"Disability is the last taboo in the kitchen"
Ronnie Murray supports charity dinner for young people with special needs
Islington Boat Club is hosting a charity fundraising dinner with celebrity chef Ronnie Murray on Thursday 16 March, to help young adults with special needs to access watersports, socialise and gain new skills.
Ronnie Murray, who was group head chef for the HIX Group and competed in BBC 2’s Great British Menu is cooking the three-course menu with the help of young adults aged 14-21 from the All on Board club. Ronnie, from Peckham, South-East London, was born with a shortened arm, but has not let that hinder his career. He comments, “disability is the last taboo in the kitchen and there should be more access. It’s great to be working with these kids with special needs and proving anything can be achieved if you just get on with it.”
All on Board is a community project run by Islington Boat Club to help young people with special needs to access watersports, socialise and gain new skills. The club started its after school club in September 2016 and since it began there has been a group of young people with special needs and their carers coming every Thursday. They take part in lots of activities including narrowboating, powerboating, kayaking, mountain biking, climbing, bowling, swimming and baking. The group, including the carers, have found new friends in one another and all have gained confidence and new life skills.
Through the programme, the club also works with groups of different ages during the week to take part in free watersports activities.
The full menu from Ronnie Murray includes Peckham Manor potted smoked salmon with pickled cucumber, chicken thigh curry with crispy shallots, coriander, steamed rice and samphire pakoras (with a butternut squash vegetarian alternative) and for pudding Grandma Murray’s raspberry milk jelly, which was Ronnie’s most popular dish with the Great British Menu judges.
Dinner will be on the boat, starting at 7pm. Tickets are £15 per person and can be purchased through WeFiFo here.
The All on Board club at Islington Boat Club is helping people with special needs access watersports, socialise and gain new skills