The four-piece, who help to organise the Split Festival, have teamed up with Sunderland City Council to hold Split Feastival, a food festival which will take place in Herrington Country Park from June 15 to 17.

A free event, the feastival promises the cream of the region’s food and drink from about 100 stalls.

In preparation for the three- day celebration of food, the band picked up some culinary tips from Create in Hendon.

Based in Lombard Street, Create teaches homeless people catering skills with a view to them gaining employment in the field.

In between getting his tartlets in the oven and doing that pinch thing with the salt, Ross Millard was hard at work at Create telling people what precisely was going on, and what it meant for the festival and the city as a whole.

“Well, Martin McFadden and Rob Deverson, heard about this organisation through Sunderland City Council, who we all work quite closely with now for Split Festival and Split Feastival, and they brought this amazing place to our attention. 

I don’t think there’s many places like Create in the country. Where people can come from all sorts of different backgrounds – homeless, unemployed, struggling domestically – and get completely retrained in three months and end up in the world of work pretty soon afterwards.

Read the full story from the Sunderland Echo here, read the interview with Ross Millard of Futureheads on Kyeo or take a peek at the day below…

Create is a food business that offers outside catering services to the corporate and private sector but is a whole lot more.

The award winning social enterprise Create was proud to open the doors of its newly refurbished café in the Manchester Cathedral Visitor Centre on April 18th 2012.

What sets this café apart from others is not only the beautiful position but that Create is a different kind of business that believes in people as well and profit and offers training and employment to people who have been homeless or marginalised in the city of Manchester.

Create is a food business that offers delicious delivered food services to the corporate and private sector and now finds a fresh, contemporary home in the comparative calm of Manchester’s medieval heart. Create Food is inspired and directed by National Executive Chef Richard Walton-Allen, who’s years of experience and passion for British food caused the Observers Jay Rayner to write “by the end of lunch even this cynical old dog was ready to clamber on to his hind legs and applaud.”

Create’s Employment Academy offers a 12-week personalised support programme in a safe but truly commercial environment. It works because it gives people a framework in the real world of work. Trainees benefit from quality training, hands-on work experience and the chance to gain nationally recognised qualifications.  Perhaps most importantly, trainees find a place where they belong and a group of people who will support and believe in them.

Create trainees get an opportunity to work alongside Manchester Executive Head Chef Richard Moore who has enjoyed a long and successful catering career in the North West and be further inspired by the varied career opportunities available in the world of catering, hospitality and customer services.

Create catering established itself at the end of last year working from The Broadwalk, Salford and now  the Cathedral Café by Create offers a beautiful city centre space to enjoy coffees, light lunches and delicious afternoon teas as well as a superb space for hire for companies and private parties.

Richard Moore says “We’ve already got great success stories of our Manchester trainees getting back into work through their time at Create. It’s so rewarding to have the opportunity to inspire people within the catering profession, an industry I’m passionate about. It’s fantastic to watch each person grow and to see their self-esteem return. Once that personal confidence comes back, really the difference it makes is immense.” 

Check out the story on the BBC, listen to Lucy Campbell on BBC Manchester here (at 1hr, 46min, 30sec into Heather Stott’s programme), look at the great pictures on Flickr and follow the café on Facebook. We look forward to seeing you there.

A select group of voluntary sector chief executives and business leaders atoday begin their visit to New York as the first step in launching the new, visionary ‘V-20’ Group. Organised by the Centre for Economic & Social Inclusion, and hosted by Seedco and InclusionUS whilst in New York, the group will spend four days fact finding and sharing lessons on how to strengthen the role of the sector in the delivery of employment services.

The UK market for the delivery of employment services has changed dramatically over recent years, with a move toward larger and longer contracts and ‘payment by results’. This has presented both opportunities and challenges for the sector. ‘The fact that so many voluntary sector business leaders have taken the opportunity to be a part of this new group from day one shows how seriously they see their role in delivering employment services in the UK in the future,’ says Tracy Fishwick, Director at InclusionNW who has co-ordinated the visit from the UK.

The aims of the visit are to launch the group and provide a range of high-level opportunities to inspire new ideas, create new business concepts, and analyse some of the best voluntary sector practice in the US, with the expertise of Seedco (the largest voluntary sector deliverer of employment services in New York) on hand throughout. Natalie Branosky, Chief Executive of InclusionUS will guide the group through a busy four days ranging from expert sessions on supply chain management and performance targets, through to meetings with New York City officials, the British Consul-General, and UK Trade & Investment.

