Written on 01-Nov-2018
CJUK have raised a fantastic £800 so far for Hospitality Action after holding a month-long fundraising initiative throughout October.
We joined forces with our Chefs for #OutrageousOctober and set ourselves a range of challenges to complete, from a half marathon and a 509kms Women’s Grand Cycle Tour in Portugal to running a bake sale and giving up chocolate.
On the final week, we also held a high-energy static cycle challenge at our Blackburn offices and invited local businesses and our Chefs to get involved. Some of the companies who took part included Empine Print, Starbucks and Media Village.
The gruelling challenge was to cycle the length of the Leeds and Liverpool canal each way (408.7kms) over five working days. We absolutely smashed the target in only four days after we pulled together and gave it our all… The reigning champion was CJUK Chef David who cycled for a whopping 90 minutes and covered 48.11kms!
Katie Mellor, Director of Sales and Operations, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have raised this money for Hospitality Action and it was brilliant to see how involved our team and Chefs got to raise money for such an important cause.”
Long hours and demanding work schedules continue to be very real issues that are impacting the hospitality sector, which is why we are serious about changing the way Chefs work by looking at the world from their perspective.
We teamed up with Hospitality Action a few years ago to offer all our candidates a free and confidential Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). As a result, our Chefs and staff have 24 hour access to free advice, counselling, legal support, financial grants and much more.
Many CJUK Chefs have taken advantage of the benefit over the past couple of years, helping them to get back into work and to battle their anxiety and addictions.
Chris, an award-winning CJUK Chef, came in and cycled a fantastic 20 miles in just 67 minutes in the static cycle challenge. Chris has always been open about the struggles he has faced whilst working in the industry after he turned to alcohol and gambling as a release from the long hours he was working, but it rapidly became an addiction.
He said: “People knew, the staff knew, the managers didn’t care, as long as I was there at 10am in a morning they didn’t care about me. I was just a Chef, feeling like a cog in a machine that churned out food. No one cared about me in work, as long as I turned in, no one cared.
“Joining CJUK is the best thing I’ve ever done. The support network is outstanding and my work-life balance is amazing. I’m in such a happy place right now.”
Michelle Mellor, CJUK’s Founder and Managing Director, believes that employers have a duty of care to look after the health and wellbeing of all their employees both physically and psychologically.
Our Charter is a promise to our chefs that they will be looked after, whilst adding value through additional benefits such as free high-quality uniforms, invites to events and regular feedback from clients to keep them motivated and challenged in their work.
We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who got involved in the challenge and donated! If you would like to show your support, you can donate on our JustGiving page.
Written on 05-Sep-2018
CJUK are hosting a month-long fundraising initiative throughout October to raise money for Hospitality Action. Our staff and chefs have joined forces and set themselves a range of challenges
Written on 22-Oct-2018
Want to help us raise £1000 for Hospitality Action? Come and take part in our high-energy static bike challenge! In October, we joined forces with our Chefs and set ourselves a range of
Written on 05-Nov-2019
CJUK are proud to partner with Hospitality Action to offer all our candidates a free and confidential Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). As a way of showing our support, we raise money for the
