Firstly, on behalf of everyone at Matthew Algie I’d like to wish all of our customers, industry friends and readers a Happy New Year and hope you’ve all kept safe and well during these challenging times. Over the festive period and as we begin 2022, our resilience is being tested once again. Whilst it’s tough I have great confidence we can battle through this new wave and become even stronger by the Spring. At the point of writing this, we’re still never quite so sure of what will happen next but we do know we can be creative, innovative and stay positive to keep going- we’ve been here before and know we can adapt and brighter days will come. In the final few weeks of 2021 I was fortunate to visit Belfast, Glasgow and Central London for work trips and also the stunning Cornish seaside for some time with my family. As the days went by, it was evident the uncertainty surrounding new measures and restrictions were reducing footfall into our beloved hospitality industry and that this would present business owners with such challenging circumstances once again. Borough Market as one example is normally heaving in the build-up to Christmas yet whilst it still had that magical feeling it missed the hustle and bustle that makes it what it is. In this edition of The Coffee Extract, we want to share some positivity and inspiration as we anticipate more changing times over the coming months. We start with celebrating the winner of our ‘Heroes of Hospitality’ award and share some wonderful, heartfelt stories of those who have gone the extra mile during the pandemic. From the many nominations, it was inspiring to read how cafés and hospitality businesses play such a vital role in bringing communities together. We salute you all!