A visit to Create: how to feel good about eating out on a shoestring

Living where we do in Leeds city centre, we're very lucky to be surrounded by a whole host of decent restaurants. We're so spoilt, in fact, that sometimes it can be difficult to decide which food haven to choose from when the cupboards are bare or I've had such a busy day that I'd rather tear my own eyes out than cook. However, there's always one restaurant that's right up there at the top of  my list of go-to places that offer great food at an exceptional price in Leeds.  

Create - "where good food and good people matter" - is a different sort of catering business. Their mission is to train people who have been homeless, marginalised or vulnerable and support them back in to work. In a similar vein to Jamie Oliver's Fifteen, Create is supported by a backbone of full-time professionals both front of house and in the kitchen, whilst a roster of Create trainees follow a twelve week training programme that's aimed at getting them back into work, giving them a 'hand up, not a hand out'. Founded a few years ago and spearheaded by Richard Walton-Allen, former head chef at Harvey Nichols, the Create foundation offer a whole range of bits and bobs from corporate catering to a street-food van. They now have two physical premises - a newly opened cafe in Wakefield and a restaurant in Leeds.

Create's Mission Statement