Mayor meets young restaurant staff at Birmingham’s latest eating venue

Sixteen young people have started exciting new careers in Birmingham’s booming food scene with the opening of the city’s latest eating destination.

Cow & Sow in Chamberlain Square opened its doors this week, where Mayor of the West Midlands Richard Parker meeting some of the 47 new recruits, from chefs to ‘Front of House’ roles.

The recruitment of mostly local people was supported in part by a £100,000 grant from Business Growth West Midlands (BGWM), which is part of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).

And with 16 of the new staff under the age of 25, the restaurant is backing the Mayor’s Youth Plan to tackle youth unemployment by investing in jobs in fast growing sectors like hospitality.

Cow & Sow, which specialises in high quality steak, already has successful venues in its home city of Bristol but has been keen to expand into Birmingham renowned restaurant scenes for some time.

The Mayor tried his hand at flame grilling and met young chef Hayden Parkinson, aged 21, during the visit.

Hayden said: “Since I was a little, I have always wanted to grow up to be a chef and from the age of 16 I have been studying alongside cooking - it brings me a lot of joy.”

The Mayor added: “Cow and Sow is a fantastic addition to our region’s renowned hospitality scene, and it’s great to see it creating nearly 50 new jobs for local people.

“Hearing young chef Hayden’s story is truly inspiring - realising his childhood dream to become a chef is something to celebrate.

“Eateries like this bring people together to share great food and experiences, while also creating jobs and driving growth - key priorities for the West Midlands.”

Newly appointed employees, general manager Jordan Stewart, and head chef Chris Kelsey are both from Birmingham and will be key to the restaurant’s success.

They are joined by operations director, Tom Dabin and innovative executive chef, Freek Peters.

Mark Warburton, CEO said: “I am thrilled to bring Cow & Sow to Birmingham and showcase our ‘new era of steakhouse’ after 2 years of planning.

“Birmingham seemed the perfect fit demographically and logistically, to take us away from our home city.

“Having recently certified as a B Corporation, we take huge pride in balancing purpose and profit and using our business as a force for good. Supporting the local workforce, particularly the younger generation, reinforces our commitment to be an inclusive and equitable business with a strong focus on our social impact.

“Paradise was particularly appealing as we are now surrounded by other incredible businesses that take part in an initiative to engage with local schools. Run by MEPC, in partnership with Ahead Partnership, “Future Skills Unlocked” introduces young people from surrounding secondary schools to businesses within Paradise for regular workshops.

“The events focus on life skills, careers, sustainability, the future of work, wellbeing and the workplace. It’s a brilliant initiative and one we are looking forward to supporting.”

Journalism graduate, Tiah Shepherd, aged 22, from Birmingham studied political journalism in Washington DC and is now back in the city working as a freelance journalist. She has secured a position of ‘Front of House’ at the Cow & Sow.

 “Working here enables me to earn alongside my freelancing work, which gives me the freedom to follow my dream career path,” she said.

BGWM has already provided £4.2m grants to 257 SMEs such as Cow & Sow, supporting them to provide a range of jobs in growth sectors across the region.

Support provided by BGWM account manager Charlotte Bowden, Cow & Sow received a £100,000 match funded grant.  

The money, funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and managed by BGWM's Birmingham team, forms part of a comprehensive suite of support services available to businesses in the West Midlands. 

In addition to the grant support, Charlotte introduced Mark and his team to Colmore Business Improvement District (BID), which helped support the recruitment drive by building relationships and connections with Birmingham City Council’s employment team.