity sector experience, as well as finance and commercial knowledge. Ian has known Beyond Food Foundation for many years and is proud to have now been appointed as a Trustee.

Isadora Isadora

Trustee

Isadora is a solicitor specialising in private client matters. Previously, Isadora worked in Property Litigation at a legal aid firm acting for tenants in social housing and assisting with homeless applications. She is passionate about helping people who have experienced or been threatened with homelessness. Isadora has a great love for food fuelling her involvement with Beyond Food.

Ian MacEachern

Trustee

Ian started his finance career at Andersen/Deloitte and BSkyB before moving into the restaurant & hospitality sector. He held senior roles at D&D London, Caprice Holdings and the Birley group of private members clubs.He brings a wealth of hospitality experience to Beyond Food. As finance director of WSH restaurants, he supports their restaurant ventures and PwC/BaxterStorey partnership in operating the Brigade Bar Kitchen. He brings financial oversight to the Beyond Food Foundation.

Alessandro Mazza

Trustee

Alessandro Mazza is a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley. He has 15+ years’ experience in financial services, focusing on investment banking, debt capital markets, mergers & acquisitions. Alessandro has a deep-rooted passion for food, which brought him to invest in a hospitality business and get involved with Beyond Food. He serves as an Advisory Board Member for Mind with Heart, and as Trustee for Engera UK.

Chris Edwards

Chris currently works at Google Cloud, and has 25 years experience in delivery of IT solutions with many multinational corporations.

Philip Miles

Trustee

Phil is a senior leader in the advertising industry who spent seventeen years at Google in commercial leadership roles including Managing Director of YouTube UK. Phil is now an executive coach and also a board advisor and consultant. Phil is a passionate supporter of Beyond Food Foundation (BFF) and its unique, hands on approach to helping unravelled people regain a foothold in society through food and the unique experience that BFF provides.

History of BFF

2006

Simon starts working with homeless people

2007

Simon launches pop up ‘Beyond the House’ at the House of St Barnabas-in-Soho

2008

Simon goes on BBC’s Dragons Den seeking investment

2010

Beyond Food becomes a registered charity. Partners with DCLG raising £1.5m.

2011

Simon partnered with PWC to open Brigade Bar + Kitchen

2013

Beyond Food runs Apprenticeship programme

2013-14

Published books: “How to get a Job & keep it” and “How to Cook & keep on Cooking”

2017

1000th participant on FreshLife

2018

Partners with Crème conferences to establish corporate events

2020

Running online programmes during Covid

2021

Charity strategy is evolved beyond homelessness to focus all those whose lives have unravelled

2022

2000th participant on FreshLife

2022

Partners with The Fishmongers Company to extend Fresh Life to under 18s. Working with pupil referrral units

2023

Extends Fresh Life to target the incarcerated. Partners with Computacenter to launch program

2023

Partners with Chartered Livery of Accountants, to extend Fresh Life programme with work experience

Governance

Beyond Food is held accountable by multiple governing bodies: Board of Trustees for compliance, strategy alignment and operational rigour, City & Guilds for our programme delivery and content, Charity Finance Regulator for appropriate financial checks and protocol, Charities Commission for appropriation of funds and spend, and our accounts are annually externally audited and submitted as a public record.

Our charity number is 1136234
Our programmes have also been externally validated by City & Guild, confirming our robust approach and impact.
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