Breaking Ground: Our New Outdoor Kitchen Build is Underway!
Supported by Ardonagh Community Trust, Spectris Foundation and Go Fund Me Donors
We’re so excited to share some brilliant news – this summer, we’re starting the build of our brand-new outdoor kitchen! This will be the very first piece of our new central hub on site, and we can’t wait to see it come to life.
This project has been a long time in the making. When our current kitchen was built back in 2017, we were preparing meals for just 5–10 students and staff. Fast forward to today, and we’re cooking for around 30 people every day – often providing the only hot meal some children will have that day. Our tiny kitchen has been bursting at the seams for a while now, so this new outdoor kitchen will make a huge difference.
It will give us the space to involve our students in preparing and cooking group meals, teaching them practical skills, kitchen safety, and how to cook fresh, affordable food from scratch. We’ve seen how cooking together builds confidence, sparks creativity, and gives our young people a real sense of pride and achievement. And it’s not just for our students – this space will also allow us to host events for the wider community, from pizza oven evenings to cooking workshops.
Here’s a first few “work in progress” photos, we’ll be sharing more as the build progresses!
This build is only possible thanks to the amazing generosity of so many people. We want to give a huge heartfelt thank you to everyone who’s donated through our Go Fund Me campaign, and to the Spectris Foundation and the Ardonagh Community Trust for their incredible grant support. Because of you, we now have the funds to get started, and if all goes to plan, our students will be enjoying their first meals in the new space by the Autumn term.
Our next big goal is to build our new central facility, joining on to the outdoor kitchen area, giving us the room and resources we need to support even more people. If you’d like to help us get there, donations – big or small – will make a real difference.
From all of us at Bonterre, thank you for believing in what we do and for helping us grow.