Glynn’s Purnell’s Friday Night Kitchen will be taking a break in 2018 but will return in 2019. The live show cooking event, hosted by Michelin starred chef Glynn Purnell, has raised £200,000 for blood cancer charity Cure Leukaemia since 2014.

Glynn, as Trustee of Cure Leukaemia, has dedicated a huge amount of his time to ensuring this event became one of the best nights out in the Birmingham social calendar and because of his increasingly busy schedule both he and Cure Leukaemia have decided it is the right decision to take a break to ensure the high standards of the last four years is maintained.

The support the event has had from guests and sponsors, especially Birmingham Airport, has been phenomenal and without them, GPFNK’s success just simply would not have been possible.

Glynn said: “I love this event and it has been great to see how it has grown since 2014. The funds it has raised have played a huge part in helping fund the expansion of the Centre for Clinical Haematology at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and, as a born and bred Brummie, that fills me with immense pride.

I am honoured to support Cure Leukaemia but I can no longer commit to my duties as a Trustee of the charity, however as a Patron I will continue to support this ever-growing Birmingham-based charity. I look forward to welcoming guests into my Kitchen again in 2019!”

Chairman of Cure Leukaemia Ian Allen said: “We simply can’t thank Glynn enough for everything he has done in recent years. GPFNK put Cure Leukaemia firmly on the map in Birmingham, raising awareness of the charity to businesses across the region as a well as, crucially, raising vital funds to help save lives. Glynn’s support also played a huge role in helping secure Cure Leukaemia as one of Deutsche Bank’s Charities of the Year as he encouraged staff to vote for the charity.

“We are honoured that he has accepted the Board’s invitation to become a Patron after four years as a Trustee. He is so proud of his city and it means so much for a Birmingham based charity to have his support. Everyone that has attended GPFNK will, no doubt, be disappointed but this is the correct decision and I look forward to its return in 2019.”