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The ongoing Australian bushfire crisis has already produced devastation on an inconceivable scale — the sort of damage to communities and ways of life that even the most alarming statistics can never truly capture. A billion animals dead; dozens of human lives lost; hundreds of thousands of hectares turned to ash — it’s all too easy to internalise this information and then move on, without giving thought to the people left behind to grieve and rebuild.
London is over 10,000 miles away from New South Wales, but the crisis still hits surprisingly close to home. There is the obvious historical connection between Britain and its former colony, of course — but there is also the fact that many of London’s tastes have been shaped and influenced by Australia, from the chefs who trained there, to the sommeliers who fell in love with its wines, to the hundreds of us tucking into flat whites and avocado toast on a weekend. Expat Australians have formed their own community here, and London’s restaurant scene — particularly in the east of the city — would be poorer without them.
This is London’s opportunity to give something back — to support Australia’s people. The following list attempts to capture all of the fundraising activity going on in London’s restaurants over the next month or so; it will be updated regularly.
Quality Wines Auction
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Who: Gus Gluck, Quality Wines’ resident sommelier par excellence.
What: An auction featuring some of Australia’s most prized wines (many donated by figures in the London restaurant scene), with all proceeds going to the WIRES Wildlife Rescue Emergency Fund and the Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund.
When: The auction ran from 10 January to 12p.m. on 12 January. It raised over £30,000.
The Laughing Heart All-Dayer
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Who: Charlie Mellor of The Laughing Heart and some very special guests, from afternoon until late.
What: A 14 course Yum Cha cooked by Brett Redman (Eliott’s); John Javier (Pachamama East); Will Gleave (Bright, Peg); Seb Myers (P. Franco); Magnus Reid (Legs); and Brendan Fong (Ichibuns, Mstr Fong) An LCD Soundsystem DJ set and drinks will follow; all proceeds to First Nations of Australia and wildlife initiatives. Also: all proceeds from a special sausage sizzler dish, £1 of every Australian glass of wine and £5 from every bottle will be donated through the next several weeks.
When: 26 January, Yum Cha 2p.m. — 5p.m.; Drinks and party 4p.m. — 11p.m.
Pidgin Fundraising Dinner
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Who: The team behind restless tasting menu restaurant Pidgin.
What: A £55 per head one-off dinner that will likely pack some serious wine.
When: 27 January, two sittings at 6:30p.m. and 9:00p.m.
How to get involved: Email james@birdmangroup.com to book.
Portland Fundraising Dinner
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Who: The team behind Michelin-starred Fitzrovia jewel Portland.
What: A £195 per head one-off dinner with Graft Wine Company, with all proceeds going to the Adelaide Hills wine recovery fund.
When: 27 January.
How to get involved: Sold out.
Bright Fundraising Dinner
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Who: The team behind iconic east London restaurant/wine bars Bright and P. Franco.
What: A dinner with some of London’s most exciting chefs, including P. Franco’s Seb Myers, Legs founder Magnus Reid, Ottolenghi test kitchen recipe developer Ixta Belfrage, and William Gleave of Bright. Wines, a silent auction, and a raffle.
When: 10 February
How to get involved: Booking information to come. Email tom@wearenoble.co.uk to donate auction lots.
Wander Australia Week
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Who: Alexis Noble at Wander
What: A special Australia Day celebration to help raise money for relief support back in Australia with donations, a charity raffle, and special week long Australia Day menu at £35 featuring the likes of chicken parm, meat pie, salt and pepper squid, and pavlova.
When: 22 — 26 January
How to get involved: Check out Wander’s Crowfunder page for donations and/or raffles. Or simply visit the website, or @wanderrestaurant.
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Who: Australian restaurant group The Daisy Green Collection.
What: A special 8-course Australia Day relief dinner at Timmy Green in Victoria, with all profits donated to the Country Fire Associations (NSW, Victoria, Queensland and SA), the Red Cross and the Adelaide Hills Wine Region Fire Appeal. Throughout January, the Daisy Green Collection will also be raising money for these charities by donating £2 from every chicken parmigiana sold, £1 from every glass of Australian wine sold and 50p from every lamington sold.
When: 25 January for the Timmy Green dinner; further fundraising at all Daisy Green sites throughout January.
How to get involved: Tickets cost £95 pp and are available via Design My Night, email, or by calling +44 7746 064 136
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Who: Queen’s Park coffee shop, restaurant, and wine bar Milk Beach.
