“We’ve already successfully rebuilt ourselves to some extent: the fact that people still want to come out and eat at all and support the restaurants is huge,” admits Lisa Goodwin-Allen, executive chef at Lancashire’s Michelin-starred Northcote. “But obviously everybody’s heard that there’s a massive staff problem within our sector, that’s a real struggle. It’s going to be hard work.

“Still,” she says, without missing a beat, “the positives to take out of that are that hospitality is changing. It’s been known as a place with long hours and difficult conditions. We’re starting to see some changes from that. Hospitality is an amazing industry and it is strong, I have no doubt that we’ll come back bigger and better.” 

It’s clear that retaining staff is front of mind for many at the moment. One of the major issues Hospitality Action raises funds for is to help prevent staff burnout, which can take the form of mental health crises or addiction. Paul Askew, chef patron of The Art School in Liverpool, noted that his staff have moved to a four-day work week to ensure staff have time to rest and see family outside of busy 12-hour kitchen shifts. 

“In our industry over the past 18 months to two years, I personally know five people who’ve taken their own lives,” said chef and cheesemonger Charlie Hodson, who became an ambassador for the charity after suffering depression which culminated in a trio of suicide attempts. “I used to employ 221 people, and for a time, that took me to the edge of despair. I was taken off the top of a multi-storey building by three police officers three years ago because at the time, that was my only escape: I was successful, I had a big house, good business, a nice car, but I was falling apart.” 

Thanks to the support he received from Hospitality Action, Hodson has thrived, but he’s well aware that the same can’t be said for all of the hospitality workers who’ve been battered by the pandemic, citing a young man who died by suicide after a string of lay-offs. 

“A lot of people have been saying ‘we need to look after staff through the pandemic’,” agreed Kerridge. “I just think ‘you should have been doing that in the first place, mate!’ It’s not just throwing cash at people, it’s about personal and professional growth, it’s about opportunities that we can put in front of people. Our staff have given us a big chunk of their lives, and investing in them is how we’ll rebuild. 

“The industry is changing, it has changed, it will continue to change,” Kerridge went on. “You can’t get every Saturday off, but you could get three days in a row off so you can visit another restaurant and have some fun… But to do that you need a team and a half and there’s a cost implication which comes into the price. That education has to fall forward to our guests and their understanding of what things cost. It’s not just about the steak which you could buy cheaper in Sainsbury’s, it’s about the people who are washing your plates, who are serving it, the cost of the blue roll, the cost of the receptionist, the IT, everything.”