Hoxton catering company launches ‘turkey trot’ with free Christmas meals to those in need

For every Christmas meal bought, Humdingers is giving away another to someone in need. Photograph: Humdingers

A catering company is running a ‘turkey trot’ to ensure everyone can have a Christmas dinner this year – and is even giving away free meals to those in need.

Humdingers will be delivering pre-prepared Christmas meals in the days leading up to December 25.

Founder Robert Hunningher told the Citizen: “On the 23rd and 24th [of December] we’ll be delivering the whole Christmas meal, ready, so all you have to do is heat it up on the morning. It takes all the stress out of it.”

Mr Hunningher has also vowed to donate one free Christmas meal for every meal sold to ensure “everyone has a meal,” including those who can’t afford to pay.

He estimates the business delivered more than 1000 meals last Christmas. “This year it would be nice to be able to do more,” he added.

Mr Hunnigher, founder of Humdingers. Photograph: Katarina Nichol

The meal will include a free-range turkey and all the trimmings, including baby carrots and Brussels sprouts.

Humdingers comes from humble beginnings. Mr Hunningher – who trained in some of London’s best restaurants, including L’Escargot and River Café – began his entrepreneurial career with a homemade cake stall in Stoke Newington.

He moved into a larger kitchen six months later, from which he ran a sandwich and salad delivery service for local NHS walk-in centres.

Eventually Mr Hunningher set up Humdingers Catering in Hoxton’s Rosemary Works, transforming the space into a fully-equipped kitchen and office space. As business boomed, he had to move to a larger premises on Hoxton Street – where the company has been located since 2011. 

The turkey trot is the latest in a number of Humdingers initiatives feeding those in need. Photograph: Humdingers

The turkey trot is the latest in a string of initiatives Humdingers has launched in a bid to tackle poverty in Hackney. The business also runs a bakery and soup kitchen four days a week, something Mr Hunningher set up in early 2020.

Initially running the service just one day a week, Mr Hunningher made the soup kitchen a more regular fixture once the pandemic began. “Suddenly, lockdown happened and I thought, ‘we’re going to have to take this four days a week,’” he said.

The soup is made from food that would otherwise go to waste and cooked by Humdingers’ team of ‘very talented chefs’.

The soup kitchen is open on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 5pm to 7pm.

You can find out more about Humdingers here.