Local Homeless Man is Given a Second Chance Thanks to Celeb Chef

A client from Manchester based homeless charity, the Mustard Tree, is set to star on a new prime time TV series. The ITV1 programme, Home is Where The Heart Is, documents his encounter with a top chef and how he helped to turn his life around.
Bobby, a young man from Manchester, was training and volunteering at The Mustard Tree when producers approached the charity seeking willing volunteers to spend two weeks living with a celebrity. Bobby jumped at the chance and was quickly whisked off to London where he was introduced to and lived with Italian chef, Aldo Zilli.
Aldo and his loving family have a life changing impact on Bobby as he finds himself given the second chance he was dreaming off.
Bobby had previously been living his dream as a member of the armed forces in the catering corps before being discharged through injury – his life then took a turn for the worse. Bobby ended up homeless and unable to return to his life in the army, at 22-years-old he felt at a dead end. Bobby was then introduced to The Mustard Tree through a support worker and rediscovered his love for cooking, training in the charity’s kitchen and achieving a qualification in food safety. Bobby soon re-found much of his confidence and motivation, just looking for a second chance to prove himself at work.
This is the second time the charity has featured on the small screen, as The Mustard Tree, based in Ancoats, also appeared last year on the hit Channel 4 series, Secret Millionaire.
Paul Wenham, Chief Executive of The Mustard Tree, said: “Bobby’s involvement with ‘Home is Where the Heart Is’ has had a dramatic impact on him and his future, it gave him an opportunity to shine and that’s just what he did. The Mustard Tree is a strong believer that no one, no matter what their current circumstance, should be written off. It also shows the difference someone showing concerted kindness and effort on the behalf of someone else can be a life saver.”
Home is Where the Heart Is starts on Tuesday 19th May at 9pm on ITV1.

ENDS
Editor’s Notes

The Mustard Tree, based in Ancoats, is a homeless charity that provides food, clothing, furniture and training to the homeless and marginalised across Greater Manchester. Currently they have over 9,000 registered clients.

The Freedom Project that Bobby took part in at Mustard Tree is a 20 week training project aimed at supporting the homeless, ex-offenders and recovering addicts back towards work and meaningful employment.
For further information or images please contact

Paul Wenham on 07868 263777 / paul@mustardtree.co.uk