Bath vendor and Chef Ian Duff’s social enterprise Duff Cooks provided a fantastic buffet for a birthday party at St Mary’s the Virgin in Bathwick last weekend.
The buffet party was to celebrate the 70th birthday of Peter Graham, who contacted Duff Cooks after seeing Ian’s recent interview on BBC Points West. Peter said “I have been receiving thank you emails all day and everybody has commented on the good buffet.”
The buffet included Victorian sausage rolls, gravalax salmon and many other dishes. As part of Duff Cooks’ mission to help people back into the workplace, Ian employed two helpers for the day, one of whom is homeless and the other out of work.
Duff Cooks is a social enterprise that aims to teach long-term unemployed and homeless people to cook. It is run by Bath Big Issue vendor Ian Duff who has been a chef since he was 20, mainly working for large hotels abroad. Ian started selling the Big Issue when he became homeless 6 years ago and he and his dog Boycie have become a familiar sight on his pitch outside the Disney shop on Union Street.
While earning his keep as a Big Issue vendor, Ian also found work as a head chef with the social enterprise, Bath Soup Company. That’s when he realised he wanted to set up a foodie social enterprise of his own. Duff Cooks is partly funded by the Dinner Party Service Ian provides. “My idea is to help long-term unemployed and homeless people learn how to cook basics while making enough cash through doing small, private parties”, Ian says.
Anyone interested in the Duff Cooks Dinner Party Service can check the website www.duffcooks.com or contact Ian Duff on 07454 401429.
