The Burnt Chef Project launches a FREE mental health support service

Kris Hall

The Burnt Chef Project

Premium Supplier 3rd February 2021
Kris Hall

The Burnt Chef Project

Premium Supplier

The Burnt Chef Project launches a FREE mental health support service

The Get Active Lockdown Challenge launched by The Burnt Chef Project in January saw 80 individuals from around the country join to raise awareness for mental health by covering 7000km on a virtual tour around 50 Michelin restaurants. The event was supported by the likes of Sat Bains, Paul Ainsworth, JP McMahon and Tom Kerridge and raised almost ยฃ3000 towards the cost of a vital text-based support service specifically for hospitality. 


Due to the overwhelming response to this challenge The Burnt Chef Project, a not-for-profit social enterprise, went ahead and launched its dedicated Burnt Chef Support Service on the 1st February 2021 to provide 24/7 support to anyone within hospitality who feels like they want to talk to someone about their mental health. This service is free and fully confidential to anyone within hospitality whether Front-of-House, Back-of-House, Operations and even extends to the individuals with the supply chain when they need it most.

Founder of the Burnt Chef Project Kris Hall said: 

โ€œTo say the last 12 months for hospitality has been hard is an understatement. We have faced challenges we never thought possible and that has taken a toll on everyoneโ€™s mental health across the board.
With the Department for Health investing more and more into combating the rising mental health issues we face as a nation we felt it was now or never to help those who may require it. As an industry family we have all shared these tough times together and this is just one of the ways in which we shall continue to tackle the rising mental health epidemic. 

We have teamed up with Mental Health Innovations who operate the phenomenally successful SHOUT service which has resulted in us being able to provide dedicated support for all types of mental health challenges, taking people who are struggling to cope to a place of calm every single day of the week. 

The service will be manned by real people who are dedicated volunteers all around the UK and overseen by full-time clinical supervisors.

Whether you are a General Manager, Head Chef, Housekeeper, Student, Fishmonger, Cleaner, Waiting Staff or Bar Person this service is here for you. Totally free and whenever you need it. 


Thank you to all those that took part in the original Get Active Lockdown Challenge which we officially completed in just 12 days and to those who have now taken the gauntlet on a stage further and are continuing the challenge on our behalf to raise additional funds for this much needed service. Without the generous ongoing donations from both businesses and individuals in the industry we would not be able to continue our ongoing work and market leading innovations.

 This support service is here for any individual whenever it is needed. If you feel anxious or stressed, isolated, lonely or grieving, suffering from substance misuse or perhaps you have experienced bullying, depression or sadness, or have relationship worries as well as self-harm and suicidal thoughts then please use this service.

I would ask all managers and business owners to distribute this number throughout their teams as soon as possible to utilise this critical serviceโ€ 


To use this service all you need to do is text: BURNTCHEF to 85258 24/7 and for free and a trained volunteer will aim to respond to you within just 5 minutes.

For more information, please head over to www.theburntchefproject.com

In these challenging timesโ€ฆ

The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall and restrict access โ€“ The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.

Over the last 12 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the worldโ€™s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 500,000 followers across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.

A single coffee is more than ยฃ2, a beer is ยฃ4.50 and a large glass of wine can be ยฃ6 or more.

Support The Staff Canteen from as little as ยฃ1 today. Thank you.