Sustainability & Giving Back

We are proud and committed to supporting local communities and those less fortunate

As part of our wider commitment to giving back, Flemings Mayfair has been working alongside Charity Begins at Home, a UK-registered charity supporting local communities and people experiencing homelessness and hardship across London.

The charity relies solely on passionate volunteers and donations. Every Friday, the team gathers at the Strand (Agar Street) to distribute warm meals, drinks and essential food items, as well as clothes and sleeping bags, to people in need. Now in its ninth year, Charity Begins at Home was also featured in King Charles’s first Christmas speech in 2022.

Our talented chefs at Ormer Mayfair prepare and cook more than 60 warm meals every Wednesday. These are collected and distributed by the charity’s bike project to families in need across London. Through this ongoing support, more than 16,000 meals have been distributed.

The work of Henrik Muehle, Managing Director at Flemings Mayfair, and his involvement with the local community were documented in a TV trailer produced by Korvin Production. Over eight weeks, the production followed and interviewed Henrik as he supported the local community, people experiencing homelessness and those less fortunate.

Mr Muehle has also spoken publicly about homelessness and community support through interviews with GB News, BBC One, BBC London News and LBC Radio. In December 2023, he was interviewed by the Jim Diamond Radio Show and filmed as part of the David Roses Art Project, helping to raise awareness of homelessness in London.

In 2026, and for the sixth consecutive year, Henrik joined around 100 business leaders from across London at the CEO Sleepout at Lord’s Cricket Ground, raising more than £120,000 to support people affected by homelessness.

Supporting those in need is an important part of life at Flemings Mayfair, with our team continuing to find meaningful ways to give back to the local community.

Sustainability at Flemings Mayfair

With a history dating back to 1851 and more than 40 years of family ownership, Flemings Mayfair combines its heritage with a considered approach to sustainability. From sourcing seasonal ingredients from the kitchen garden to reducing food waste, practical steps are taken to operate responsibly while maintaining the standards guests expect at the hotel.

Responsible sourcing extends beyond the kitchen. We have introduced 20,000 bees to our Essex grounds, producing our own honey, while an apple orchard produces around 1,200 apples each year, which are pressed into a small amount of apple juice served at breakfast. Across the hotel, partnerships with eco-conscious brands further support thoughtful sourcing and responsible practices.

Through its partnership with Charity Begins at Home, Flemings Mayfair has also helped provide more than 16,000 hot meals to people in need, extending its support beyond the hotel and into the wider community.

From the kitchen garden and food practices to responsible sourcing, community initiatives and the wellbeing of its people and guests, sustainability is woven into the way Flemings Mayfair operates.

Our 2-acre Kitchen Garden

Most of our fruits and vegetables used at Ormer Mayfair are grown at our very own 2-acre eco-friendly kitchen garden in Essex which we are very proud of.

As well as our Michelin star, Ormer Mayfair is the holder of four AA Rosettes and recently introduced a new-acre kitchen garden in Essex, as well as a beekeeper to maintain beehives with over ten thousand bees, to deliver fresh ingredients and honey to the restaurant.

Our sustainability programme allows us to support not only the local eco-system, but also to significantly reduce carbon footprint by using the freshest, locally produced seasonal ingredients.

We Minimise Waste

We have introduced simpler tasting menus to our customers to reflect this seasonality with all food ordered based on confirmed reservation orders. Any surplus food is used to staff meals but more importantly, it is also used for the food we make for Charity Begins at Home, to give out to the many homeless people in the city. So absolutely nothing goes to waste.

Supporting The Local Community

As a business, we have been supporting charities that help the local communities and those less fortunate. Flemings Mayfair has been supporting 'Charity Begins at Home', a UK registered charity with a passion and drive to help make a real change. The organisation, which runs food distribution every Friday and food banks, solely relies on volunteers and donations.

Our Managing Director, Henrik Muehle, is a true believer in giving back and helping out in the community.

Mr. Muehle and other volunteers gather at the Strand (Agar Street) every Friday to distribute warm meals, drinks and other essential food items, as well as clothes and sleeping bags, to those living in very straitened circumstances.

In addition to this, every Wednesday our chefs at Ormer Mayfair prepare and cook over 60 warm meals to be distributed to families in real need across the streets of London. These are collected via charity bike project led by Charity Begins at Home. So far, more than 16,000 meals have been distributed to the homeless.

Mr. Muehle has also been taking part in the CEO Sleepout raising over £120,000 since 2021 in a bid to tackle homelessness across the city of London.

Our Awareness

All these procedures allow us at Flemings Mayfair to tackle the following challenges we all face today:

Complying with legal principles
Committing to Fairtrade principles
Raising awareness among our team and guests
Protecting natural resources
Minimising our carbon footprint
Serving future generations’ best interests

Featured Article:

Spotlight on: Henrik Muehle, Managing Director, Flemings Mayfair

"Henrik is the unflappable Managing Director of Flemings Mayfair, and an unstoppable force when it comes to raising awareness of some of the stark inequalities faced by people who live, work and stay in London". Click below to read more about the charitable work Henrik and his team are involved in.