by Gabriela Yorgova and Alexandra Flores
From the private hospitality sector to charity work, Nicholas Kerle is a kitchen manager at The Felix Project, a charity fighting food poverty in London.
Nick shared his view on the effects of the cost of living crisis during the Newsweek debate at London Metropolitan University, which took place on 24th January 2023.
He runs a kitchen based in Poplar, East London. His desire to produce quality food in the most efficient way has been reflected in the impressive effects of The Felix Project on Londoners in need.
The organisation has a kitchen, where they turn surplus food from supermarkets, suppliers, farms, and big wholesalers into small ready-meals that are distributed across the four depots in London.
Nick’s experience in hospitality
Nick’s background in hospitality can be traced back to pre-pandemic. He has run cocktail bars, restaurants, and fancy hotels. The similarities between all the private companies that he previously work for and The Felix Project are due diligence, running the kitchen, the safety requirements he and his colleagues follow, and managing a group of people.
“I used to get really stressed when someone’s steak was overcooked and that would be the end of the world to me, and that was really important. Whereas now, when I have a tough day it’s because I can’t produce enough meals for the people who need them.”
The Felix Project turnover
“The pandemic came along and obviously that all [restaurants, bars and hotels] shut down,” he said. “I started reaching out to different charities, not just The Felix Project. I started volunteering with them, something I’ve never done before.
“Post-pandemic, I went back to work and, to be honest, I hated it. It just wasn’t the same anymore. Making £25 cocktails wasn’t that satisfying.”
Then The Felix Kitchen opened.
He is now a full-time kitchen manager at the charity. Coming from a high-paid job, he realises that there are more important things than money.
“Now, more than ever, there isn’t a typical person [who benefits from the meals].”
Nick, the sous chefs and his team ensure that the kitchen produces as many meals as possible, which later satisfy people in need, and also minimises the waste. The food is shipped to more than a thousand charities across London. Amongst those who receive them are refugees, homeless shelters, schools, and food banks.
“We’ve seen that the demand changed in the past 12 months…. The need for our help has just skyrocketed.”
The effects of the cost of living crisis
The impact of the cost of living crisis also affected the kitchen team of The Felix Project. For that, Nick explained how part of his staff is dealing with it.
“For me, it’s impacted us hugely on our team. I have the kitchen, I have a team of 22 staff that work for me, on a variety of wages and obviously, a lot of them are relatively entry-level. We are a London living wage charity, so that’s our baseline.”
He says that people in need are everywhere. “On your journey home tonight you’ll walk past thousands of people… hundreds of them will go hungry tonight… that’s a statistic that has stayed with me.”
The perception that people who use food banks aren’t working hard enough is “ludicrous”, he adds. “The majority are working families who earn min wage. It’s very difficult.. and you’re really going to struggle.”
Part of his career in this area, Nick deals with the realities of life for his employees and looks for ways to support them along with the charity.
He adds that everyone should be paid a decent living wage for the work they do. “There should not be a situation where having a highly skilled, highly qualified job leaves you in poverty,”
For more information, check out The Felix Project website.
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