A Belfast couple are once again gearing up to deliver Christmas Day meals to dozens of people who may have been spending the day alone.
Online food and nutrition experts Tony O’Neill and Jen Curran, who previously ran Tony and Jen’s restaurant on the Lisburn Road, will provide dinner, music and craic on December 25 after a successful inaugural event last year.
The couple ran a similar event five years ago and always wanted to do another one, such was the joy it brought to those on the day.
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Tony told Belfast Live: “We previously had a restaurant and decided to do it one year before lockdown and it just left such a nice feeling about being around people who would have been on their own. So lockdown happened then and all of that, so last year we decided to give it a go again because it was a very worthwhile thing to do.
“We worked with Age NI amongst other charities to try and get people who would be having Christmas dinner on their own. The idea was that we would go and pick them up and bring them to a restaurant in Belfast and provide them with their Christmas dinner and a bit of craic and music.”
The couple work with local construction firm Lagan Construction, who developed a new staff restaurant in the city centre, which will be hosting the event once again this year.
Tony appealed to anyone who may be aware of anyone across Northern Ireland who may be spending Christmas Day by themselves to get in touch.
“I know it’s a bit of a cliche but nobody should spend Christmas alone. We just wanted to get a lot of like-minded people into the room and enjoy each other’s company. We wanted to give people a Christmas to remember because I was still getting messages and phone calls from the people we did it with previously.
“My wife and I are both self-employed and life is quite busy. When we woke up last Christmas Day, we'd no idea what to expect but at the end of it, it was an easy decision to make that we'd do it again next year. It was a great day and we catered for over 30 people, from young families through to a gentleman aged in his 90s.
“If anyone who sees this could stop and think if there is someone who is in their life and would benefit from this please get in touch. We were also hoping to reach out to a local taxi company who might maybe help us with transporting people to and from the venue or else we'll reach out to friends and family to help out.
”It's a huge team effort what we do and wouldn't be possible without people's generosity and time,” Tony added.
If you would like more details about this event you can contact Tony and Jen via email on [email protected].
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