A Pitlochry Hotel has stepped up to rescue the town food bank’s Christmas Day Lunch by filling a staff shortage which threatened the event.
For four years McKays Hotel Bar and Restaurant, along with its suppliers, has cooked and provided hundreds of free Christmas Day meals for Pitlochry’s Food Bank and its festive home delivery programme.
This year it is going a step further by also providing staff on Christmas Day to serve up the 3 course traditional meal at the town’s Atholl Centre- and to help with Christmas Eve deliveries.
A cut in financial support meant the Food Bank was facing a shortage of trained staff to work at the meal which has become a source of community hope for hard-pressed locals.
However, on hearing of the difficulties, McKays agreed to draft in its own staff to serve up the dishes; something its General Manager says it is more than happy to do.
Employees will also step in to assist with the vital home delivery service, with around 150 meals to be produced and served in total.
Along with suppliers Brake Brothers, Mark Murphy and Fife Creamery, McKays has sourced the Christmas menu staples such as turkey and trimmings which have proved a success at recent events.
McKays General Manager Alec Summers said: “When we heard that there was a problem in getting staff this year, we wanted to help. The Food Bank is a really important service and they do a great job.
“With a reduction in funds, they rely on the generosity of locals and local businesses and we were more than happy to help. If you can’t do so at this time of year, when can you?
“It is nothing for us to take a few hours out of our week if it is going to make a really good day for others at this time of year.”
Head Chef Richard Kirby was central to the team effort to cook 120 festive meals last year and is gearing up for even more this time around.
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“I think we are looking at up to 150 this time. We will serve some at the Food Bank and we will also deliver some to the houses of those in need.
“We try to do what we can and it is good to help. Ultimately, I am a chef. I love to feed people,” he smiled.
As well as the Christmas Day effort, McKays is donating its December charity Quiz takings to the Food Bank, with hundreds of pounds worth of dry and canned goods being sourced to help stock the shelves in the New Year.
