Charlie is thrilled with his new role as a pastry chef.

The University of Sussex’s catering service, SussexFood, has teamed up with local charity Team Domenica to help one young man succeed as a pastry chef.

In November 2016, SussexFood began a relationship with Team Domenica, a local initiative working to support young people with learning difficulties and help them access employment opportunities.

One of the young people who got involved in this scheme was Charlie. He came to the University’s campus for a few hours a week and lent a hand in the pastry kitchen, learning the skills needed to become a pastry chef from the professionals at SussexFood.

The catering company have now decided to go ahead and offer Charlie a more permanent paid position as a chef.

Charlie was absolutely thrilled when he heard the news, and can’t wait to get back to the SussexFood kitchen. “It’s amazing,” he said. “I can’t wait to work with the people in the team and see my friends. I enjoy cooking the most and I’m going to use the money to save for my holiday.”

Team Domenica are a social enterprise charity that aim to “help young adults with learning disabilities find and retain employment, and with this a sense of direction, purpose and belonging, in the local community”.

SussexFood are just one of many local companies to support this initiative, and couldn’t be prouder to be involved.

Rosa Monckton, founder and trustee of the organisation, takes a personal interest in all of the young people involved in the initiative and couldn’t be prouder of Charlie. She said: “We’re absolutely delighted for Charlie and we hope for continued success through our partnership with SussexFood."

She set up the charity in 2016, inspired by her youngest daughter Domenica, who has Down’s Syndrome. Along with her dedicated team, Rosa aims to meet the needs of young people who find it difficult to access long-term employment.

It’s a hard task for anyone starting out on their own, but with a fantastic organisation like Team Domenica behind them, these young people have a fighting chance.

SussexFood and Team Domenica will be continuing to work together to support Charlie as well as a number of young people in similar situations, keen to step into the working world but struggling to know where to start.