By Denis Sheehan FIH: The Joy and The Rub… The Crumbs Project Annual Awards 2025
Joy is an elusive emotion cherished by all, it materialises in the moment, you can’t plan it or manufacture it, and describing it is nigh on impossible. I therefore won’t attempt to beyond an effort to communicate the joy I witnessed while attending The Crumbs Project Annual Awards 2025 at the Marsham Court Hotel in Bournemouth yesterday.
The event recognises and celebrates the achievements of The Crumbs Project trainees as well as the trainers and wider support team that is The Crumbs Project.
The Crumbs Project: “Promoting education and social inclusion for disadvantaged individuals by offering learning and training opportunities that support their progress towards improved employment prospects and greater independence through vocational training.”
The Crumbs Project Annual Awards 2025 were sponsored by TWO Services.
Before the awards ceremony began the delight amongst the attendees was palpable and grew steadily as the afternoon progressed. As I looked around the room at the people seated ready for the event to unfold, and I am going to use the same word repeatedly, joy, on the faces and in the hearts of all attendees was evident everywhere.
Ursula Boardman, Head of Centre The Crumbs Project opened the affair setting out why the event was taking place and its purpose, taking time to see the people that are The Crumbs Project. Chair of The Crumbs Project, Professor Peter Jones MBE was then invited to take to the front of the room and commenced the presentation of certificates and medals.
One by one the trainees were invited to accept their awards marking their progress achievements across The Crumbs Project curricula. The trainees received awards for completing the Crumbs foundation programme and individual units in food production, bakery, housekeeping, and digital skills. Trainees also earned Crumbs certificates for excellent performance, most improved trainee, timekeeping, positive attitude, as well as many other notable accomplishments. There were also two awards for Kitchen Porter of the year, and I was allowed the privilege of handing these out. The two winners will now also be awarded as The Kitchen Porters Club Kitchen Porter of the Month award for April.
As the afternoon progressed countless moments of joy were created and witnessed, moments that if it were not for the team of people that are The Crumbs Project would simply not ever have materialised. The joy on the faces of the trainees as they experienced an afternoon of being seen eludes my writing, but I hope some of what I witnessed is being communicated.
Here’s the rub…
The trainees at The Crumbs Project are being prepared for entry into the hospitality and catering workplace. Many over recent years have done so, and literally love what they do. They have purpose to their lives through work that enables them to live more independently.
The gratitude of the trainees I have spoken with about having a job in our industry I cannot again do justice to through words, it needs to be experienced firsthand.
Yesterday was also World Down Syndrome Day, and some months ago I had the privilege of interviewing a young man who is a member of The Waldorf Hilton, London’s Food and Beverage team and lives with Down Syndrome, Sam Innes. During the interview Sam told me, “I love my current role and would like to stay working at the Hilton for the rest of my career”.
There are countless roles across our industry for people like Sam and all of the trainees at The Crumbs Project. Hospitality and catering employers who avail of the opportunity presented by this incredible talent pool, I suspect, like many others who already do so, will be as equally grateful as the incredibly talented people they come to work alongside.
You can meet some of the trainees, the trainers, and Professor Peter Jones MBE at The aha Forum in June.
