How The Staff Canteen adapted successfully amid the Coronavirus lockdown

At the end of March 2020, The Staff Canteen joined its members, followers and partners into the unknown as the country was locked down to tackle the Coronavirus pandemic.

We knew we had to adapt our products to make sure we could keep delivering all the content our members and followers expected plus, we now needed to be even more inventive and creative to keep one step ahead of our competitors.

Despite the majority of The Staff Canteen team being on furlough we successfully produced new and innovative ideas to keep everyone who uses us on a day to day basis, informed as the crisis unfolded but also entertained. It was important to us that we offered everybody a welcome relief from the stress and pressure of Covid-19.

As a result of our ability to react quickly, think outside the box and our relationship with the hospitality industry’s biggest names, we were able to grow our social media platforms with over 19k new followers and website users were up 90% with an enormous increase in page views of 275%.

Our Lockdown Lock-in Live series produced a staggering 95k views and featured top chefs including Tom Kerridge, James Martin, Paul Ainsworth, Sat Bains, Angela Hartnett and Marcus Wareing - as you’ve never seen them before! In this virtual pub setting we asked them no holds barred questions and gave our followers the opportunity to interact directly using our Facebook comments.

This produced over 11.5k engagements.

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Coronavirus was and still is a real worry for the hospitality sector, The Staff Canteen collected all of the main topics of concern from those in the industry and produced a series of live panel debates with well-respected expert guests who discussed these issues offering support, answers and inspiration to all of our followers and members.

They had over 36k views and provided real insight from those experiencing the tough times brought on by lockdown. The team at The Staff Canteen enjoyed light-hearted fun over on Instagram with weekly ‘Top Ten Questions’ with the UK’s best chefs – these were filmed live and had a total of 54.5k views. We also continued to produce our weekly podcast Grilled and celebrated over 18k plays.

We always delivered the news, editorials, features, recipes and videos our members and followers expect. And we are pleased and proud to say we received many messages of thanks and support for staying consistent, approachable and entertaining despite the circumstances.

Our members and followers are what make The Staff Canteen what it is and we couldn’t produce what we do without them so thank you to everyone who continues to support us and our partners – The Staff Canteen really is the place to be if you want to be connected to chefs and food service professionals who are passionate about the hospitality industry and always want to support those who support them.

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The Staff Canteen has always been more than a website—it’s a community, built by and for hospitality. We share the wins, the challenges, the graft, and the inspiration that keeps kitchens alive.

We believe in staying open to everyone, but creating this content takes real resources. If you’ve ever found value here—whether it’s a recipe, an interview, or a laugh when you needed it most—consider giving just £3 to keep it going.

A little from you keeps this space free for all. Let’s keep lifting the industry, together.