On return to the UK, V-20 will work with Inclusion to share its experience with government ministers and officials, in the longer term become a leading forum for sharing learning, developing best practice, bringing in ideas and evidence, building networks and raising the profile of the voluntary sector in supporting people into work. Group members are:

Isobel Brown – Shaw Trust

Richard Clifton – CDG UK

Andrew Conlan-Trant – Rehab

Mary Cripps-Warwick – Campbell Page

Martin Davies – Pluss

Sarah Dunwell – CREATE Foundation

Mark Macmillan – Kibble

Fay Selvan & Edna Robinson – Big Life Group

Amanda Palmer-Royce – Eco-Actif

Dave Neilson – Fusion 21

Jerry Stokes – Manchester Solutions

Chris Seel – Wiseability

Elizabeth Taylor – Bootstrap Enterprises

Follow the launch on Twitter at @InclusionNW @InclusionUS #V20launch.

Create offers employment and training to hundreds of people in its corporate catering businesses across Leeds, Sunderland, Manchester and Doncaster, as well as in its flagship restaurant in Leeds. With plans to expand nationally, Create will introduce an investment vehicle to promote more sustainable investment from private investors.

Norman Pickavance, Chair of Create said:

“We’ve been waiting for the Government to launch an investment mechanism for Social Enterprise for two years, but we couldn’t wait any longer. There’s a real need for the work we do in helping people back to work. Create’s got a proven track record, but social enterprises like ours depend on private investment to survive and to continue supporting local people. We’d like to see business leaders using a percentage of their bonuses to invest back into their communities and hope this vehicle will catalyse this movement. I will be writing to the leaders of big businesses across the country to ask if we can contact their high net worth employees about the scheme.”

There are an estimated 62,000 Social Enterprises currently operating in UK. It is estimated they contribute nearly £25billion to the economy each year and employ around 800,000 people. It is hoped the investment scheme developed for Create will significantly contribute to the growth of this valuable sector.

Hazel Blears MP for Salford and Eccles and a supporter of Create said:

“The work that Create do to support the most vulnerable into work is invaluable in our communities. In the current economic climate a scheme to help bring investment into social enterprise organisations like Create is to be welcomed.”

Sarah Dunwell, Chief Executive at Create concluded:

“The trainees in our Employment Academy are looking for a hand up, not a hand out. Our food businesses have an excellent reputation and provide people with a wide range of entry level jobs, allowing them to train and work alongside expert staff and to feel proud again. We believe people are looking for an easy way to do good and an investment in Create will enable us to do this kind of good on a grand scale”

Create will be launching the investment opportunity this week to high net worth investors.

Create is celebrating the heart of the season of Christmas in a special way.

Even in challenging economic times Create has driven forwards this year at an impressive pace. Opening a restaurant in Leeds, which is receiving rave reviews, catering operations in Doncaster, Sunderland and Manchester, Create has also welcomed into its Employment Academy nearly 200 people who are homeless, marginalised and vulnerable this year. Richard Walton-Allen, Create’s national executive chef says, “It has been great to welcome so many people and support them with training and coaching towards securing a great job. Every one is different but it has been amazing to see so many people grow and flourish with the right support.”

Sarah Dunwell, Chief Executive of Create says “we started the year winning an award from the Prime Minster and have had a very busy year. We say every day at Create that we believe that good food and people matter and as we approach Christmas we are humbled to be celebrating not only the great food we offer but the stories of the people who have shared the journey with us this year.”

This year has seen many announcements from the government about rises in unemployment and many other problems but this year Create wanted to offer some Christmas cheer with some good news stories from the trainees in their Academy.

On the first day of Christmas…

James, 30, was born and grew up in Leeds. He had a younger sister who died of leukaemia when she was three and James was four, but he was too young to remember her. Around the same time his father left home; he didn’t learn the truth about his real dad until he was 11, from a relative in the family.

