For Black History Month 2023 we wanted to bring communities together to celebrate Black joy and share some empowering stories. We hosted a number of different events throughout the month and thought we'd share them with you!
11th October - Harrods D,E&I team event
The Harrods Racial Equality And Diversity Network (R.E.A.D) joined us in our Hammersmith restaurant for a Black History Month celebration. They celebrated with an evening filled with music, food and art. We loved welcoming the team! Check out the video of the evening below.
22nd October - Black History Month Brunches
Music is a huge part of what inspires us, and for Black History Month we wanted to take the opportunity to celebrate music genres that were created from the Black British experience. We hosted 2 Bottomless Brunches on 22nd October, in Camden and Manchester, with live music from some incredible acts. KISS Fresh DJ Esi & So Solid Crew put on an amazing show in Camden and got the whole restaurant up and dancing, while Colin Dale, Crazy Cousinz and DJ Luck & MC Neat got the whole of our Manchester Oxford St restaurant singing and celebrating! A massive thank you to all the artists who performed, delivering great tunes and vibes.
26th October - Blackfriars Settlement BHM Dinner
Blackfriars Settlement, a community and adult education centre in London, held an exciting playback community theatre event for Black History Month, featuring an up-and-coming theatre group named The Black Men's Consortium, who re-enacted stories of Black joy for the evening. Chef Collin and Chef Krishan cooked up some delicious flavours for the guests, who enjoyed a buffet with warming curries, Jerk Wings and tasty Mac & Cheese bites. We loved celebrating with our friends at Blackfriars Settlement!
27th October - Association of Jamaicans UK Brunch
Our friends at the Association of Jamaicans UK hosted their Black History Month Brunch at Turtle Bay Croydon, enjoying a day filled with music, food and a Black History Month quiz with some incredible prizes. We loved welcoming the team again and can't wait to celebrate with them next year.
Sharing Stories and Celebrating Individuals
This Black History Month we really wanted to use our platform to share the stories of some amazing individuals. We've started a brand new series, "What We're Made Of", where we're telling the stories of undiscovered talent
To kick this off, we partnered up with Rookie Greenie; an allotment founded by Daniel Opoku-Baah, to celebrate his agricultural journey and the importance of fresh ingredients.
Black History Month is an amazing time for us to celebrate Black joy and share some empowering, inspirational stories. However, it isn't just a month for us. We are proud to say that our partnerships with incredible businesses and charities that serve Black and Caribbean communities help us celebrate and bring communities together throughout the year. Our partnership with Youth Music, The Reach Society, and African Caribbean Societies across several UK universities to name a few reminds us that Black History is more than a month, and we are here to share the stories and celebrate amazing individuals all year. Watch this space!
Equality & Inclusion at Turtle Bay
We here at Turtle Bay are committed to making meaningful change. We’re doing this through our internal Equality & Inclusion programme and by supporting the Caribbean communities of the island that inspire our business, as well as Black communities in the UK. We know that support comes in many different ways, and for us this means making real cash donations, supporting Black-owned brands, and setting up mentoring programmes, to name just a few. We’re continuing to listen and learn – if you have any ideas, we’d love to chat.