What: Two wine tasting nights featuring wines from vineyards affected by the fires; a special Australia Day party and fundraiser with all proceeds going to the Australian Red Cross; a pledge to donate 30p from every flat white sold throughout January.
When: Wine tasting nights are on the 16th and 19th of January; Australia Day party on the 25th January.
How to get involved: Email hello@hellomilkbeach.com to buy tickets.
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Who: Steak restaurant group Hawksmoor.
What: Collecting voluntary donations from diners and matching those donations.
When: 26 January.
How to get involved: Dining at Hawksmoor.
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Who: Australian / Japanese restaurant residency Pacific, run by chef Shaun Presland.
What: An Australia Day brunch, with hamburgers, meat pies, garlic and shiso prawns, and grilled steaks, as well as an auction with a week at an Australia beach house and a sushi masterclass with Presland on the table. All money will go to fire relief. £2 from every bill through the end of February will be donated to New South Wales’ Rural Fire Service.
When: 26 January, 11.a.m. — 4p.m.
How to get involved: Book tickets here, or turn up on the day and pay £50.
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Who: Longstanding Soho restaurant/wine bar Ducksoup
What: £1 from every bill goes to New South Wales fire relief.
When: Through January and February
How to get involved: Head for one of London’s most coveted bar seats.
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Who: Hampstead neighbourhood restaurant Hām.
What: A three course Australia-inspired dinner, with all revenue going to the Australian Red Cross; wines on the night will see £1 from each glass and £6 from each bottle go to the Adelaide Hills recovery fund.
When: 26 January
How to get involved: Book on Hām’s website.
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Who: Dalston yakitori slinger Jidori.
What: £1 from every bill goes to New South Wales fire relief.
When: Through January.
How to get involved: Eat some skewers.
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Who: Essential London restaurant Brawn.
What: A one-off revival of what was one of the most esteemed Sunday lunches in the city, with all proceeds from a £45 set menu going to relief charities.
When: 26 January.
How to get involved: Booking TBC.
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Who: Fried chicken stackers Coqfighter.
What: £2 from every January special sold to the Red Cross.
When: Through January.
How to get involved: Head for Soho, Boxpark Shoreditch, or Boxpark Croydon.
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Who: Longstanding Borough Market favourite Elliot’s.
What: £1 from every bill goes to New South Wales fire relief, as does £1 from each glass and £6 from each bottle of Adelaide Hills wines.
When: Through January and February
How to get involved: Head to the market.
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Who: Arabica Bar and Kitchen.
What: £1 from every bill goes to Red Cross Australia, NSW Rural Fire Service, VIC Country Fire Authority, SA Country Fire Service & Wires Wildlife Rescue relief..
When: January
How to get involved: Head to the restaurant.
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Who: Bone Daddies.
What: £1 from each January Vegan special goes to @wireswildliferescue to support the efforts to protect and rescuing wildlife that have been affected by the horrific fires in NSW and Victoria.
When: January
How to get involved: Head to the restaurant.
Who: Burger & Beyond.
What: Burger & Beyond will list and promote Australian wines by the glass, and each glass will have a £1 donation.
When: January
How to get involved: Head to the restaurant.
Who: Callooh Callay Chelsea.
What: A fundraising night with all sales going to New South Wales Rural Fire Service, WIRES Wildlife Rescue, and CVS Foundation of Volunteer Firefighters. It involves guest bartenders who will make all the daiquiris. Reaction events and Aussie born performer Tizzy von Tassel will host an evening of entertainment, including burlesque and cabaret performers, 7 pm onwards.
When: 19 January
How to get involved: Email freyja@calloohcallaybar.com or reach out to @calloohcallaychelsea by private message.
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Who: Caravan Restaurants.
What: Caravan restaurants are hosting an evening of comedy, music and spoken word at Caravan Bankside. Doors will open at 6.30p.m. with performances kicking off at 7pm. Tickets are priced at £15, including drinks and snacks, and funds will be going directly to the Victoria Country Fire Authority and New South Wales Rural Fire Service.
When: 19 January.
How to get involved: Find tickets here.
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Who: Crosstown.
What: For each Tim Tam & Lamnut purchased on Australia Day, 50p will be donated, £1.50 for each six pack box, and £3 for each 12 pack box, all purchased online to WIRES.
When: 24-26 January.