James was ‘a goody two shoes’ until he was 15 when a friend’s brother took him into his flat – a kind of commune for the homeless – and though this man was doing hard drugs, he protected James, made him aware of their danger and wouldn’t let him near them. James remembers him fondly for helping him at this time but adds sadly that he died aged just 25. “I had nothing to live for so I didn’t care if I died – no family, no friends. I looked like a 13 year old, there was nothing of me and still they beat us. But I couldn’t cry.” Scared, they left the flat and went to a hostel but here the crowd was even worse.

“I wanted to be dead. I couldn’t believe I was living in this world with these people.” James spiralled into a huge depression; he was back down again and couldn’t cope. In 2005 he suffered kidney failure and was in intensive care. “I’ve done every course there is,” says James, “been there, done it, got the t-shirt. So my first response was it’s not for me as I want to DO something. But I also figured I had nothing to lose, so I joined Create’s Academy.”

“I would not change a single thing that has happened to me. It has made me who I am today, I wouldn’t be me. I know I can be strong. I have given up the drugs – it’s not easy but I have done that. Forget all the other courses you’ve been on, this one is different. I have choices now; I’m learning to protect myself.”

“Catering for a recent wedding was one of the best experiences of my life,” says James, glowing as he recounts. “We were so bigged up, it was great to hear what folks were saying about us. Then the parents of the bride announced to all the guests that Create had done the food and they clapped for a full minute whilst we lined up at the back of the marquee. Our professional team. Buzzing. I felt so proud to be in that team. Everything was perfect.”

On the second day of Christmas…

Simon joined Create last year when he was just 21 but from 16 he has been one of society’s ‘hidden homeless’, sofa surfing and sleeping at friends’ houses to get by. He lost his mum to breast cancer when he was 8 and when his stepfather took to drinking; he was removed to his grandparents. His beloved Nanna died and his grandfather took to drink so he came to Leeds to find his real father – who was also an alcoholic. Not an easy start to anyone’s life.

“I didn’t feel like a normal kid.  I was really scared, what was going to happen?”

I asked who Simon talked to and he said no-one. “I didn’t say anything to anyone.”

Simon came to join Create’s academy and truly shone in the catering kitchen – he loved the business and came in on weekends to help out at events ‘just for the buzz’.

Simon got a job with Morrisons at his first interview.

“Create Academy is an excellent opportunity. If you want to get your life back on track, it’s the place to be. You get help and support, you have things in common with the other learners and build relationships.”

On the third day of Christmas…

For Mark but a painful marriage break up changed everything. Mark left home – “there was too much animosity, it was bad for the children, I just had to go”. He slept under bridges, anywhere where there were no other people. He found life on the streets daunting from early on and made a decision to steer clear of others “seeing people half kill each other for half a bottle of cider, that wasn’t for me.”

 “I was losing the structure to my life, the will, the purpose. I was starting to think like someone unemployed the never ending circle of giving out CVs and getting no responses, Job Centres, not bothering to get dressed, watching daytime rubbish TV.  I wasn’t tired I couldn’t sleep at night so I would walk and walk. What was I going to do?”

A support worker suggested the Create Academy to Mark. He had heard of the other courses going and not taken any of these up but he decided to give this one a go. And he’s mighty relieved he did.

 “It’s changed my whole outlook. I don’t feel so low anymore. Before I couldn’t be bothered to do things, now I can be bothered to go out and I do with my new mates that I’ve met on this course. Some have become great friends from going through this experience together.”

 “My babies haven’t half seen the change in me in the last ten weeks. We get real quality time together.  I am smiling and laughing again – not because someone has told a joke – but because I’m happy. I am finding myself again, the real me, how I used to be.”

Mark was one of our very first Create academy trainees last summer and secured a job in Morrisons where he still works.

On the fourth day of Christmas…

Having worked for all his life, Stuart lost his job, started drinking, his marriage broke up and he lost his family home. Stuart came to Create in this time as he was just getting a council flat.

“The Academy is brilliant.  Before there was no point in getting up. I stayed in bed to save money on the gas and electricity. Now I get up everyday.  I’m always at work when I should be and let someone know straight away if I can’t make it. I’ve even come in today to help prepare for a big event this evening, though I’ve just got my own flat and have lots to sort out and the decorating to do, so I was going to take this week off. I’m an alcoholic and the Academy has helped me stay off the drink. I’ve been on treatment programmes but I’ve always slipped and had a drink.  Now I haven’t had a drink for 4 months.

I’m applying for jobs including jobs back in my old trade, where I worked for 22 years.”

