Brigade is a social enterprise restaurant housed in a unique social enterprise hub in The Fire Station on Tooley Street, London, SE1.
First, it is a British inspired Bistro serving delicious, seasonal and sustainably sourced dishes. Second it is a training kitchen which provides apprenticeships that help the homeless develop skills and motivation to find employment.
The Fire Station on Tooley Street is one of the oldest fire stations in London and was built when the London Fire Brigade was formed following the great fire of Tooley Street.
Brigade is a unique collaboration between PwC, De Vere Venues, Beyond Food and Big Issue Invest. Beyond Food is a charity founded by Simon Boyle, which inspires people who are at risk of or have experienced homelessness to gain meaningful employment. Beyond Food runs a series of training programmes which culminate in 6 month apprenticeships in the Brigade kitchen followed by 7 months in another professional kitchen in London. At the end of 13 months our apprentices attain an NVQ level 2 diploma in professional cooking and Beyond Food helps them find long term employment.
Since opening in 2011, the partnership has helped countless vulnerable people some of whom were sleeping rough when they joined the programme. Most were living in hostels and a large number were ex-offenders or had issues with substance abuse.
