Carlisle Youth Zone were delighted to be one of three local charities benefitting from an unusual fundraising event. On Thursday 21 Nov, Lake District Hotels, in partnership with Armstrong Watson and Knights, hosted this year’s Kitchen Rivals, a culinary charity event at the Lodore Falls Hotel & Spa. 90 guests attended the event which raised over £17,000, with proceeds to be split between Carlisle Youth Zone, Cumbria Community Foundation and Keswick Youth Services. An extra £6,000 has been match funded for the Cumbria Community Foundation by their supporters.

The evening saw staff from Knights and Armstrong Watson not only serving front of house but also going head-to-head in the kitchen preparing a complex menu with support from two Head Chefs from Lake District Hotels. Diners then had to decide how much to pay for their meals from Team Red (Armstrong Watson) and Team Green (Knights), with Armstrong Watson crowned this year’s winners. A charity auction helped boost the generous ‘pay what you feel’ donations to make the impressive fundraising total.

Paul Dickson CEO of Armstrong Watson said: “We are delighted to have been part of the Kitchen Rivals event and are thrilled with the significant amount of money raised for Carlisle Youth Zone, Keswick Youth Services, and Cumbria Community Foundation. It was a fantastic evening, and we are proud of our team’s efforts.”

Caroline Taylor-Beswick CEO of Carlisle Youth Zone who attended the event and talked about the impact of the work at CYZ said; “The funds raised will be a real support for our work with Carlisle’s young people, young people are facing increasingly complex challenges and to have the backing of such prestigious local businesses shows young people that our county believes in them. We’re thankful to have been chosen as a beneficiary alongside two other great local charities and the event was a true pleasure to be part of – well done to all involved!”

Tom Scaife Partner at Knights who have been part of the event since its inception in 2016 and until this year’s defeat held the winners’ title said “Whilst our unbeaten streak had to come to an end at some point we are happy for it to come to an end with a record amount raised for local charities.”

Hosts for the evening were event partners Lake District Hotels, Dani Hope Marketing Director said; “Lake District Hotels have been proud to host Kitchen Rivals since it began in 2016, and with this being the fifth event, we’ve really been able to build on our experience to make it a great success. This year, we’ve raised a record amount, with a third going to Keswick Youth Centre Services, our charity of the year. Knowing this will help them bring in another supervisor to support young people in our community is something we’re incredibly proud of. A huge thank you to everyone who supported us – your generosity will make a lasting difference to the Keswick community.”

We love seeing what happens when our business community comes together like this! Amazing work.

To view a gallery of images from the evening, please click here.