Matt Morrissey (second from right) and his team catered for Karl Stefanovic. Photo: Supplied.
When Matt Morrissey, the founder of Embrace Disability Group, lost his Queanbeyan cafe, Bean Central, in December 2022, he says he and his wife lost everything.
What he didn’t lose, though, was his caring and compassionate nature that compelled him to find employment for the 30-plus people with disabilities whom he employed.
“We proved that they had all the skills and training, but so few businesses were willing to give them a chance,” says Matt.
It was a long-time customer of the cafe and principal of Jerrabomberra High School, Scott O’Hara, who had the lightbulb moment that spurred the creation of Embrace, a fast-growing catering company that provides training, employment, confidence and pathways to future employment.
“Scott asked me if I wanted to run the canteen at the high school. I was a bit hesitant at first, but we had told the staff we were closing and there were lots of tears.”
Taking the chance to secure employment for his team, Matt took over the Jerrabomberra canteen in January 2024. This was followed by the canteen at the Googong Public School and has now grown into eight canteens across the ACT and NSW, as well as an ACT Government contract which sees them supplying 10,000 meals a week to ACT school students on a pilot program.
Embrace supplied a range of catering styles from canteens to weddings. Photo: Supplied.
Despite the unexpected and fast growth of Embrace, the transition into the school system wasn’t without its challenges, with Matt explaining that many of his cafe employees had a pretty tough time at school.
“When I told them that I had found work for them but it was in a high school, the look of shock on some of their faces was pretty prevalent because high school for them was a pretty crappy experience,” explains Matt.
“They experienced a lot of bullying and teasing. The thought of going back into a school environment was actually pretty stressful for these guys.”
Working closely with Scott, they were able to create a safe and comfortable working environment. Despite some initial hesitation from the students, Matt says that his team is on a first-name basis with many of the students and feels they are forging new paths in the perceptions of people with disabilities.
The success of the program for both the schools and for the people that Matt employs has been so astounding that he can’t believe that no one has done this before.
With a drive to train and employ more people with disabilities, Matt has become adept at finding opportunities, and he doesn’t pigeonhole his business into the canteen catering.
“First and foremost, we are a catering company. We’ve catered weddings, private parties, we put up an in-home dining package for the charity Win the Day and it was purchased by Karl Stefanovic, so we took the team up and cooked for Karl on his birthday,” shares Matt.
Students at Embrace training with Chef Christophe, formerly of Le Tres Bon. Photo: Supplied.
While the scope of the business allows for more diverse training opportunities, it’s the school canteen model that Matt says gives the ability to train a large volume of people with disabilities. They currently have over 80 employees, many undertaking formal training while getting hands-on experience with food handling and food safety.
“Food is one of those things that doesn’t judge. We all need to eat, and we all love good food,” says Matt.
With his team always front of mind, Matt is happy that he can also be a stepping stone for team members to transition into the wider world of employment, and many of them have proved that with the boost of confidence that Embrace gives them, they are able to undertake work outside hospitality.
“Our former team member Tara went through a support unit at school, and she knew what it was like to have good support learning services officers, and bad ones, and we said to her, ‘What if you could go be a good one for someone else? She’s now working at Tirriwiri School at Karabar.”
Matt has also transitioned former employees into front office work within schools and into childcare training and employment.
On a personal level, Matt is reaping the benefits of the company he has created and feels it is the most fun environment he has ever worked in. It’s everyone’s differences that make all the difference.
No one is more aware of the massive journey he’s been on than Matt himself, from what he calls the total devastation of losing his cafe to forging the way for employment for people with disabilities.
You can read more about Embrace, or contact them for wedding and event catering, by visiting their website or Facebook.
