The History
The first Lord Mayor's Big Curry Lunch took place in April 2008, hosted by the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress at Guildhall, the centre of the City of London’s governance, ceremonial and philanthropy.
The driving idea behind the Lunch was that it would be a Civic and Guildhall event with a difference: a fixed-price allowing guests unlimited curries and accompanying drinks, no seating plan, guests would serve themselves (and go back for more if they wished), and everyone would sit on benches.
The Lunch has had the unstinting support of each Lord Mayor since 2008.
From its inception, the Lunch has had four core goals:
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To raise funds to support Soldiers and former Soldiers, both Regulars and Reservists, and their families.
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To raise awareness in the City community of the role of the Armed Forces of the Crown, particularly in the younger generation of City workers.
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To build awareness of the three national service charities.
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To emphasise the breadth and depth of the City’s philanthropy.
That first Lunch attracted 700 guests and raised £143,000. Each year, attendance grew and the Lunch expanded to use all principal rooms in Guildhall, which are generously provided by the Corporation of the City of London. As of June 2025, we have contributed a total of over £4.2 million to help support all members of the Armed Forces.
Since 2019, the Lord Mayor’s Big Curry Lunch has aligned with the employment and employability strand of the Civic and Mayoral strategy ‘A Better City For All’, by providing financial support for veterans to take part in two programmes to help veterans in to work.
Be part of an incredible series of events that raise funds to meet the current need to support veterans of HM Armed Forces into employment.
The Lord Mayor's big Curry Lunch Committee
The Lady Mayor and the founder, Michael Hockney, are the co-chairs of the the LMBCL volunteer Committee.
The Committee meets five times a year and includes:
Retired Senior Officers, Government Ministers, Leading Clergy, Aldermen and Sheriffs of the City of London, the Chief Commoner, more than 20 Livery Masters, Livery Clerks, business and professional leaders in the City and members of the London Lieutenancy, including the Lord Lieutenant and Vice Lord Lieutenant.
The Committee owes a huge debt of gratitude to the Corporation for allowing the Lunch to take place from 2019 onwards without any charges being made, thus helping the Committee to contribute a larger sum each year to support members of the Armed Forces of the Crown and their families in so many different ways.
Co-Chairs:
The Rt Hon. the Lady Mayor Alderwoman Dame Susan Langley
Mr Michael Hockney
Vice Patrons
Sir David Lewis
Mr Ian Luder
Mr Nick Anstee
Sir Michael Bear
Sir David Wootton
Dame Fiona Woolf
Sir Alan Yarrow
The Lord Mountevans
Alderman Sir Andrew Parmley
Alderman Sir Charles Bowman
Alderman Sir Peter Estlin
Alderman Sir William Russell
Alderman Vincent Keaveny
Alderman Sir Nicholas Lyons
Alderman Professor Michael Mainelli
Alderman Alastair King
Committee Members
Mr Gary Langley
Alderman and Sheriff Robert Hughes-Penney Sheriff and Deputy Keith Bottomley
Mrs Elspeth Hughes-Penney
Mr Kevin Bradford
Mr Jeremy Archer
Colonel Ralph Arundell
Mr Azad Ayub
Brigadier Greville Bibby
Lord Bilimoria
Mr Edward Bodenham
Mrs Catherine Bowder
Mr Michael Bradly Russell
Dr Trevor Brignall
Brigadier Christopher Coles
Mrs Christine Cook
Sir Michael Craig-Cooper
Colonel Jane Davis
Mr Vladislav Dobrokhotov
Ms Charli Douglas
Lady Caroline Everard
Mr Andy Ewens
Mr Christopher Freeman
Lady French
Mr Jeremy Gardener
Mr Sean Gavin
Colonel Peter Germain
Wing Commander Russ Gleeson
Mr Andrew Gordon
Alderman Alison Gowman
Alderman Prem Goyal
The Hon. Elizabeth Green
Brigadier Tim Gregson
Alderman Timothy Hailes
Mr Pekka Halmet
Mr Chris Hayward
Mr Mark Hedges
Mr Paul Herbage
Mr Stan Hodges
Mrs Jaspreet Hodgson
Alderman Robert Howard
Mr Alun Hughes
Alderman Gregory Jones KC
Her Honour Wendy Joseph KC
The Lady Mohini Kent Noon
Mr Vaughan Kent-Payne
Colonel Ed Launders
Miss Mei Sim Lai
Lieutenant General David Leakey
Dr Hilary Lindsay
Mr Andrew Love
Mrs Susannah Lovis
Alderman Christopher Makin
HH Judge Richard Marks KC
Mr Simon Martin
Alderman Bronek Masojada
Mr Richard Moule
The Rt. Revered and Rt. Hon Dame Sarah Mullally
Mr Lawson Muncaster
Ms Sarah Murnane
Alderwomen Jenette Newman
Lord Howard of Rising
Sir Kenneth Olisa
Ms Sarah Pearce
Mr Denis Petropoulos
Mr Paul Pinchbeck
Mr Henry Pollard
Ms Siyuan Ren
Mr Paul Rochford
Ms Cathy Scott
Mr Christopher Seow
Ms Julia Sibley
Mr James Simpson
Mr Rafael Steinmetz Leffa
Mrs Laura Taylor
Mrs Regina Tierney-Ayub
Mr Cyrus Todiwala
The Very Reverend Andrew Tremlett
Mr Jason Van Praagh
Mr Andrew Vaughan
Mr Adrian Waddingham
Commodore Mike Walliker
Mr Mark Williams
Mr Richard Wilson
Mr Phillip Woodhouse
Alderman Kawsar Zaman
The City
The City of London Corporation is the governing body of the Square Mile dedicated to a vibrant and thriving City, supporting a diverse and sustainable London within a globally successful UK.
Guildhall, the Corporation’s headquarters in the City of London, is a remarkable and historic site.
It is where the Lord Mayor’s Big Curry Lunch is held every year, thanks to the support of the Corporation's senior officials, the Court of Aldermen and the Common Council. The Committee is very grateful to the Corporation for the use of Guildhall without any charge.
The City and the Lord Mayor's Big Curry Lunch are intertwined. Since the first Lunch in 2008, the Lunch has become a staple event in the City calendar with many institutions and businesses offering their support. The Lunch relies on the City in many ways and is grateful for its support.
The Lord Mayor’s Big Curry Lunch has enjoyed the active support of each successive Lord or Lady Mayor of the City of London since the first LMBCL in 2008.
The Lady Mayor and the founder of the Lunch, Michael Hockney, co-chair the Committee. The Lord or Lady Mayor and the Lord or Lady Mayor’s Consort host the Lunch each year in Guildhall and its three receptions: the launch party; the Launch of the Veterans' Garden in Guildhall Yard; and the the post-Lunch ’Thank You' party, at which we thank all our sponsors and supporters, and announce how much has been raised that year. The Committee meetings are held at the Mansion House, the Lord Mayor’s ‘home’ for his or her year in office.
The Committee is grateful to the Lady Mayor, the Lady Mayor’s Consort and the Sheriffs and their Consorts for their unfailing enthusiasm and support.
In recent years, successive Lord Mayors have collaborated on a long-term strategy to make the Lord Mayor’s Charity Appeal work with greater impact. Under the banner of ‘A Better City For All’, the Appeal articulates how the strategy can and will have a transformational impact on peoples' lives in the capital. One of the central pillars of this strategy focuses on the City as a place of leading-edge practice in employment. The Lunch, with its focus on helping veterans prepare for employment, is strongly alighed with this aspect of the Lord Mayor’s strategy.
