CHEF. BETTER, BECAUSE.

Aim

What happens when Michelin-starred chefs swap fine dining for a building site in Malawi? Help us make the documentary.

Nine of the UK's finest restaurant talent - Michelin-starred chefs, a sommelier and a front-of-house leader - are travelling to Malawi to build a school from the ground up.

But this expedition is about more than bricks and mortar. It's a chance to step outside the world of fine dining and reconnect with something more fundamental - what service actually means when you strip everything else away.

A short documentary will capture the full journey: the fundraising in the UK, the build in Malawi, and what both the community and the nine discover on the other side of it.

We're crowdfunding the production costs. This is how you become part of it.

THE STORY BEHIND IT

On 10th September 2019, the Wissenbach family woke to devastating news. Their son Oli, just 25 years old and on the verge of beginning his career as a teacher in China, had passed away suddenly and unexpectedly.

In the days that followed, they discovered something extraordinary. Oli had been writing anonymously online - sharing wisdom, helping strangers, asking for nothing in return. When they found his words about what he wanted from his life, he had written simply:

"the world better, because I was here."

Oli had already begun living those words. Before he died, he had helped his family build their first school. Taking that legacy further, the Wissenbach family turned his belief into a mission - to build 100 schools worldwide. Through the Magic Future Foundation, working in partnership with buildOn, a registered NGO with over 33 years of experience, that mission is already well underway.

This film is the story of the next school.

OUR PROJECT

It costs £35,000 to build a school. When asked to support with a fundraising dinner, the nine chose to go further.

After hosting a bespoke event for special guests, they will travel to rural Malawi and join the local community in building the next school from the ground up - contributing labour, time and care to a project that belongs entirely to the people who will live with it.

Far from their kitchens, their accolades and the familiar rhythms of restaurant life, the structure falls away. No menus, hierarchy or Michelin inspectors. Just work, collaboration and the company of people living completely different lives.

What happens when some of the UK's most driven culinary minds are asked to follow rather than lead? To participate rather than perform? To find out what service actually means when everything else is stripped away?

That's the film.

WHY IT MATTERS…

Hospitality is one of the most creative, collaborative and deeply human professions in existence. And right now, it's in crisis.

170,000 jobs have been lost since autumn 2024. 63% of hospitality workers are planning to leave the industry. A pub closes every single day in the UK. The sector has lost more jobs than any other part of the British economy.

But behind every statistic is the same question: why did people choose this work in the first place - and what will make them stay?

This film doesn't shy away from that question. It asks it through nine people who have dedicated their lives to hospitality, in one of the most striking environments imaginable. It's for everyone inside the industry who has ever felt that disconnect. And for everyone outside it who has never quite understood what hospitality really is.

It is not about food and drink. It is a mindset. A philosophy of attention, care and human connection - and it's worth fighting for.

WHY MALAWI? 

In rural Malawi, communities don't wait for change to arrive. When a school is needed, families come together - providing land, labour and long-term commitment to make it happen.

Through buildOn, a registered NGO with over 33 years of experience, that community effort is matched with materials, engineering and expertise. Every school built is owned, run and sustained by the people it serves — with equal access for girls and boys guaranteed from the start.

The need is real. Nearly half of all children in Malawi do not complete primary education. A school doesn't just change individual lives — it transforms the expectations of entire communities for generations.

The Wissenbach family's first school, built in Kadifula in 2013, now educates 511 boys and 573 girls.

This is the next one.

THE FILM

I am completely obsessed with the hospitality. I have been for over a decade.

Not because of the food, the wine or the beautiful rooms - though all of that matters. But because of something much harder to define. The magic that keeps people in it through the hours, the pay, the relentless slog.

It's the religion of noticing what someone needs before they know it themselves, and delivering on that to make their day a little better.

That's a rare and special thing. But it's not widely understood. People outside hospitality think of it as food and drink. They don't see the philosophy underneath - the care, the attention, the deeply human instinct that drives the people who dedicate their lives to it.

If we don't start telling that story, we risk it being lost entirely.

That's why I'm making this film.

Using intimate, fly-on-the-wall storytelling, we'll follow the full journey - from the fundraising dinner in the UK, to the build in Malawi, to the moment they walk back into their restaurants on the other side of it.

