Hotel chef helps RAF regiment hero launch national fundraising campaign

A head chef from a Lancashire hotel has been called up by an RAF regiment hero to launch a national campaign for a leading welfare charity.
 
Stuart Robinson, who lost both his legs during RAF service in Afghanistan, enlisted the help of Michael Wilson, the head chef at the art-deco Midland Hotel, to spread the word about the Great British Sunday Lunch.
 
The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund’s new national fundraising campaign calls upon people up and down the country to support the Great British Sunday Lunch event on Sunday 2 April by creating their own tasty dishes and hosting friends and family to raise money for the charity.
 
It allowed Stuart, an Invictus Games double-medal winner and member of Team GB’s Olympic wheelchair rugby squad, to demonstrate his culinary skills at his home in Morecambe.
 
With the English Lakes Hotels Resorts & Venues’ chef offering advice along the way, Stuart prepared a delicious dish of roast rump of lamb, spiced pearl barley broth and cumin roasted aubergines.
 
“Sunday lunch is a great British tradition that families can enjoy together, so why not sit down on Sunday 2 April and host a meal in aid of the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund,” said Stuart.
 
“I have been fortunate enough to be supported by the fund since sustaining my injuries in 2013 and their help has enabled me to live a normal life as a husband and a father. The Great British Sunday Lunch will provide vital funds for the RAFBF that will help make a real difference to members of the RAF and their families and I encourage people across the country to get involved.”
 
The Great British Sunday Lunch is also supported by top chefs including the Hairy Bikers, Michel Roux Jnr, Tom Kitchin and Ken Hom, who have provided meal ideas for the event. 
 
Michael Wilson from the Midland Hotel in Morecambe added:  “It’s been an honour, privilege and inspiration to have met Stuart and to prepare a meal together at his family home for this campaign.
 
“The RAF Benevolent Fund’s Great British Sunday Lunch is a fantastic fundraising idea and The Midland was keen to be involved in supporting such a worthy cause. Members of the RAF, and all our UK armed forces, continually make brave sacrifices and deserve all the support we can give to them, and the charities that support them.”
 
The money raised from the Great British Sunday Lunch will go towards supporting the vital work the RAF Benevolent Fund does to support the whole RAF family, from the youngest child on an RAF station, to RAF veterans living in retirement.
 
Last year it spent over £20m helping more than 40,000 members of the RAF family with financial, practical and emotional support. The charity receives no routine Government funding, so events like the Great British Sunday Lunch are essential to provide these services.
 
For more information or to sign up to host your own event, please visit www.rafbf.org/great-british-sunday-lunch
 
For reservations at the Midland Hotel, call 0330 4042 674 or 01524 424 000.  For further information about English Lakes Hotels Resorts & Venues visit: englishlakes.co.uk