Stuart stuck with the course and graduated from Create academy as proud as punch in a new suit for his interviews. Shortly after we received an email from Stuart with a Job Description attached – his new job, back in the industry he knew well.

“Just a quick note to say thanks for all the help you and the rest of the Create team have given me. Just four months ago I would not have dreamt of getting this position but with the help of Create I have restored confidence in myself and the get up and go to get out there and chase this type of work. Being at Create not only got me out of bed so to speak, but helped me tremendously to go through a complete alcohol detox and give me the will power to succeed. Once again, many thanks.”

Five gold rings?

Claire came to us in May 2011 with very little confidence, no money and no housing. Claire had returned to England after living and working in Spain for six years. Because of the time she had been away, on return, she was no longer treated as a British citizen.

Whilst on the programme with us, we were able to support Claire with finding housing, benefits and rebuilding her confidence. With a balanced mixture of classroom time and work experience, we were able to keep Claire busy and focused on what she wanted to achieve.

Claire took to our kitchens like a duck to water and soon, with a lot of care and attention, became her old self again.

When our restaurant opened in August we encouraged Claire to apply for the Demi Chef position. Claire passed the interview with flying colours and has been an integral part of the Create family ever since.

On the sixth day of Christmas…

Maria was born in a remote part of rural Estonia with an Estonian mum and a Russian father and one older brother. She spoke both languages from childhood and when she graduated from high school in 1997 Maria wanted to experience a different country and went to Germany to work as an au pair. Her first job was with a family with six children, no mean feat.

Her employers then moved to work in London and invited Maria to travel with them as their au pair for three months, so in 2005 she found herself in London.

Maria met and married a Yorkshireman with whom she had a son in late 2006 but after three years their marriage broke up. Maria had to move out with a young baby. Even though she is European, she had no right to any benefits as she has not worked in the UK for 12 months. Housing has been a huge problem, she and her son have lived in three different places and are about to move into a fourth.

“Before the Academy, my only work experience was childcare so now I can have some retail and catering experience. This improves my chances for getting jobs now.”

“As ever when you have a young pre-school age child to support alone, finding the childcare for herself, ironically, is always a real issue and an extra stress.”

“I like learning anything new,” says Maria, “so I have enjoyed the new experiences within the Academy. I can’t sit about doing nothing when there’s so much to do. Just wish I had more time.”

On the seventh day of Christmas…

“I couldn’t think of what kind of work I could do. Maybe just something working on my own. I had nothing in my life before, nothing to look forward to but now I’m really excited, excited even about getting a job.”

Aiden is 17 and a current trainee just half way through his 12 week Create Academy programme working in the flagship restaurant in the centre of Leeds. Aiden struggled at school and dropped out at the age of 14. Since then he has been involved in criminal activity and not even considered the possibility that getting a job could be positive and fulfilling. For Aiden, crime was the option and the future. He joined Create less than six weeks ago and without any prior experience elected to work in the heat of the kitchen at Create restaurant. His eyes come alive when he talks about his first day.

“All the chefs were here to meet me and make me feel welcome. I was really shy but they made it really easy for me and I now feel I can ask all the questions I need to. I feel part of the team.”

How has Create changed things for Aiden so far? “I’ve no time for that other life at all now, “he says firmly” I’m here every day of the week helping out and I love it. I even do an extra four hours on a Saturday. Not because I have to but because I want to, I really do help the team out and I know they miss me when I’m not here. I love being around when the customers are in and we have to get service spot on. I love being involved in getting the great food out to customers. I’ve just made the best chilli ever.” As well as recipes, the chefs are sharing their beloved cookery books with Aiden that he’s loving reading.”

Chef James Copley who has worked with Aiden:

“It’s hard to know where to begin talking about the difference in Aiden.  He was very shy and apprehensive when he first joined the kitchen but he picked up details very quickly and was always asking questions, which is great. And taking work home with him! Everyone needs to find the best place for them to work in catering, every restaurant is different but you can find a style that fits what you do. I didn’t know what to expect from our trainees but it’s been great to see them develop, move from shy and reserved to being open, chatty and develop friendships.”

On the eigth day of Christmas…

Saare is 40 and was born in Eritrea, but the family moved to Ethiopia when he was six as his father got work there as a truck driver for a bank. Saare is the middle of five children, with two brothers and two sisters, two older and two younger than him.

