Acorn House looks for new backers for training

Acorn House, London's first environmentally sustainable restaurant, has launched a campaign to attract backers to fund its restaurant training facility.

The restaurant, which is a joint initiative between the Shoreditch Trust, the Terrence Higgins Trust and Bliss Restaurant Consultancy, aims to raise £200,000 to pay for its training programme, which is designed to educate 10 students as eco-friendly restaurateurs.

The move comes after Camden Council, which initially pledged its support to Acorn House, decided against providing the financial backing needed to run the one-year training initiative.

Restaurant director and general manager Jamie Grainger-Smith said Acorn House was hoping to attract backers ranging from councils to suppliers and bigger companies.

"It has been really difficult but we are confident that we will find backers," he said. "We are trying to target companies and get them to become partners of the restaurant and give us the financial backing we need to make the training programme happen."

The training scheme, which will run in association with Westminster Kingsway College and will allow students to achieve NVQ Level 2, will cover all aspects of running an eco-friendly restaurant, including business plans, customer relations and how to run an environmentally sustainable kitchen.

The application process for the 10 available places on the course begins on 16 April.

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By Kerstin Kühn

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