Millionaires cook lunch for community kitchen volunteers

Now, in celebration of its second anniversary and The National Lottery’s 30th birthday, Cegin Hedyn has been given the millionaire treatment. A team of National Lottery winners – some of whom have professional catering experience – hosted a lunch for the project’s volunteers and service users.

Meanwhile, an enthusiastic, creative team of winners set about decorating the dining hall, packing up small gifts and mixing mocktails to toast the double anniversary. Each of the gifts came with a note written by a National Lottery millionaire thanking those involved with Cegin Hedyn for their hard work.

Leading the way in the kitchen were Julie Amphlett, Louise Ward and Sian Thomas, three members of The Catering Girls, a syndicate that scooped a massive £25,476,778.30 EuroMillions jackpot in 2017. At the time of their win, the syndicate’s members were catering staff at Neath Port Talbot Hospital.

Julie said, “It’s great to be back in the kitchen with the girls, it takes us right back to those years we spent in the hospital kitchen before our incredible win! And it’s nice to be using our skills for such a deserving project. The idea that everyone, from all walks of life, can come together and share a meal is so important within the local community.”

Joining The Catering Girls were Dave and Sarah Williams, Wales’ most recent National Lottery millionaires, who celebrated their win in June 2024. Dave said, “Since that incredible moment when our numbers came up I’ve pinched myself quite a bit, and today is no different. Firstly, it’s amazing to meet all these other lucky winners – I didn’t realise there were so many in Wales! It’s also been great to see where the funding made possible by National Lottery players goes. This project is doing some truly amazing things for the community in Carmarthen.”

Also taking part in the Cegin Hedyn celebrations were other lucky players from the group of more than 7,200 millionaires created since the launch of The National Lottery 30 years ago. They included Jeffrey and Davinia Pritchard (£1MMillion, EuroMillions), Chris and Geraldine Bradley (£3.5MMillion, Lotto), Richard and Faye Davies (£1MMillion, EuroMillions), Nigel Willetts (£1MMillion, EuroMillions) Mark and Helen Francis (£1MMillion, EuroMillions) and Lyn Sexton and Ian Pearce (£1MMillion, EuroMillions).

Joining the Welsh National Lottery millionaires were a group of winners from South West England. They included former chefs Amo Riselli (£25MMillion, Lotto) and Paul and Denise Hardware (£4.9MMillion, Lotto). Taryn and Grant Hawkes (£1MMillion, Lotto) from Cornwall, Dionne and Richard Buss (£1.9MMillion, Lotto) from Somerset and Neil and Sue Smart (£1MMillion, EuroMillions) from Devon and Tina Burgess (£6MMillion, Lotto) from Gloucestershire also helped out.

While the millionaires were busy decorating and putting their culinary skills to the test, the Cegin Hedyn team were able to reflect on the project's phenomenal success. Its founder, Deri Reed, said, “Cegin Hedyn was created to address food insecurity in Carmarthen. The name, meaning ‘Seed Kitchen’ in Welsh, signifies our mission to plant the seeds of community spirit and support. As I look around today, I think we are well on that path."

Deri added, “We are touched that these lucky winners have given up their time today and helped us to thank the people who have made Cegin Hedyn such a success.”

This November marks The National Lottery’s 30th anniversary. Since its launch in 1994, it has made more than 7,200 millionaires or multi-millionaires. On average, seven millionaires are made every week.

By playing any National Lottery game, you help generate £30MMillion each week for National Lottery-funded projects. More than 690,000 grants have been made across the UK to projects ranging from local charities to the facilities supporting our Olympic and Paralympic heroes.

24th October 2024