In 2004 because of the war with Eritrea, Saare left Ethiopia and came to Britain seeking asylum. Saare received his official papers to remain and work in the UK in February 2010.

“It is very hard not to be able to work for six whole years when you have worked all your life,” he says, “the time passes so slowly”. The frustration he has felt at not being allowed to contribute is visible on Saare’s face. “I like to work, I am a hard worker.” He spent a lot of time staying at home or doing as much English language training as he could access. The relief at now being able to get started again is also very evident.

Two months ago Saare got a flat of his own, his first home. Saare joined the very first Create Academy in June 2010 and says it has been very good for him,

“The work experience at Create has been great, it has really increased my confidence and made me feel ready for work. Being at the Academy has been good, I’ve felt part of a team and made new friends too.” Saare is still working hard at English lessons and improving his maths. In the future he hopes he will be able to use some of the skills he trained for in Ethiopia, possibly studying electrical engineering. His next step is paid work that will make him independent.

Saare travels everywhere on his trusty bike and never claimed a penny in travel costs in 12 weeks on the Academy course, of which he is very proud. Wearing his Create t-shirt for all to see, “Look, I am a living advertisement,” laughs Saare, “I tell all my friends about it.”

Saare secured paid employment with Morrisons new supermarket at Harehills, Leeds at the end of the Academy and started work on 11 October 2010.

On the ninth day of Christmas…

Awate is 34, an only child born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In 2002 the government of Eritrea declared a short list of acceptable religions including Orthodox Christianity or Islam and proceeded to persecute those practising other minority religions. Many people were caught and put in prison.

In 2003, Awate’s father died and he was put in prison for his faith where he remained for three years under dreadful conditions. He was asked many times to give up his faith but he refused. He cooked for the prisoners whilst inside the prison. His mother died whilst he was a prisoner. In August 2005 Awate arrived in the UK as an asylum seeker.

Awate has lived in Sunderland for most of this time, where he met his girlfriend who is originally from Ethiopia and together they have a daughter and a son. They received their official permission to remain and work in the UK in 2010, and moved to Leeds in the hope of finding more work opportunities, joining the Create Academy soon after arriving. “I am so happy, so very happy. How can I explain how happy this course makes me? I have learned so many things here.” Awate’s work experience has been in the businesses and catering operations. “The work experience I have now is huge and it has given me so much confidence.”

Awate goes on to talk about the cafe and how he has done the cleaning, the cooking, worked on the till, he’s tried every area of work. He is very proud of the feedback from the customers when they praise him and he loves helping customers out, building relationships with the regulars. Awate smiles broadly when he says, “In my country it is always the women who cook and clean but now I go home and help my girlfriend. I like to cook for her, we share the tasks – sharing and growing together is good. We are a European family now!”

Awate is keen to work but is also very keen that his future plans involve a lot of volunteering – he wants to help others as he has been helped. “Training like this is good for you,” says Awate. “It really helps. It stops people staying in their house alone, people meet other people, it gets them active – it’s good for the brain and good for God. Helping people gives me a huge satisfaction on the inside – the most important thing.”

On the tenth day of Christmas…

Mark started on Create’s Academy programme in September 2011 he says he been hanging round with a bad crowd since he left school and so never really tried to find work and wasn’t really sure what he wanted to do. Coming to Create opened his eyes to the day to day joy of working with a team of people in a positive and productive environment. He says “I didn’t really want to work in a kitchen but after trying it, loved it, I guess it is the fear of the unknown. If you haven’t worked before you don’t know what to expect and fear the worst. What you actually get is the best.”

Mark was with Create for 6 weeks then found work at Opposite Café as kitchen assistant having gain confidence and food safety and retail qualifications at Create.

On the eleventh day of Christmas…

Pauline had worked often in the past. She had the bitter experience of never having worked and had been in and out of work for many years in the hospitality industry. Recently she had struggled to juggle work with family commitments and had been unemployed for a year and wasn’t getting the support she needed. Fearing being left behind by a changing world or employment she struggled with the internet world and ‘applying online’.

After gaining Food Safety Level 2 and Retail QCF level 1 with Create she moved into work at the Hilton Hotel in housekeeping.

