The Perfect Place to Grow is a cafe and training kitchen in Margate supporting 18-24 year olds, not in education or work, into sustainable employment. We use food in all its forms to help young people gain the skills that will allow them to change their futures for the better.sustainable employment.
Founded by Lee Coad (Angela’s / Dory’s), Harry Ryder (Bottega Caruso) and Ani James, young people learn in the kitchen alongside working in a wide range of related trades, in order to teach the skills and receive the support needed.
We founded The Perfect Place to Grow to help address the very evident barriers young people are facing when trying to find employment opportunities in Thanet. Kent has a rich and varied food culture, and Margate in particular has become a focus for modern independent restaurants, galleries and venues – open any weekend supplement and you’ll find articles about where to go and what to eat.
But walk a few streets away from the old town in Margate, like many coastal towns, you will come across a hugely deprived area with an almost unbelievably high unemployment rate amongst young people.
So many young people are struggling. The lazy tropes we hear about the “youth of today” are not ok and not true. Young people want to work, they want to change their lives for the better, but the barriers many are facing are often not addressed by traditional routes of education and employment.
The trainees work in the kitchen and front of house at both our working cafe, and in external restaurants. They get the opportunity to work outside at The Perfect Place to Grow allotment that we have recently started, as well as the chance to work with butchers, bakers, baristas and of course, a huge range of guest chefs from all over the world.
We use these experiences to inspire the trainees, build their skills, and for them to receive the support they need to enable them to make a positive impact on their futures and the communities around them.
If you would like to get in touch with us please email hello@theperfectplacetogrow.org
The Perfect Place to Grow is a 5 minute walk from Angela’s and is on the site of TKE Studios (Tracey Emin’s art school - you may recognise the neon!)