M IS NOT FOR SALE
Valentine’s Day with a Difference: M announces one of a kind Pop-Up restaurant at M Victoria Street to raise funds to end sex trafficking and modern-day slavery.
From January 31st – 28th February, M restaurant will be hosting a pop-up dining experience with a difference to generate funds and awareness for ‘Not For Sale’, a global organisation that works to end human trafficking and exploitation through funding self-sustaining social projects in six continents.
This temporary restaurant inside M Victoria Street will raise funds and awareness to support ‘Not for Sale’, an organization founded by David Batstone which works to create opportunities and return revenue for those who need it most. 600 diners are expected to dine in this unique M ‘Pop up’ restaurant, for the second year, M have pledged to donate 100% of the profits from sales of the special menu to the charity.
The M Not For Sale pop-up will also be available on 14th February, marking Valentine’s Day in a new and more meaningful way by offering those dining at the restaurant the chance to give something back.
All profits from ‘M IS NOT FOR SALE’ supported by OpenTable will raise money for the Not for Sale companies including ‘Dignita’, a restaurant group in Amsterdam which works as a social enterprise model running culinary training programmes to rehabilitate those who have experienced exploitation or trafficking. The survivors are offered councilling and employment at ‘Dignata’ to grow their confidence and offer new life opportunities.
The special five course limited edition menu designed by M Group Executive Chef Michael Reid takes inspiration from Peru, Vietnam, The Netherlands, Uganda and USA; all countries where ‘Not For Sale projects’ have had the biggest impact to date by both funding businesses the building of homes to create a support structure to free children and adults from sex trafficking and the slave trade. There will be a selection of Dutch- inspired snacks to begin with, followed by Peruvian tuna tacos and XO beef tartare from Vietnam. The final savoury course is a duo of lamb with artichokes and wheatgrass using the USA as the point of reference before ending with a Ugandan coconut ice cream with cucumber, lemon, olive oil and dill.
Martin Williams, owner of M Restaurants, is delighted to support this cause, “Modern-day slavery and sex trafficking is a silent cancer in our society – As much a London and UK issue as it is a global shame. Professor David Batstone is leading the fight against human trafficking by building innovative businesses that feed profits into creating self-sustaining social enterprises around the world.
It excites me hugely to support Not For Sale by our second year of the ‘M is not for sale’ series of dinners, which will bring awareness to and generate profits to support the cause. I’m delighted that we are kicking off the ‘M is not for sale’ pop up nights with a room of like-minded cross-sector CEOs joining us for dinner.”
Joining the event will be over 100 of the UK’s leading CEOs including Lion Capitals’ Lyndon Lea, who will be honored with an ’Innovate for Good’ award in recognition of his inspiring awareness and fund raising for the ‘Not for Sale movement’.
Professor David Batstone commented that Not For Sale is very selective in choosing their commercial partners. “Not For Sale works with a select tribe of brands that demonstrate a deep commitment in support of our cause to arrest trafficking. We embrace innovation and entrepreneurship as our sharpest tools in that fight, and we look for brand partners who so align.”
This year’s ‘M is Not For Sale’ Gala sees the launch by Martin Williams of a new ‘crowd-funded’ model and the search to find 20 companies or individuals each to commit to donate £5K Per year for 10 Years, raising £1M in total. M Restaurants are the first of the 20 companies to pledge to do this.
Adrian Valeriano, VP, EMEA, OpenTable, comments, “We are incredibly proud to be the
exclusive reservation partner for the second M is Not For Sale event and to support such an important cause. We passionately believe great dining experiences bring people together and deliver unifying moments, and to be able to offer an experience like this to our diners in support of a global issue that effects our industry remains incredibly important to us.”
The five-course dinner includes a glass of Champagne on arrival and is priced at £65 per person
Seats for the M IS NOT FOR SALE pop-up can be reserved through OpenTable at www.opentable.co.uk/misnotforsale
www.notforsalecampaign.org
www.opentable.co.uk
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NOTES TO EDITORS
ABOUT M
M was founded in 2014 by Martin Williams and is made up of three multi award winning restaurants. M Threadneedle Street houses two 100-cover restaurants, a destination cocktail bar, a wine-tasting room and a secret den, M Den, alongside flexible private dining and event spaces.
M Victoria Street is home to a 120-cover two-tiered grill room, 50-cover raw bar, public and private members’ bars, a wine tasting room and private dining and event spaces. The venue is accessed via M Wine Store, a retail boutique from which customers can purchase unusual and premium wines in person or online.
M Bar & Grill is the latest addition to the M group following a collaboration with rugby star Simon Shaw MBE. Just moments from Twickenham rugby stadium, the unique space houses a 120-cover grill restaurant, and a contemporary pub-style bar.
www.mrestaurants.co.uk @mrestaurants www.facebook.com/mrestaurants.london
PRESS CONTACTS
For more information, comments or interview please contact the M team at Sauce Communications: m@saucecommunications.com / 0208 6003600