Pauline says, “It wasn’t about being at the bottom of the pile it was just about feeling that the personalised support I needed was not available. Create showed me that people were prepared to sit and down and treat me as a person, ask me what I needed to succeed and work with me to get that”

On the twelth day of Christmas…

Charlie came from an organisation where he was living with his mother as a result of fleeing domestic violence. Charlie knew he wanted to make something of himself and not go down the same negative track as others he knew. As a result of having this passion to get the most out of life Charlie joined Create and there has been no stopping him. He has grabbed every challenge with both hands and ran with it.

 “We are about kick starting people’s futures,” says Danny Leech, lead mentor from Create. “We provide a structure but it’s the individuals who do the hard work. In just one month we have seen an amazing change in our trainees. It’s all about building up confidence and getting them back on the road to employment.”

Charlie starts his new job on Saturday and says “I just want to say a big thank you for this rewarding and overall inspiring opportunity, never could I imagine myself successfully gaining employment this early in life never mind achieving my food hygiene certificate, learning new skill and meet a new range of, hopefully long term friends within a space of five weeks. Create is an effective and very beneficial place to learn new skills and gain employment, I would strongly recommend it to anyone, under any circumstances. Thanks again.”

In a City that believes in doing things differently, a new business opens its doors that believes in doing business for the best of reasons.

Create is a catering business that offers quality lunch and buffet service to the corporate and private sector. But is a whole lot more. Create is an award winning social enterprise that offers training and employment to people who have been homeless or marginalised right across Manchester.

The new business will be headed up by Steve Chandler an experienced business leader who is enthused by Create’s innovative approach to delivering social benefit. “I believe that you can do business not only just to make money but also to benefit society. Create is committed to developing a great food business that also supports people. This way we can add value to their lives and the community we share.”

Create’s Employment Academy offers a 12-week personalised work programme in a safe, supportive environment. It works because it gives people a framework in the real world of work. Trainees benefit from quality training, hands-         on work experience and the chance to gain nationally recognised qualifications. Perhaps most importantly, trainees find a place where they belong and a group of people who will support and believe in them.

Create trainees will now get an opportunity to work alongside Head Chef Richard Moore in this innovative venture and be further inspired by the varied career opportunities available in the world of catering, hospitality and customer services.

Create Greater Manchester is holding an Open Day to recruit the first cohort of trainees on Thursday November 17th which is quite appropriately National Social Enterprise Day.

Hazel Blears MP for Salford and Eccles says of Create “Salford has a proud history of co-operative work. It is this same spirit which is embodied by Create and I am delighted that they are here in Salford working with the many talented local  people in this community.”

Opening this week at The Broadwalk Centre, Salford, Create will initially support people into employment at the new Morrison’s Store in Ordsall. Sarah Dunwell, CEO of Create, said “We believe that big problems need big solutions. Working in partnership with businesses like Morrisons and local authorities across Greater Manchester and with the support of local champions like Hazel Blears MP we believe that Create can make a real difference to homeless people who need a hand up and not a hand out.”

“I’ve overheard people say: ‘Shall we grab a bite to eat at that soup kitchen?’” says the founder of Create restaurant, Sarah Dunwell, with a playful smile. “They say: ‘You know, the one where all the homeless people work? Shall we just try it?’” She raises an eyebrow.

“Well, you should see their faces when they walk through the door! What we have here is not at all what they were expecting.” Create restaurant has been successfully defying expectations since it opened in Leeds city centre at the start of August. It is an impressive space: stylishly decorated with the bold primary colours of the Create logo. In the open-plan kitchen young chefs are prepping for the lunchtime rush as the suited maître’d swerves past, chasing up a booking. A grand spiral staircase leads up to the second floor, which Dunwell says will be full of corporate events and office parties in the run-up to Christmas.

What makes Create unusual is that the thriving business is a social enterprise, built around the talents and enthusiasm of homeless people: “bright, sparky men and women who are keen to work”.

Dunwell explains: “Before this, they have so many labels attached to them – probably ‘criminal’ and ‘addict’, things that are causes or consequences of homelessness. None of which can be fixed in isolation. We work to remove those labels and make them confident in a working environment. I also hope we are radically changing people’s expectation of what homeless people can achieve.”

Create was first conceived when Dunwell volunteered with St George’s Crypt in Leeds. At the time, she was the boss of her own outside catering firm and at the Crypt witnessed the untapped potential among the men and women who slept on the streets. Five years later and Create has 60 staff and a turnover of around £1.5 million.

