STORY: UNOX RAISES OVER £23,000 FOR MENTAL HEALTH

Unox Moving Mountains for Mental Health challenge raises more than £23,000

in support of The Burnt Chef Project

After a team of 25 spirited individuals comprising of the Unox UK team, partners and supports hauled an oven weighing more than 140kg up the UK’s highest mountain back in the summer, the fundraising effort has now closed, smashing the challenge target to raise a staggering £23,734.78 for The Burnt Chef Project.

Setting an initial target of £10,000, the incredible final total, more than doubles the original target, making the team’s extraordinary effort worth it. Starting from the mountain’s visitor centre at 06:00, the team battled the mountain for more than 14 hours, facing rocky climbs, ravines, river crossings, strong wind, rain and even a lack of visibility at the top, all while managing and mitigating injuries. Reaching a height of 1,100 metres above sea level, the 10-grid CHEFTOP-X™, Unox’s market-leading, state-of-the-art combi oven, was carried to a point higher than any other in England or Wales.

Four months on from the enormous challenge, the fundraising period has now closed, with the team surpassing their initial fundraising target by more than 130%. As the latest in a series of challenges undertaken by Unox in support of the company’s partnership with The Burnt Chef Project, Moving Mountains for Mental Health not only helped to raise an incredible sum of money but also facilitated conversation around mental health in the hospitality industry – a mission of The Burnt Chef Project.

On the final total, Scott Duncan, Managing Director of Unox UK comments:

“It’s truly incredible to see the impact that Moving Mountains for Mental Health has had – both in terms of the amount raised and the message that has been spread far and wide. To have raised more than £23,500 to support the ongoing work of The Burnt Chef Project makes every footstep taken on Ben Nevis back in June, is extraordinary. While the team returned exhausted, broken and for some carrying minor injuries, this is nothing in comparison to the daily struggles of those living with mental health challenges in our industry. We hope that by completing the challenge, exceeding our fundraising target and spreading the word about the great work done by The Burnt Chef Project, we can do our bit to help those suffering and reduce the stigma that continues to surround mental health in hospitality.

I would like to say a huge thank you to every single person involved in the challenge. From those who helped organise and plan the logistics, the 25-strong team, the mountain guides and our wonderful challenge partners - Caterglobe, Latitude Leasing, Dewberry Redpoint, Nimlok, Eat PR & Marketing, Foxton Budd, Thomas Franks, HRC, Casual Dining Show, Keith Elkington Transport, Gratte Brothers and The Bread Factory. A final thanks go to our parent company, Unox S.p.A, who fundmatched the total raised, helping to not only reach but significantly exceed our target - thank you.”

With the final donation marking the end of the Moving Mountains challenge, Kris Hall, Founder and CEO of The Burnt Chef Project comments:

“Completing this challenge and raising more than £23,000 to support the ongoing work of The Burnt Chef Project is truly inspiring. Having built an intrinsic relationship with the Unox team, not just in the UK but around the world, we’ve created a partnership of huge importance to our mission and one that I hope will continue for many years to come.

When I initially heard about the plans to carry a full-sized, 140kg Unox combi oven up Ben Nevis, I was stunned – but through grit, determination and willpower, the team not only succeeded but did so in a way that will have motivated others, spread the word and helped hundreds, potentially thousands of individuals in hospitality who are struggling with mental health challenges. To every single member of the team, the partners and the wider support network who were involved in the Unox Moving Mountains challenge – thank you from the bottom of our hearts!”