Celebrity chef dishes advice to Blackburn students (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Celebrity chef dishes advice to Blackburn students

4:59pm Wednesday 25th February 2009 in

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An educational visit from a celebrity chef educated Blackburn College hospitality students about the dangers of drink and drug abuse.

Michael Quinn, centre left, told his harrowing tale of how he went from receiving an MBE, being a head chef at the Ritz and cooking for the Queen, to becoming penniless, homeless and narrowly escaping death because of alcohol abuse.

The chef uses his personal experiences to warn young people of the slippery slope to alcohol and substance addiction in the industry, and delivers seminars at various institutions all over the world.

He said: “Alcohol is readily available in hotels, restaurants and bars and because it can be a stressful job, young people need to be educated about the dangers of getting into bad habits.”

The turning point for Michael was when he had to accept the reality that he was an alcoholic, after being hospitalised with a liver failure scare.

On the straight and narrow, Michael came up with The Ark Foundation which helps those misusing alcohol and drugs in the hospitality industry.