All the profits are ploughed back into the business, offering new opportunities to homeless people. “Part of our job is about agitating,” says Dunwell. “It’s about saying to the local community – you thought you knew what homeless people could amount to, and now look at us. Watch these guys go, because they are fabulous, they really are.” So far, Create has enjoyed a positive response from the public. “But we’ve got lots of work to do to make this concept mainstream,” admits Dunwell. “People may be reluctant to eat in a restaurant where homeless people work – we’ve had to challenge that, with an open-plan kitchen, for example. We want to be one step above what everybody expects a social enterprise restaurant to be.” With time and hard work, Dunwell and her team hope to expand so Create becomes a familiar name, with a restaurant in every big city in the country. Create has training academies and some catering facilities in South Yorkshire and Merseyside and is working on opening in the North East. Create Manchester opened last week. It aims to open at least four more restaurants in the next two years, and 20 in the next five. There are also plans for a boutique hotel, and a range of Create products to be sold in supermarkets. Not everyone who works at Create is homeless or exhomeless. Some members of staff have worked in retail or the food industry for many years. “We poached our head chef from Harvey Nichols restaurant,” says Dunwell. Richard Walton-Allen was named Leeds’ best chef by the Olivier awards in 2011. “We wanted the best, and we looked around and it was him.”

Walton-Allen is keen to appeal to people who enjoy great food and drink as much as those who appreciate what is happening behind the scenes. He has created a menu that brags spelt risotto, mushroom, sage crisps and rapeseed oil; smoked haddock, creamed leeks and potato with deep-fried poached egg; and Yorkshire parkin, orange and clotted cream. If you have spent time on the streets, this is a valuable opportunity to re-enter the world of work. But potential employees have to really want to work at Create, says Dunwell. “You don’t just automatically get a position because you’ve been homeless. You need to convince us that this is what you really want to do – that it will transform your life.” There are plenty of advantages from a business point of view. “This is the best workforce I’ve ever had. They want to be at work. No one calls in sick.” But are there any disadvantages? “None we didn’t expect. At the start, some can be vulnerable, chaotic and challenging to work with. Every member of our team expects that. But they soon settle down and work very hard.” Create is a transitional programme. At some point in the future, most will get a job in the wider world. Generally, says Dunwell, people stay six months, sometimes a year. “Create is all about finding the confidence to say: ‘I’m ready for a fresh start.’ No one can make excuses, saying they can’t do this or that because they’ve been a heroin addict or homeless, because everyone around them is in the same position. We won’t allow anyone to see themselves as a victim.”

The team has many success stories. Aiden Sharp, 17, a trainee on the programme, has spent the past six weeks working at Create. He says: “I didn’t really think I’d find any kind of work that I liked but coming here, I really enjoy it. I even work Saturdays and I don’t have to.” Sharp says the job has changed him. “I used to be involved in criminal activity,” he says. “I used to be…” – he lowers his voice and looks away – “a little sh*t.” But now he is trying to turn his life around. “If I hadn’t got involved in this I’d probably be in jail by now. In ten years, I hope to be a top chef in one of the main restaurants in Leeds. I want to get a Michelin star.” This year is the first that Create has been an active member of the Street Smart campaign, which happens in restaurants every year in November and December to raise money for homeless charities by adding a pound to diners’ bills. “We’re usually a beneficiary, but this is the first time we’re actually raising money that will go into the central pot to help other charities.”

Dunwell must be proud of what’s she’s achieved. Yes, she says. “But there’s always that caveat that there’s more to be done. I want Create to be a high street name. I want it to have the same resonance with the general public as the Fair Trade logo – so that you know instinctively that something good is happening behind the scenes.”

© Big Issues In the North

To read the full story buy a copy of the Big Issue or visit their website here.

The Chancellor’s wife opened up her famous home to a delegation from Leeds in celebration of the city’s fundraising efforts.

Frances Osbourne hosted the group as part of the 2011 StreetSmart launch party held at 11 Downing Street in London on day one of the two month campaign that collects cash in aid of the homeless.

Last year the YEP-backed scheme raised £22,000 in Leeds – more than any other city in England outside London.

Mrs Osbourne said how “incredible” the fundraising efforts had been across the country, praising the “simplicity” of the concept.

