London's charity-led restaurant relaunches with a MasterChef judge

The London restaurant employing people who have experienced homelessness has relaunched as 130 Primrose, with a MasterChef judge joining as executive chef and trustee

The London restaurant employing people who have experienced homelessness has relaunched as 130 Primrose, with a MasterChef judge joining as executive chef and trustee

When Positive News visited Home Kitchen last year , the Primrose Hill restaurant was already doing something unusual. On the face of it, this was a polished north London dining room serving scallop ceviche, guinea fowl and monkfish from the former home of long-standing restaurant Odette’s. Behind the scenes, however, it was trying to prove that fine dining could open up new routes into work for people who had experienced homelessness.

Now the project has entered its next chapter. Home Kitchen Diner has relaunched as 130 Primrose, become a registered UK charity, and appointed Monica Galetti, the chef, broadcaster and MasterChef judge, as its executive chef and a trustee.

The restaurant, based at 130 Regent’s Park Road in Primrose Hill, opens on 8 May with a new name, a new menu and the same central mission: to recruit, train and employ people with lived experience of homelessness, offering paid work, accredited training and a stepping stone into long-term hospitality careers.

Seating 50 covers, 130 Primrose will be open seven days a week from 9am, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner in a relaxed, brasserie-style setting, with additional street-side seating. Its à la carte menu will draw on Mediterranean influences, with touches of Galetti’s Samoan heritage to be introduced later. At lunchtime, sandwiches and salads will also be available, while evenings will feature an additional charcuterie and cheese offering. A speakeasy-style cocktail bar is set to open on the lower ground floor later next month.

Galetti, who is also a regular volunteer at Soup Kitchen London, will shape the restaurant’s food and training offer, while head chef Eric Zhang will lead the kitchen full time.

“I’ve seen first-hand how, with the right support, people can rediscover hope, dignity and purpose through opportunities like this,” said Galetti.

cChef, broadcaster and MasterChef judge Monica Galetti will be 130 Primrose's executive chef and a trustee

“That’s why I didn’t hesitate when I was asked to help shape the culinary future of this incredible project. My first task is to create an exciting new menu that attracts customers to support our mission – celebrating the best British seasonal ingredients with a little twist of fun.

“Later, I’ll weave in touches of my Samoan heritage, giving our trainees a unique development opportunity and helping them to stand out when they move on in their career in hospitality.”

The restaurant first opened in 2024 as a social enterprise and operated for a year until August 2025, working with referral partners including Crisis, Beam, The Big Issue, Soup Kitchen London, Only A Pavement Away and the Beyond Food Foundation. Its first cohort included prison leavers, refugees from Afghanistan, Iraq and Ukraine, people in addiction recovery and others affected by homelessness.