This Chef Is Cooking Free Meals For His Community
Nathan Pollard: A Minute Of Kindness is also an aid to his own recovery
A chef who is in recovery for addiction is helping to feed the most vulnerable members of his community. Nathan Pollard from Newcastle is volunteering at a community cafe which is delivering around 400 food parcels to people every week. He says that giving back is a key step in his own recovery, at a time when giving back matters more than ever.
NATHAN POLLARD: I didn’t know what I wanted, I just didn’t want what I had anymore. And my life I was in complete turmoil. A massive part of this project has been able to pay back, and that’s what I’m doing at the moment. I’ve been furloughed for the last 11 weeks, so I’m volunteering to come in. And it’s just amazing to know that we’re, on a Friday, in Newcastle at the moment, that people need it you can get a meal dropped to your house. The one thing I’ve learned since I’ve come into recovery is anything that I’ve been given free, you know, to keep it I’ve got to then give it away. During the– the Covid pandemic it’s been just so lush to see how many people are helping out the next person and just doing the next right thing. And that’s what it’s all about for me.
For Nathan Pollard, a life on the road as a touring chef was pretty much all he’d known. He started working in a professional kitchen in his early 20s, and made such a success of it his career took him to The Olympics, The Asian Games, The Brit Awards and many other major events and festivals, as well as on tour with bands and singers such as The Rolling Stones, Cher and Pink.
Read more about Nathan Pollards story here