Read the full story in the Yorkshire Evening Post.

On the surface, it’s a food business providing delicious meals. But at its heart, Create is changing lives and giving hope to those with a once bleak future.

From its newly-opened office and kitchen in Lombard Street, Sunderland, Create has taken on the first in a series of 10 trainees embarking on a life-changing 12-week course.

They’ve all struggled to find work and live in city hostels and shelters, but this course is set to make them dab hands in the kitchen, giving them skills for a career.

“Many are from hostels,” said Lindsay Newby, Create’s North East business centre manager.

“That institutionalised environment is tough, there is a lot of peer pressure and we are suddenly taking them out of that.

In January, Create became only the second company to be awarded a Big Society Award by Prime Minister David Cameron.

It has impressed so much that councils, such as Sunderland, asked the company to go to their cities. The Sunderland arm has opened after volunteers from Price Waterhouse Coopers helped to renovate disused units.

This week the first batch of trainees took the first steps on the road to a new life.

Lindsay said: “If you look at them from the outside, the trainees look like an unemployable person.

“But these are people with horrendous backgrounds. How could you not end up like that, I would? “It’s about helping them understand that there is something out there for them and something to aspire to.

Over the course of the 12 weeks, they will work on their CVs in the classroom while learning about food hygiene and health and safety.

Food prepared in the kitchen will provide middle-of-the-range catering in the city, and over the next few weeks Sunderland businesses will be supplied with Create sample boxes, in a bid to drum up clients.

Lindsay said: “What we are teaching the trainees is what’s expected in the work place and what’s not, and what is expected of them as employees. We are giving these trainees something to hang their hats on.”

Read the full story in the Sunderland Echo here.

Create believes that big problems in society need big solutions and that those solutions are best delivered in partnership and today Create and PwC showed that belief in action. Professional services firm PwC joined forces with Create, a catering social enterprise rapidly gaining momentum on the Yorkshire food scene and local schools Heatherwood and North Ridge High, who both work with children with learning difficulties, to promote Create’s not for profit catering services in Doncaster. 

Students at the schools worked alongside PwC staff volunteers and James Farrow, Create’s chef in Doncaster, to creatively decorate 650 cupcakes for distribution across the city to give Doncaster’s business community a great taste of Create.

Today’s activities were part of PwC’s annual community volunteering day, where staff go to work at various community organisations across Yorkshire.  This year’s theme is employability, with the aim of making a long-lasting impact in the local community by sharing skills and fundraising to help people not only get into work, but sustain their employment and skills into the future. Staff from 25 PwC offices around the UK volunteered for activities such as mentoring, CV and interviewing skills for job seekers and entrepreneurship skills for young people.

Steve Denison, PwC’s Northern Chairman, said:

“CREATE is a growing and successful business with fantastic social objectives at its core. They fit our theme of ‘employability’ brilliantly as the way they engage people through meaningful training and employment opportunities and through their work in the community is inspiring. Our efforts to help the most vulnerable in our communities on one firmwide volunteering day go beyond a day of concentrated support, but we hope that we can highlight what a difference sharing some of the skills we use in our everyday work can make a difference to communities.”

Samantha Archer is Business Centre Manager for Create South Yorkshire and is thrilled with the support from PwC. “This is a great boost to have PwC raising awareness of Create catering in Doncaster and an excellent way for new customers to taste our delicious wares. As we build up our business we can train even more through our academy and help people back into employment, “says Samantha.

PwC took up the challenge of supporting social enterprise not through raising charity money but through building business. In Leeds and Doncaster they got out onto the streets and into the offices promoting Create’s great catering business.

Sarah Dunwell, CEO of Create said, “it is great to work with a business that ‘gets’ social enterprise. We deliver social change through running great business which invests every penny in delivering vulnerable people into employment. To do this on a larger scale we need two simple things, sales and growth. PwC have lent their skill and enthusiasm to this cause and as a direct result people who need jobs most will get them”.

PwC is focussed on promoting social inclusion within its local communities by supporting creative and active partnerships which focus on employability, education and the environment.  During 2011, over 4,200 PwC people were involved in employee volunteering programmes during working hours contributing more than 50,000 hours.   The value of what PwC contributed to its communities by way of financial support, volunteers’ time and the provision of business expertise amounted to £10.3m.