Features / Anti Banquet
‘We have to do more than just plugging holes’
After going above and beyond last year to achieve their fundraising target to raise £117,000 for local charities, the Anti Banquet is back for a second time.
I sat down with Josh Eggleton, co-founder of Anti Banquet, to discuss where the idea came from and what makes it different from every other charity dinner.
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For CEOs, directors, and upper management types who regularly attend dinners, the energy of the room can feel a little stale.
Black-tie events with the same faces, awkward conversations, and a sense of obligation rather than genuine excitement.
This experience was no different for hospitality entrepreneur Josh. Not long after we came out of the COVID-19 lockdowns, he was invited to a charity dinner by a friend. He noticed that nobody in the room wanted to be there.
“The events space could hold around 300 covers and when I went there was only 65 covers, so it was like six tables in the middle of the room,” he says.
It was at this moment that he was struck with the idea of taking a typical charity dinner and spinning it on its head to make it truly enjoyable and more impactful.
The anti banquet is more like “prom,” Josh says.
“You can go with your work colleagues, get dressed up, see good bands, and have a really nice time with nice food.”
The twist is CEOs and the upper management types mentioned earlier, would be sweating away over a hot oven preparing a meal for their workforce.
A sentiment that is meant to put their valued employees on a level with them, and give those an experience they might not typically get a chance to.
“If somebody says to me, I’ll buy a table, but I’m not gonna come and work. I’d rather give a table to someone else. We had over 50 CEOs turn up and work.”
He adds, “It works on multiple levels. The first being the business network people open their eyes to be a little bit more like-minded, a bit more fair.
The second is we raise loads of money to go to the Bristol Local Food Fund. That money can then be filtered down into grassroots organisations in the city.”
Chefs and volunteers from last years Anti Banquet – photo: Anti Banquet
The event was fully booked last year and Josh is fairly confident the same will happen again this year.
Most of the people that came last year have already brought tables again.
Another really positive thing was that a lot of tables were donated in addition to those who brought tables for their workforce.
Up to 70 spaces were donated, meaning they were able to extend an invitation people from different community projects around Bristol to come and represent.
“Unfortunately, we are limited on the number of tables, but for me, it’s just about how we can now over deliver and hopefully make sure that the money that we raise goes to a variety of projects in the fairest way.”
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As pleased as he is with the success of the event, he is mindful of how he wants to work towards long-term, sustainable change.
Last year the Bristol Local food Fund was allocated the money raised, this time the money will be split with them and other organisations that work towards alleviating food insecurity in the city.
They’re conscious that the focus should be on education, improving food literacy, and offering solutions to systemic problems, rather than just “plugging holes.”
An example of this is the new project the Farm Bus which is spearheaded by the parent group The Pony Family who are responsible for a handful of successful restaurants and projects across the South West including Root and Salt & Malt.
The bus will visit 25 schools a year (as well as community groups) offering engaging, interactive and fun workshops, demonstrations and classes.
Complete with hydroponics, chickens, planters, a demonstration platform, as well as kitchen and dining areas.
It’s about “Connecting the dots,” says Josh. “We plan on letting people volunteer if they want.
“Show them interesting food, then they can do some work experience in a restaurant and from there what we’re doing is signposting people to help further their career in the food sector.”
For Josh and the Pony Family, the goal is clear: to use the Anti Banquet as a springboard for broader change.
In the future, he hopes to creates a food conference in Bristol, where the city’s food community can come together to discuss food policy, sustainability, and the role of restaurants in their local communities.
If they can overdeliver on the fundraising target, as they did last year, that might then be turned into forging stronger links between the hospitality industry and the community.
Main photo: Martin Booth
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