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“Doing porridge” is what inmates in UK prisons call serving time. It’s slang for the bowls of gloopy, boiled oats that were once ladled out every morning at lockups across the country. But the saying has taken on a whole new meaning following the launch of open-to-the-public restaurants inside select British prisons, where convicts work as chefs and kitchen assistants, cooking Michelin-style cuisine.
The brainchild of The Clink Charity, set up to reduce reoffending rates of ex-offenders by training and placing graduates into employment upon their release, three prison restaurants now operate in the UK. The newest is The Clink in south London’s Brixton neighbourhood, opened February 2014. You can find it beyond the menacingly thick-steel doors of Her Majesty’s Prison: a mesh of barbed wire, patrolling guards, sniffer dogs and security cameras. Given that dining at the jail requires an in-depth security briefing before a reservation is confirmed, visiting can be, well, complicated.
You must book 72 hours in advance, be at least 18 years old and prepared to turn over your mobile phone when you arrive. Handbags and purses must be left behind, pockets need to be emptied and you may be subject to a biometric assessment that includes having your fingerprints and photograph taken. But those willing to comply are in for a unique experience.
- The Clink’s Brixton dining room. (The Clink Charity)
At the Brixton restaurant, the dining room décor features textured stone walls and mood lighting – you could almost imagine you’re in one of London’s finest hotels. The banquet seating and tables – handcrafted in prison workshops – couldn’t be further from the image of prison life.
The gourmet menu changes daily. Dishes vary from the likes of pan-seared cod loin with pea crust, confit potatoes, pancetta and samphire, to thyme roast guinea fowl with celeriac rosti and chargrilled vegetables. Dessert could be a chocolate and chili tart served with lime infused crème fraiche – or a variety of ice creams, all of which are made fresh onsite, every morning. Could a Michelin star be next?
- Atypical prison fare. (The Clink Charity)
“We’ve been visited by the Michelin team,” said Chris Moore, chief executive of The Clink Charity, with a chuckle. “But we’re not open to the public in the traditional sense as a walk-in, walk-out restaurant, so we’re not eligible – though they did say they loved the place.”
Of course, some would argue that this 120-seat restaurant is the least desirable place in the country to dine. But they’d be missing the trick; the idea of inmates being entrusted with sharp knives and dangerous cooking utensils is not as fanciful as it seems. Only non-violent offenders can participate, and those who do are subjected to a rigorous interview process (with hundreds of inmates from prisons across the country applying for every job). Successful candidates work eight hours a day, 40 hours a week and each training session is meticulous (knives and sharper kitchen implements are kept under lock and key when not in use). More importantly, The Clink has a serious community purpose at its heart. The project is part of a greater five-step rehabilitation programme to recruit, train, audit, employ and mentor inmates to reduce overall reoffending rates.
“We’re focused on the bigger picture,” Moore said. “When you come out of prison you need to have a tough skin. It’s difficult to find work, to get a mortgage, to pay bills. Society is against you and that’s why so many former prisoners reoffend. That’s where The Clink is really making a difference.”
The statistics don’t lie. Following the success of the first two Clink restaurants – one located at High Down in Surrey, and Clink Cymru at HMP Cardiff in Wales – reoffending rates have plummeted. Currently 49% of ex-convicts in the UK reoffend within one year of release; for those who serve sentences under 12 months this increases to 61%. But in 2011, the reoffending rate of graduates from The Clink was only 12.5%. The number of reoffenders for 2012 is believed to be around 6%, another huge drop below the national average.
