From the outset we have had four core purposes for the Lord Mayor's Big Curry Lunch. Over time as the Lunch has developed so to has the our alignment, in recent years we have had a strong empahasis on helping veteran into the world of work. Now in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic our focus in employment is more important than ever
The Lord Mayor’s Big Curry Lunch (LMBCL) first took place in April 2008, hosted by the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress at Guildhall, the centre of the City of London’s governance, ceremonial and philanthropy.
It would be a Civic and Guildhall event but with a difference; a fixed price allowing guest unlimited curries and accompanying drinks, no seating plan, and everyone would serve themselves – and go back for seconds as often as they wished – and everyone would sit on benches.
The Lunch has had the unstinting support of each Lord Mayor since 2008.
From the outset, the Lunch had a number of purposes.
- To raise funds to support Soldiers and former Soldiers, both Regulars and Reservists, who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan and their families.
- To raise awareness in the City community of the role of the Armed Forces of the Crown. Particularly among a younger generation of City folk.
- To build awareness of the three national service charities that works ceaselessly to support all members of Her Majesty's Armed Forces
- To emphasise to City workers the breadth and depth of the City’s philanthropy in support of those in society who need help in a variety of ways.
The first Lunch in 2008 attracted 700 guests and raised £143,000. Following its success, the attendance grew year on year to the extent that we use all the principal rooms in Guildhall, generously provided by the Corporation of the City of London without any charge. As of May 2020 we have contributed a total of over £2.3 million to help support all members of the Armed Forces who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
From 2019 onwards - for three years - The Lord Mayor’s Big Curry Lunch has aligned with the employment and employability strand of the Civic and Mayoral strategy ‘A Better City For All’, by providing financial support for veterans to take part in the Pain Management Programme at King Edward VII Hospital’s Centre for Veterans’ Health.
For futher information on the history of the Lunch, please take a look at our brochure here
For three years, starting with the April 2019 Lunch, the proceeds will fund veterans of Her Majesty’s Armed Forces to be able to take part in the new King Edward VII’s (KEVII) Centre for Veterans’ Health (CVH) Pain Management Programme (PMP).
CVH PMP is unique in that it is designed solely for veterans. The purpose is to address the individual issues, both physical and psychological, involving pain that prevent a veteran from leading a full life. The CVH team has found that chronic pain is the most significant barrier to a veteran being able to find and sustain meaningful employment, which is the ‘backbone’ of their future wellbeing and impacts on every other aspect of their personal lives and their families.
It costs £6,500 to fund the PMP for one veteran. For each of the three years 2019 to 2021, a contribution of £120,000 from the proceeds of the LMBCL will fund 18 veterans on the PMP.
In contributing to the PMP, 100% of the money raised at successive LMBC Lunches will pay for individual veterans to join and complete the Programme at no cost to themselves. This will still allow the LMBCL to make a significant contribution each year to fund other programmes that support employment and employability and the wider work of the three National Service Charities.
The Lord Mayor and the founder co-chair the LMBCL volunteer Committee.
The Committee meets five times a year and includes:
The wives of senior generals, retired senior officers, government ministers, leading clergy, Aldermen and Sheriffs of the City of London, the Chief Commoner, more than a dozen Livery Masters, Livery Clerks, business and professional leaders in the City and members of the London Lieutenancy, including the Lord Lieutenant and Vice Lord Lieutenant.
The Committee owes a huge debt of gratitude to the Corporation for allowing the Lunch to take place from 2019 onwards without any charges being made, thus helping the Committee to contribute a larger sum each year to support members of the Armed Forces of the Crown and their families in so many different ways.
Lord Mayor's Big Curry Lunch Co-Chairmen
The Rt Hon The Lord Mayor Alderman William Russell
Mr Michael Hockney
Vice Patrons
Sir David Lewis
Alderman Nick Anstee
Sir Michael Bear
Alderman Sir David Wootton
Alderman Sir Roger Gifford
Alderman Dame Fiona Woolf
Alderman Sir Alan Yarrow
Alderman the Lord Mountevans
Alderman Sir Andrew Parmley
Alderman Sir Charles Bowman
Alderman Sir Peter Estlin
Committee Members
The Lady Mayoress Mrs Hilary Russell
Alderman and Sheriff Professor Michael Mainelli
Sheriff Christopher Hayward
Mr Doug Adam
Mrs Fiona Adler
Mr Jeremy Archer
Dr Heather Barrett-Mold
Mr Adrian Bastow
Brigadier Greville Bibby
The Lady Bilimoria
Lady Bradshaw
Lady Carleton-Smith
Lady Carter
Field Marshal Sir John Chapple
Sir Trevor Chinn
Mr Peter Cooper
Sir Michael Craig-Cooper
Mr Christopher Davey
Colonel Jane Davis
Mr Vladislav Dobrokhotov
Alderman Emma Edham
Lady Everard
Mr Richard Fox
Mr Christopher Freeman
Mrs Susie Freeman
Lady French
Alderman John Garbutt
Mr Sean Gavin
Mrs Clare Ghika
The Baroness Goldie
Mr Andrew Gordon
Alderman Alison Gowman
Alderman Prem Goyal
Alderman David Graves
The Hon. Elizabeth Green
Brigadier Tim Gregson
Mr Ian Grundy
Field Marshal The Lord Guthrie
Alderman Timothy Hailes
Mr James Heappy MP
Mr Paul Herbage
Mr Stan Hodges
Lady Houghton
Alderman Robert Howard
Lord Howard of Rising
Alderman Robert Hughes-Penney
The Very Reverend Dr David Ison
Lady Jackson
Mrs Denise Jones
Alderman Gregory Jones
Alderman Vincent Keaveny
Lady Kent-Noon
Mr Vaughan Kent-Payne
Alderman Alistair King
Miss Mei-Sim Lai
Alderman Susan Langley
Mrs Susannah Lovis
Alderman Nicholas Lyons
Mr Hugh MacDougald
Mr Simon Martin
Alderman Bronek Masojada
Mr Johnny Mercer MP
Mr Brian Mooney
The Right Reverend & Rt Hon. Dame Sarah Elisabeth Mullally
Mr John Nichols
Sir Kenneth Olisa
Mr Tim Orchard
Mr Denis Petropoulos
Mr Jeremy Quin MP
Mr Michael Bradly Russell
Mrs Victoria Russell
The Rt Hon The Baroness Scotland
Ms Annie Shepperd
Mr David Simmons
Mr Nicholas Somers
Mrs Laura Taylor
Mr Cyrus Todiwala
Lieutenant Colonel Michael Vernon
Mr Adrian Waddingham
The Rt Hon Ben Wallace MP
