Leigh cafe given Westminster award at House of Lords

Bosses at Leigh Road’s Phabulous Cafe were invited to the House of Lords on Wednesday were they were given the prize of “Phab Idea Award 2024”.

This award was given due to the “innovative” creation of the Phabulous Cafe itself, which juggles regular overhead costs on Leigh Road with training and caring for its community.

The cafe provides a normal cafe service with a “training service” for adults with additional needs, allowing them to become more integrated and confident in the world of work. 

Awards - Jenny Drewer, volunteer Abbie and manager Max Badderley (Image: Phabulous Café) Recognised - Manager Max Badderley and volunteer Abbie (Image: Phabulous Café)
Jenny Drewer, lead trustee at the Phab Life charity, was honoured to be invited to the event and is exceptionally proud of how far the cafe has come in the two years since opening. 

She said: “The idea is that we want to be a real cafe, we want to be a real working environment and a normal working cafe, but with a difference.

“It can be a lot of work but it is well worth it, people come in and they prove to themselves that they are perfectly able to do all of these jobs and when our trainees come in, they do a bit of everything. 

Breakfast - Food served at the Phabulous Café (Image: Phabulous Café)

“They are doing serving, they are on the tills and in the kitchen preparing food and all that is needed for the food. 

“We have a lovely community of people supporting each other.

“Everyone is working and that is what is great, everyone is equal.

“We are unique and we are the only Phab group run like this.”

Phab Life is mostly focused on social clubs, but according to Jenny, the Phabulous Cafe is very different as it is a cafe incorporating social club elements.

She added: “I went down to the award shows and it was really lovely. 

“It is really good to be recognised for the hard work everyone puts into this.”