By Mal Butler
An Island chef is taking part in a gala dinner in London, at a fund-raiser for The Burnt Chef Project.
Alex Wibberley, who owns Eat Street IoW, based in Cowes, with wife, Laurel, will be cooking one of five courses for 100 people at the Megaro Hotel, King’s Cross, on January 8.
Alex explained: “I have been an ambassador for the Burnt Chef Project for the past couple of years. It mainly provides mental health support for people in the hospitality trade. If a chef or someone else was to send a text during the day asking for help, then they would be called by someone within 20 minutes.
“It’s about breaking down the stigma attached to mental health. The hospitality industry is brutal, it’s such a tough environment to work in.”
The evening is being hosted by Michelin-starred Adam Simmonds, who Alex worked with as head pasta chef at Dansford House Hotel, Marlow.
Eat Street IoW is a business Alex has run since both he and Laurel were made redundant following lockdown.
The business specialises in event catering with zero waste, cooking anything from Indian to Middle Eastern cuisine and everything in between.
He added: “I do all the cooking and we also do takeaways out of our converted horse box, as well as special meals of seven courses for eight people who pay us what they feel it is worth at the end of the meal.”
And Alex’s menu on the big night? He will be taking charge of the snacks menu so will be cooking: Ascolana (slow cooked goat, gordal olive, whipped feta); The Savoury ‘Oreo’ (black olive and aged parmesan biscuit, cream cheese filling) and Umami (porcini mushroom doughnut, mascarpone, tarragon).
Isle of Wight Observer