A Pop-Up restaurant at M Victoria Street to raise funds to end sex trafficking and forced labour
M Victoria Street will be hosting a pop-up dining experience from 19 – 24 and 26 – 29 March to raise funds and awareness for Not For Sale, a global organisation that works to end human trafficking.
The two-week temporary restaurant inside M Victoria Street will celebrate women’s empowerment month by supporting Professor David Batstone’s Not For Sale organisation, with 100% of the profits for the special menu being donated to the charity. Z Shoes, a Not For Sale impact brand, will also be celebrating women’s empowerment month with the launch of their Self Love special edition shoe, with a portion of revenue benefitting Not For Sale.
All profits from ‘M IS NOT FOR SALE’ supported by OpenTable will raise money for the Not for Sale companies including ‘Dignita’, a restaurant group in Amsterdam which works as a social enterprise model running culinary training programmes to rehabilitate those who have experienced exploitation or trafficking. The survivors are trained in employment skills to grow their confidence to re-enter the work force.
The 5-course limited edition menu designed by M Group Executive Chef Michael Reid takes inspiration from Peru, Vietnam, Thailand and USA, which are some of the countries where Not For Sale projects have had the biggest impact to date by funding the building of homes and creating a support structure to free children and adults from sex trafficking and the slave trade.
Martin Williams, owner of M Restaurants, is delighted to support this cause. “Modern slavery and sex trafficking is a silent cancer in our society which is as prevalent in Hospitality as any other sector – this is a London as well as a global problem.
Professor David Batstone is leading the fight against human trafficking by building self-sustaining businesses that feed profits into making dramatic and inspiring changes. At M we have embraced a philanthropic culture since I founded the company in 2014, so it excites me hugely to support Not For Sale with a series of dinners, which will bring both awareness and funds to support the charity. I am also delighted that we have a group of like-minded celebrities joining us for the pop-up dinners and that our opening night particularly focuses on Women’s Empowerment Month.”
Professor David Batstone commented that Not For Sale is very selective in choosing their commercial partners. “Not only do we look for an alignment of values with our partners – foremost the respect for human dignity – but we seek out commercial innovators as well. We are known internationally for inventing new solutions, so we only partner with commercial disrupters who aim to redesign their own markets. Martin Williams and M Restaurant meet that criteria perfectly.”
Christa Quarles, CEO, OpenTable, comments, “We couldn’t be prouder to be supporting this cause as the exclusive reservation partner for M is Not for Sale. At OpenTable we are passionate about diversity and inclusion and supporting Women’s empowerment. Our business is all about bringing people together around the dining table, and to be able to do this in support of a global issue that effects our industry is incredibly important.”
Each night the menu is accompanied by a champagne reception. Seats are limited to 50 guests per night. Other brands supporting the M IS NOT FOR SALE pop-ups include AllSaints, ghd hair care and Net-a-Porter.
Each night a celebrity will ‘sponsor’ the evening by donating raffle prizes or making an appearance, and the 50 diners for the night will be automatically entered into the raffle draw. Celebrities include English rapper Tinie Tempah, BBC Radio presenter Simon Mayo and international rugby legend Simon Shaw OBE.
The opening night on the 16th will see the launch of NOT FOR SALE project – Z shoes ‘Self Love’ special edition shoe to celebrate Women’s Empowerment Month.
Seats for the M IS NOT FOR SALE pop-up can be reserved through OpenTable at www.opentable.co.uk/misnotforsale.
The five-course dinner includes a glass of Champagne and costs £75 per person. Seats are limited to 50 diners per evening.
M Victoria Street is located at 74 Victoria Street. For more information visit www.mrestaurants.co.uk.
