Rixonway Kitchens has brought celebrity chef Rosemary Shrager to the Harrogate Homeless Project to cook dinner for the residents and supporting the major refurbishment project launched on Friday June 18.

Rosemary, who has appeared in television programmes such as ‘Ladette to Lady’ and ‘Soapstar Superchef’, was delighted to get involved with the opening of the newly refurbished Harrogate Homeless Project by cooking a meal for the residents in the new kitchen donated by Rixonway Kitchens.

Rixonway Kitchens provided the scheme with one of its large family kitchens from the popular and stylish Trieste range.

Dewsbury-based Rixonway Kitchens supplies kitchens to the social housing sector and works tirelessly to build strong local communities through both support of local and national schemes and in its employment and worklessness agenda. The Harrogate Homeless Project complemented Rixonway’s ethos of working in the community and supporting vulnerable and homeless adults.

The Harrogate Homeless Project refurbishment means up to 16 residents can now sleep in individual rooms, using new shared shower, toilet and kitchen facilities. The refurbishment incorporates an upgrade to a full hostel model, allowing the residents to stay in the accommodation 24 hours a day.

The £225,000 (approx) project was funded by the Governments Places for Change programme and a number of individual contributors.

Nick Greenall, Operations Director at Rixonway Kitchens, said: “Rixonway Kitchens is dedicated to all aspects of Community Regeneration including worklessness and homelessness we believe tackling these issues is essential to creating Sustainable Communities. We are pleased Rosemary accepted our invitation as it allows us to celebrate the opening of the new hostel by serving a delicious and nutritious meal the residents really enjoyed.”

Liz Hancock, Project Manager at Harrogate Homeless Project, said: “We are delighted that Rixonway Kitchens was able to bring Rosemary Shrager to the Project. Having a celebrity chef cook dinner for the residents brought a real sense of occasion to our opening event and was a lovely treat. Further to this, Rixonway’s kitchen donation aids the refurbishment as every penny saved can be spent on essential services benefitting our residents and the wider community.”

Rosemary Shrager added: “It’s great that Yorkshire based businesses such as Rixonway Kitchens have supported the Harrogate Homeless Project. I was delighted to be able to get involved in this project and give my time to cook a delicious meal for the residents of the Harrogate Homeless Project.”

Rixonway’s work with the Harrogate Homeless Project is the latest activity in the company’s corporate social responsibility programme which has recently included kitchen donations to Wellington Hill Residents Association in Leeds and East North East Homes, Leeds for a resident’s practical learning initiative.