Wok for 1000 to create meals for London's homeless in mass cooking event

Celebrity chef Jeremy Pang is teaming up with a WWII refugee to deliver 1000 meals to London’s homeless.

Wok for 1000, held on October 31, at London’s Borough market will see Pang and his expert chefs from London’s School of Wok, an award-winning Asian cookery school, create the meals to be distributed across the capital.

The mass cooking event will be live-streamed on Facebook, giving those who are unable to make it along on the day the chance to learn to make three different Asian dishes from scratch.

“The wok is a perfect tool for cooking larger quantities of food and quickly,” Jeremy said.

“It just made sense to incorporate one of our cooking lessons with an opportunity to feed 1,000 people.”

After the success of the inaugural Wok for 1000 last year, Pang teamed up with Plan Zheroes, a zero food waste charity, to deliver this year’s event after speaking to founder, 91-year-old Lotti Henley, a WWII refugee.

Lotti and Jeremy

“I was so moved by Lotti’s story,” he said. “It really brought home how much we have as a nation, and yet how many people are still in need of a nutritious meal.”

Plan Zheroes was set up by Henley after she was inspired by her own experiences of extreme hunger. The organisation now runs an innovative online platform where businesses can safely donate surplus food – minimising wastage and supporting their ‘zero hunger’ goal.

Over 150 people have already signed up to help prepare the meals, with distribution opportunities also available for those who are interested.