Former multi-award-winning Chef, Matt Davies is organising a special lunch alongside his close friend, Michelin Star Chef and finalist on The Great British Menu, Tom Shepherd to raise money for Fisher House, a military home away from home funded by the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Charity.

Six years ago, Matt, Vice President of the British Culinary Federation, suffered severe burns and loss of the use of his arm. This devastating accident was life changing and unfortunately Matt was unable to continue doing the job he loves. Matt was treated by Burns and Plastics Surgeon, Colonel Mark Foster at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, and has endured over 65 operations with more surgery needed in the future. Through his treatment, he discovered Fisher House, which provides free accommodation to the families of military patients being treated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.

Fisher House provides a safe and calm space for families to spend time together, away from the clinical environment of the hospital. It is just a 5-minute walk away from the hospital, meaning families are able to be close to their loved ones without the stress of having to travel every day or find somewhere nearby to stay. Since learning about Fisher House and the important work it does, Matt decided to start fundraising for the hospital charity to help support military families in need. Since his accident, Matt has struggled with his mental health, disability and the loss of his beloved career, but seeing the difference his fundraising makes has encouraged him to carry on. Matt said, “After struggling with my own life-changing disability, living with a new normal and mental health issues, I work tirelessly to give something back to the hospital, the wonderful staff, whom I owe my life and the hospital Charity; this is why it’s so important to me!”

Matt and Tom teamed up last year to cook a special lunch for military patients and their families at Fisher House, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in June 2023. The award-winning chefs are working together again to host a special lunch and auction at Tom’s Michelin Star restaurant, Upstairs, in Lichfield. The lunch is being held on Wednesday 24th January from 12pm. The hospital charity will be holding more fine dining events throughout the year, so if you would like to hear about similar events you can follow @UHBCharity on social media or visit our events page.

Fisher House relies solely on its incredible supporters to continue providing free accommodation to families. It costs £40 a night to host a military family in their time of need and since it opened its doors in 2013 the house has supported over 7,000 families and provided over 40,000 nights of accommodation. If you would like to support future military families going through an extremely difficult time, you can find out more information and make a donation here: hospitalcharity.org/fisherhouseuk

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