Top London chefs and restaurants have teamed up to raise money for Unicef UK's Children of Syria fund.
The initiative, started by Unicef NEXTGenLondon, ClerkenwellBoy and SUITCASE Magazine, will be a month long campaign in November, beginning with a charity banquet on 31 October.
Tickets are available for the banquet, which will be cooked by some of London's top chefs, including Angela Hartnett, Fergus Henderson, José Pizarro, Nuno Mendes, Sami Tamimi and Yotam Ottolenghi.
Throughout November, chefs and restaurateurs have been encouraged to add a 'Syrian twist' to one of the dishes on their menus. London restaurants already signed up to the campaign include Barrafina, Berber & Q, Black Axe Mangal, Breddos Tacos, Brunswick House, Chick 'N' Sours, Crosstown Doughnuts, Grain Store, Gunpowder, Marksman Public House, Ottolenghi, Patty & Bun, Pizza Pilgrims, Poco Tapas Bar, Salon Brixton, Spring, Taberno do Mercado, The Dairy, The Good Egg and more. Phew.
Chef Yotam Ottolenghi says of the banquet, "Sami and I — like so many chefs — live to eat. It bends the mind to think of how many children in Syria are, on the other hand, eating to live. The stakes are so high. Somewhere in between these two crazy extremes we are looking forward to an amazing evening of feasting. The night will be spent eating and, in so doing, raising money to help the lives of the next generation in Syria."
Tickets for the banquet can be purchased from 9am today via a donation scheme. A suggested minimum donation of £150 can be made via the website.
