Tom Aikens to cook on Mount Kilimanjaro in charity climb

Tom Aikens’ latest fundraiser for hospitality charity Only A Pavement Away is edging ever closer, with the Michelin-starred chef set to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

Established in 2018, Only A Pavement Away supports people facing homelessness, prison leavers and veterans to rebuild their lives by providing employment opportunities in the hospitality industry.

Located near the Kenyan border, Mount Kilimanjaro is Africa’s tallest mountain and the world’s highest free-standing peak at 5,895 metres (19,341 feet).

It draws tens of thousands of climbers each year, with the altitude making it a demanding challenge that requires careful acclimatisation.

Tom is embarking on his trek from October 1-13, preparing some meals along the way, with more than £27,000 already donated for the fundraiser. There are still some places to join Tom and the team on the mission. Click here for more information.

Tom Aikens charity work

Discussing his relationship with Only A Pavement Away, Tom said: “Historically I've done lots with different charities and I just thought I wanted to streamline something that was more geared towards what we do in terms of the hospitality industry.

“Then we found out about Only A Pavement Away.

“Only A Pavement Away help people back on their feet who have fallen on harder times. These people come from all sorts of different backgrounds, some even from the army and places like that.

“They help them through their own network of partners and people that are already involved in the charity into the working environment in hospitality.

They help with anything from housing, to writing a CV, getting job interviews, financially as well.

“It's something that we all know in the industry, we all need that little bit more help in terms of placing people.

“Some of them are obviously already skilled, some aren't. There's quite a lot of sponsors out there that are already from the industry that help mentor these people as well.

“It's a really great industry with a lot of great people who are very passionate about this charity.”

He added: “I have helped on numerous occasions. When we were first doing a discussion with them, we did a five-minute feast thing on Instagram, when everyone was doing stuff in lockdown.

“It was basically nominate five friends, cook a dish within five minutes, and then donate £5 yourself.

“I got a lot of chefs on board, we then decided to do a cookbook as well and the great thing is that we had all the videos that go with the recipes as well, so we did a book with a QR code and then made the recipes visual and come alive

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from the actual chef doing it themselves, which was kind of a first as well, so that was great.

“We regularly do big functions called Cook and Dine, where I go and cook for around 350 people and raise funds through that.

“I'm doing the Kilimanjaro climb as well this October, which is going to be a big money raise. I'm also cooking at the base of Kilimanjaro as well and then halfway up, which is going to be interesting, that's for sure!”

Asked if he has ever had any people the charity help come to work with him at his restaurant Muse, Tom said: “We've had some of the people that have come in through the charity, they've come in for a day or so, just to see what it's really like at the top end of the tree, just to give them that insight, because a lot of these people, they go into the more casual dining sector, like, pubs and things.”

TSC Live at UCFF 2025

Tom to demo at UCFF

Tom Aikens will be appearing on the TSC Live stage at the Universal Cookery and Food Festival (UCFF) next week.

“It'll be a really lovely experience,” said Tom.

“I always look forward to these gatherings and meetings of everyone in hospitality, because we're all busy and having the time just to take a few seconds to relax in each other's company and chat and catch up is always a great thing.

“And then obviously to showcase what we're doing at Muse is always a great thing as well.”

Kitchen upskilling

Meanwhile, Unilever Food Solutions (UFS) Academy have launched a “kitchen upskilling” mission, in partnership with Only A Pavement Away.

They are pledging up to £3,000 to the hospitality charity, as the pair embark on a dual upskilling drive, signposting chefs of all skill levels to UFS’s dedicated online learning hub.

UFS has pledged to donate £1 to Only A Pavement Away for every new sign up to its online training resource, the UFS Academy.

With hundreds of hours of content covering everything from the basics of food safety to advanced world cuisines, packaged up in highly accessible bite size chunks, the recruitment drive has been spurred on by a recent rise in demand to develop an employment and skills strategy to further drive domestic recruitment across the sector.

Stuart Jeffrey, marketing director at Unilever Food Solutions, said: “We’re great admirers of Only A Pavement Away and the incredible work they do – ours is a shared ethos and so we’re delighted to be working in partnership, while donating to an inspiring and worthwhile cause.”

Chefs can click this link to sign up today.

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