Blog. Northcote's Obsession festival tops £500,000 for HA!

This year's 25th-anniversary Northcote Obsession festival, a renowned celebration of culinary excellence, has raised an impressive £77,000 for HA - bringing the total funds raised to an incredible £500,000!

The 17 day event saw 22 top chefs with 27 Michelin stars between them prepare dishes for over 1,500 diners. The event included chefs from Paris, Cape Town, Singapore and Denmark, as well as Lisa Goodwin-Allen who has since left Northcote after 23 years working at the Michelin-starred hotel and restaurant.

We caught up with Hospitality Action Ambassador and Northcote managing director Craig Bancroft to learn a little more about the amazing festivities. 

Why do you support Hospitality Action?

It is the leading charity for the hospitality profession and one that has been established since 1837. The many ways Hospitality Actions supports is well documented and they are dedicated to helping hospitality people across the broad spectrum of our industry. Northcote is invested in giving back to those that are less fortunate than ourselves and our team members have had first-hand experience of their positive support.

What advice would you like to share with others considering supporting Hospitality Action?

I would suggest that if you don’t have an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) that you sign up to Hospitality Action’s. The HA EAP is a simple investment to make in your team. £6.95 per person per annum is a very small price to pay to give 24/7 support for everyone in your business. Our own team members have reached out for help, and we have been able to point them towards a group of professionals that are superbly equipped to listen and advise how best to support our team when we are unable. In situations of sudden bereavement, trauma or tragedy for example, or unprecedented issues with finance or addiction. It is a brilliant extension of the support that we offer our team internally.

What does the milestone of raising £500,000 mean to you personally and to Northcote?

I think most importantly we have a lot of people to thank. The hoteliers, restaurateurs, past Obsession chefs, and our dear colleagues, particularly in Pride of Britain Hotels, who all donate amazing prizes that enables us to run a silent auction over each Obsession night. In addition we run a £20 raffle across all nights and Sarah Layton Jewellers of Whalley offers a bespoke piece of jewellery to be drawn at the close of the event.

The most important thing to remember is these monies are raised 100% by the fabulous clientele of Northcote, they are not industry people they are loyal guests who love food and wine, great hotels, restaurants and enjoy great hospitality. They recognise the difficulties that hospitality businesses experience and how the team can be affected by all the usual challenges of life. Because they respect industry and all it offers, they donate and pay their part superbly well.

Too often I feel that we concentrate on all our colleagues to fundraise internally via the businesses that we are in, but the evidence of Obsession is the public really do appreciate hospitality and all it’s moving parts as we we deliver exceptional experiences for them. I think that is what we as a team are most proud of, that we have connected Hospitality Action to a far wider audience and the team also respect that we concentrate on giving back to those who need it most.

We are profoundly grateful to Craig, Lisa, and the entire Northcote team, as well as the visiting chefs and guests, for their incredible generosity. The funds raised will have a truly life-changing impact on those facing difficult times, and this level of support is nothing short of extraordinary.

Photos by: @davidscholesphoto