Hospitality Action launches ‘Invisible Chips’ campaign

Hospitality Action has launched a new fundraising campaign in a bid to “harness the UK’s goodwill and affection” for the hospitality industry.

The ‘Invisible Chips’ campaign allows customers to show their support for the industry , and participating venues will be asked to add Invisible Chips to their menu, priced the same as a normal chips serving. 

Customers will then be encouraged to add a portion or two of Invisible Chips to their order, with all proceeds going to the charity. 

The first restaurant group to sign up is BrewDog, serving Invisible Chips for £3.95 a portion across all of its 52 sites. Hawksmoor and Gaucho will also add the feature to their menus in the coming weeks. 

In addition, Invisible Chips are available to purchase online.

The campaign, fronted by Fred Sirieix, Heston Blumenthal and Tom Kerridge, has been launched in response to the industry’s struggles amid coronavirus, with the hospitality sector expected to be “one of the worst affected” in terms of unemployment.

Mark Lewis, CEO of Hospitality Action, said: “I’m incredibly excited to launch the Invisible Chips fundraising campaign and want to thank all of the chefs and restaurateurs who have helped along the way or have already agreed to add Invisible Chips to their menu. 

“Back in March when we launched our Covid-19 Emergency Appeal we knew the hospitality industry was in for a rough ride. Whilst the funds we’ve raised have enabled us to help thousands of people up and down the country, there is still a huge amount of help needed.”

He added: “To anyone who has missed eating out these past few months, I urge you to order a portion of Invisible Chips to help those people we’ve perhaps taken for granted up until now. 

“The hospitality industry is built on resilience and creativity and I’m confident we will recover, however the people within it need a helping hand in the interim.”

James Brown, retail director of BrewDog said: “Covid-19 has had a huge impact on our beloved hospitality industry, whether you a small or large business the disruption and knock on effects will be felt for years. 

“We are delighted to support the Invisible Chips campaign by Hospitality Action and help raise funds to help an industry and community of some three million staff hardest hit by this crisis.”