How to get involved: Beloved Australian sweets marries doughnuts. What’s not to like.
Who: Dandy Restaurant.
What: Dandy will list and promote Australian wines by the glass and each glass will have a £1 donation towards relief efforts.
When: January.
How to get involved: Visit the restaurant, drink some wine.
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Who: District Coffee Shop.
What: For the month of January, 20p from the sale of all flat whites will be donated to help fire damaged areas. The staff will also donate their tips towards the cause. The money raised will go to the NSW Rural Fire Service and to WIRES Wildlife Rescue.
When: January.
How to get involved: Change up your coffee order.
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Who: London’s hottest restaurant Flor.
What: Flor will list and promote Australian wines by the glass and each glass will have a £1 donation towards relief efforts.
When: January.
How to get involved: Alongside stunning bakes, have a glass of wine.
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Who: Granger & Co.
What: Until the end of the month, the all-day restaurant in Clerkenwell will be donating £1 from every serve of hotcakes across all sites. Donations will go to NSW Rural Fire Service, Country Fire Authority, Australian Red Cross, and WIRES Wildfire Rescue to help communities ravaged by fire, volunteers, rescue services and imperilled wildlife. Option to add £1 to bill until end of February.
When: January-February.
How to get involved: Hotcakes for breakfast.
Who: Happy Endings
What: A special Fairy Bread Ice Cream Sandwich to go on the menu at Wander Restaurant in collaboration with Alexis Noble.
When: 26 January.
How to get involved: Follow this link.
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Who: Lyle’s
What: Lyle’s will list and promote Australian wines by the glass and each glass will have a £1 donation towards relief efforts..
When: Until all of it is sold.
How to get involved: Dine and...wine?
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Who: Ottolenghi
What: Lamingtons and Iced VoVos in all the Ottolenghi shops with 100 percent of sales going towards Australian Red Cross.
When: January and February.
How to get involved: Get down for some baked goods
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Who: Padella
What: £1 donation on each bill.
When: January.
How to get involved: More reasons to visit London’s favourite pasta restaurant.
Who: Plates
What: A special plant based dinner in collaboration with Clerkenwell Boy to showcase native Australian ingredients. All proceeds are donated to charities.
When: 8 February.
How to get involved: Email hello@plateslondon.com, details TBD
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Who: Pressure Drop Brewery
What: A big fundraiser for the Aussie bushfire crisis in the form of a mini beer festival with kegs from Verdant Brewing Co, Deya Brewery, Left Handed Giant Brewing Co, North Brewing Co. Also, a proper Aussie sausage sizzle and bake sale, coffee stall and a pizza party with all proceeds going to the fundraiser. Plus a raffle with loads of beery (and not so beery) prizes.
When: 25 January
How to get involved: Follow this link.
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Who: Roast Borough Market
What: A discretionary £1 donation to be added to the bill. Roast has also teamed up with ClerkenwellBoy and others restaurants to help communities ravaged by fire, volunteers, rescue services and imperilled wildlife in Australia.
When: Until 9 February
How to get involved: Follow this link.
Who: Restaurant 1251
What: £1 to every bill; proceeds go to Red Cross.
When: January
How to get involved: Make your way to Islington.
Who: Sabor
What: A special dish of chargrilled oyster with chorizo and lovage oil. £1 per sale will be donated.
When: January and February
How to get involved: All the more reasons to boycott “Veganuary”.
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Who: Soho House
What: £1 for every bill over £30 at 76 Dean St.
When: January
How to get involved: Sunday brunch just took on more meaning.
Who: Spring
What: £1 added to every bill.
When: January and February
How to get involved: Visit the restaurant.
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Who: The Sun Tavern
What: Aussie brand Four Pillars Gin are teaming up with The Sun Tavern for an Australian Day celebration on 26 January. There will be a bespoke cocktail menu with £7.50 cocktails and £1 from each cocktail will be donated to the Australian firefighters working on bushfire relief. The funds raised will then be matched by Four Pillars Gin. There will also be Aussie-based Stone & Wood Brewing Co serving up their beer and Aussie psych – folk – pop artists on the decks.
When: 26 January
How to get involved: Drink up.
Who: Violet Cakes
What: £1 added to every bill.
When: January
How to get involved: Let everyone have cake.
Who: Wright Bros
What: £1 added to every bill.
When: January
How to get involved: Visit the restauant.