Mitchells & Butlers has launched a nationwide partnership with The Chatty Cafe Scheme aimed at giving customers more chances for informal conversation in its pubs and restaurants. The programme will see weekly "Chatter & Natter" sessions introduced at more than 60 Toby Carvery, Harvester and Stonehouse venues across England and Wales, alongside monthly lunch meet-ups. According to the company, the initiative is designed to make it easier for people to drop in for a drink and a conversation, whether they arrive alone or with company.

The scheme will rely on a network of 240 volunteer hosts, who will be recruited to welcome visitors and help start conversations. Mitchells & Butlers said the move reflects the role hospitality venues can play in local life, particularly as places where people can feel included and less isolated. The company is backing the project as a community-facing extension of its restaurant estate rather than simply as a promotional campaign.

The Chatty Cafe Scheme, which says it has spent the past decade tackling loneliness, already runs more than 750 "Chatter & Natter" tables across the UK and says those tables have helped more than 30,000 people. Founder Alex Hoskyn said the new tie-up would widen access to the scheme through familiar community venues, while Mitchells & Butlers said it also intends to build links with GP surgeries, social prescribers, councils, charities and carers’ organisations so the sessions can sit within wider local wellbeing networks.

Entries for the UK Quality Food & Drink Awards 2026 close on Friday 26 June. Submit your entries by tomorrow, Friday 12 June, to benefit from the reduced entry fee. For more information on categories, entry criteria, and deadlines, please visit: https://uk.qualityfoodawards.com/qualityfoodawards2026new/en/page/2026-enter-awards