HMP High Down's 'Hard Cell'

10th August 2010, 8:47am

Training prisoners to work in a fine dining restaurant is the novel way catering manager Al Crisci is helping their rehabilitation and addressing the hospitality industry's skills shortage. David Foad goes 'inside' to find out more.

Persuading employers to give offenders a second chance is a long, slow process in overcoming prejudice and natural caution.

But if there's one business sector that should be open to the idea it is catering. By its very nature, hospitality needs to be a welcoming place. It also suffers from chronic staff shortages – especially for skilled workers – and many of the companies and organisations operating within it are these days keen to polish up their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) credentials.

That is why the work currently being done at HMP High Down in Surrey is important.

It uses kitchen and catering skills as a way to draw offenders back towards the workplace by training them, qualifying them and, ultimately, helping them into jobs on their release.

Employers, meanwhile, get NVQ accredited workers who have trained in an authentic restaurant environment, cooking and serving fine dining standard dishes using some of the best kitchen equipment available and handling a modern front-of-house till ordering system.

Called 'The Clink', the Britain's first commercial in-prison restaurant was officially opened in May 2009 after four years of planning and investment of more than £550,000.

Just over a year on and the first prisoners eligible for release who've been through The Clink training and got NVQ Level Two are now testing the jobs market.

Says catering manager Al Crisci: "I've got a potential employer coming in who'll eat a meal in the restaurant and then interview the staff member here right away.

"I know he'll be impressed by the restaurant and he wouldn't be taking the trouble to come all this way if he wasn't prepared to give an offender a chance, so we are always hoping for the best."

Not that Crisci's going to get carried away when a prisoner does win a job placement. This is real life and while many offenders grab their second chance, not everyone does.

He mentions five who have left over the past year having had the chance to at least try the work regime in The Clink as caterers or cleaners before release. They found work variously at restaurants in Guildford and in London, at a Gatwick hotel and one went back to work in his homeland of Trinidad.

Says Crisci: "Three are fine, but two re-offended and were sacked."

The Clink is the culmination of plans to use catering as rehabilitation that started at HMP High Down 13 years ago when he decided to run its kitchens with the help of prisoner chefs.

The catering operation involves producing three meals a day for 1,200 Category B prisoners on a budget of just £1.68 per man, per day. Those who want to work in the kitchen and are selected, have the opportunity to train to high levels of culinary skill, including City & Guilds NVQ 1, NVQ 2, NVQ 3 and A1 Assessor Grade.

Now with The Clink restaurant up and running the onsite training is equal to that of any external British college.

"Currently, out of 26 prisoner chefs, 75-80% are working toward City & Guilds Level Two and 5% toward Level Three."

That focus on training has already seen a significant number gain work on the outside, but that's not enough for Crisci. "I have a long list of successes but there are never enough businesses willing to take a chance on these men. I hope the success of The Clink will change that attitude," he says.

That is why, as well as serving meals to High Down's staff and official visitors, The Clink takes bookings from individuals, companies and organisations who are actively interested in assisting ex-offenders returning to the community. These include individuals offering financial support, training groups, the media, charities, patrons, members of the justice system, employers, politicians and groups involved in rehabilitation.

"The way it works is that potential employers come to The Clink and get to meet the staff, see the standards firsthand and taste the food. If they're impressed they're more likely to take a prisoner on release."

From the point of view of the prisoners it provides them with the chance to work and feel comfortable in a 'normal' restaurant plus a showcase for them to demonstrate their culinary and service skills to an influential audience.

All prisoners, apart from those classified as vulnerable, can apply to work in the kitchen. There are then security checks on behaviour and health checks before each sits down for an 'instructional chat' with Crisci, who says he uses his instinct and experience to weed out anyone unsuitable.

"Even if I am not absolutely convinced of their certain commitment, I generally give the man a chance. If he can take instruction and he is willing to work hard, he is in." They initially work in the prison kitchen where they are observed and assessed before earning the chance to move onto The Clink.

Crisci decided early on in the project that he needed to 'put his money where his mouth is' and employ some exoffenders. So Francis, who's the maitre d', and Dean, the head chef, are full-time, paid staff who trained with him while serving time at High Down.

"It's important that if a potential employer asks me whether we're happy to take on these guys I can hold my head high and answer 'yes'."

High Down Governor Peter Dawson says he strongly believes the project can make a difference to prisoners' lives: "Every time a chef or waiter at The Clink serves a meal, they play their part in dispelling the prejudice and ignorance that gets in the way of successful resettlement."

Adds Crisci: "The Clink can, and will, change the public's perception of prisoners. I want The Clink to be the sound of chains being broken for men who want, and have worked hard to deserve, a second chance at life."