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Bob's Blog: Jan 2009
20 Jan 2009
This project was never going to be easy; we have struggled; we opened in the summer and had no real time to 'prep' as it were; we hit the ground running, and up until Christmas, we never slowed down. The management of the café is changing along with the décor; Spring will see a new style of day-to-day routine, with a settled operation, now that we have had all but a year to get to know what the café can and cannot do.
Using the words of one of my fellow directors, we have set in place more of "what is achievable as opposed to what is desirable"; what this means is that this building has never operated as a modern café, governed by the food handling and hygiene laws that all venues must now comply with.
We have chopped and changed our menu and operation to find out what our customers enjoy and prefer the most. We have also had to ensure that we are still able to allow our apprentices the scope to complete the NVQ's both back and front of house. The spring will see a new menu full of what you have asked for, but with our now greatly appreciated and our very popular "baked on the premises" cakes, scones and various other pastries.
I have to say at this stage that the comments from you have, in the main, been very positive, and if the huge jump in sales of our football menu is anything to go by, 2009 will be a bumper year for the café. The Beef Kitchen made its bones on selling prime roast meats to Chelsea Football Fans, so we have brought that to the café and the same thing has happened...the Fulham fans clean us out.
Where do the profits go? This is a question I am asked from time to time, so here is the answer...
This is a factual story of an ex-Serviceman who arrived at the Sir Oswald Stoll Foundation in March 2004. All but beaten in to submission for the trial and tribulations of a tough and less then successful life, my mate found a place of safety here at the Foundation; a place where he could rest and take time to rebuild his broken life. The raw and uncaring side of life had touched this man so much so that he could not look anybody in the eye; he was the closest I have ever seen to a broken man. 12 years of commendable Army service had not done him any favours, for he had lost all of what was so dear to him. He was the first man to sign up to the what the Beef kitchen had to offer. Nervous at first, unsure of me and the benefit of what I had proposed, he gently dipped his toe to see if it would help him. He needed to get his confidence back and while this was always going to take some time, with the help of the Foundation and the Beef Kitchen, he started to improve. It was to take two more years before we saw the true value and character of this man come to the foreground, but come it did. In the December 2007 we were able to offer him a full-time role at the Beef Kitchen as our head chef, and we were all thrilled when he accepted. Tim has worked with me on all our football games and various functions, including the Café, from the opening right up until February 2009 when he leaves.
The Sir Oswald Stoll Foundation helps people rebuild their lives and become self-sufficient, to the point where former homeless disabled people can live as independently as they are able to. From that point on, the Foundation assists in any issues that may arise and when a Veteran is ready and willing, the Foundation will assist in helping them to move on to independent living. That is precisely what is happing with Tim; his family's gain is our loss, yet from the losers point of view we cold not be happier. A former homeless unemployed ex-Serviceman can now march out of here a new man, his confidence is back, his skills have been honed, and he is going home head held high.
Perhaps now you might understand why the Sir Oswald Stoll Foundation means so much to us; 'it has done what it says on the can,' and our mate is moving on to start afresh close to his family, renewed and rewarded for his trust and faith in himself. There is always the possibility that Tim may have improved far quicker if we had been able to offer him more in the early days, but we had to prove ourselves first, that the Beef Kitchen could and would help others.
The Beef Kitchen will always thank the huge support of those who firstly helped us win the tender for Pryors Bank, and then find the funding to open the Café and keep it open. While I am going to miss Tim, I know there are more like him out there, and over the next few weeks we are going to introduce our next two apprentices who we hope will also find a new begining.
Thanks,
Bob