But this isn't a story about nine people doing something for the greater good. It's about an exchange - of labour, of stories, of food, of perspective. What does a community who builds a school together teach a group of people whose entire profession is built on caring for others? And what does that encounter change - in both directions?

The chefs' voices run throughout, captured in interviews before, during and after the expedition - tracing how their understanding of service shifts when everything familiar is stripped away. But so do the voices of the community they work alongside. Because this story belongs to both.

This is not a brand film or a charity endorsement. It's a documentary about what hospitality really is - and why it matters.

CHEF. Better, Because is a 7FIFTY production. Initial release will be across social and partner channels, with ambitions for the film festival circuit and broadcast beyond that.

WHAT WE'RE RAISING & WHY

We're crowdfunding £35,000 - part of the total production budget - to cover crew, travel, equipment and post-production.

This campaign is one piece of a larger funding puzzle. We're also seeking brand partners and match funding to complete the budget - but every pound raised here directly unlocks the ability to tell this story.

And it's a story worth telling. Not just because of the nine people making the journey, but because of the remarkable work of the Magic Future Foundation and buildOn - two organisations quietly changing the world one school at a time. This film gives them a platform and a voice that reaches far beyond what a charity campaign alone ever could.

Not a single penny comes from the school-build fundraising pot. That money builds schools, and that's exactly where it should stay.

The crew are working at significantly reduced rates because they believe in this. This is purely cost recovery - not profit.

Without this film, the story stays untold. With it, it reaches an audience of hundreds of thousands - and keeps growing.

REWARDS

Because of our wonderful connections within the hospitality world, we're thrilled to be able to offer some truly special rewards for your support.

We're adding new rewards throughout the campaign as more partners come on board - so check back regularly and follow along for new drops. Every week brings something new.

£20 - Leave It Better (unlimited) Your name in the film credits. An act of support that becomes part of the story permanently.

£75 - A Proper Brew (limited) A full year's supply of Yorkshire Tea - enough to fuel a kitchen, an office or a very dedicated household. Plus your name in the film credits. Only 3 available.

£100 - Sharp (limited) A set of personalised chef tweezers from Oui Chef - the tool of choice for precision cooking, made for the professional kitchen. A genuine piece of kit for anyone serious about their food. Plus your name in the film credits. Only 10 available.

£150 - The Hamper (limited) A curated artisan hamper featuring products from our hospitality partners - including San Pellegrino and Belazu - with more additions arriving as the campaign grows. Plus your name in the film credits.

£300 - Family Meal (limited) A full year's supply of seasonal stocks and sauces from TrueFoods - restaurant-quality ingredients for your kitchen all year round. Plus your name in the film credits and an invitation to the October premiere dinner and screening. Only 1 available.

£350 - Fire It Up! (limited) A portable, gas-fired pizza oven from Delivita - perfect for pizza anytime, anywhere. Plus your name in the credits, and some pizza recipe advice from one of our chef pals who is pizza-obsessed... Only 2 available.

£1,000 - The Full Story (limited) A professional photoshoot for your business delivered by the 7FIFTY team. Cinematic, documentary-style imagery that tells your story the way it deserves to be told. Plus your name in the film credits and an invitation to the October premiere dinner and screening.

More rewards dropping mid-campaign — including some big ones. Watch this space.

TIMELINE

This is happening. Here's where we are.

14th April 2026 — Fundraising event at Whatley Manor

29th May – 6th June 2026 — Expedition and school build, Malawi

June – September 2026 — Post-production

October 2026 — Premiere screening and digital release

The fundraising dinner is weeks away. The expedition follows in May. Back this campaign now and your name is in the credits of something that's already in motion.

BACK THIS PROJECT

Oli Wissenbach wanted to leave the world better, because.

Nine people are about to find out what that means in the an unexpected way.

If you believe hospitality is more than food and drink. If you've ever been moved by the care of a stranger in a restaurant, a hotel, a kitchen. If you think this industry deserves to be understood, celebrated and protected.

If you believe that education changes lives, and that the work of organisations like the Magic Future Foundation and buildOn deserves to be heard by the widest possible audience.

Then this is your film too.

Back it. Share it. Be part of it.

Every pledge - at every level - makes it possible. And your name stays in the credits long after the cameras come home.

Leave the world better, because.

This project successfully funded on 30th June 2026