Cook With Down's Syndrome Finds Job With Twitter's Help

Ben Small, a 26-year-old aspiring chef with Down's syndrome, had plenty of experience working as an unpaid intern in professional kitchens, but nobody would offer him a paid job until Twitter got behind him.

Small's stepmother started the movement when she posted, "Won't someone in the Liverpool area give my step son, Ben, who has Down's Syndrome a chance at a paid job? Motivated with NVQ 2 in catering."

According to The Telegraph, Small has a National Vocational Qualification in catering and had several years experience working as an unpaid intern at places including McDonald's and Wetherspoons, but had trouble finding anyone willing to hire him for a paid position. When Small's stepmother's Tweet started gathering attention, Twitter rallied behind the #GiveBenAJob hashtag and job offers started pouring in. Saturday, he accepted a position as a kitchen assistant at Wilson's Kitchen, a small, family-run restaurant in Liverpool.

"Totally overwhelmed by the response to this amazing story," the restaurant said on its Facebook page after Small's first day. "We love having Ben in the kitchen he deserves a job as does anybody else who can & will work. No zero hour contracts, no 'internships' people contributing to UK businesses deserve to be paid."