Articles & NewsOctober 16, 2008 The jail where inmates serve haute cuisine to paying guestsAt the finest gourmet restaurants, diners can be forced to go to great lengths to get a table. But access to Britain's newest gastronomic venture is more difficult than most. Patrons must hand over valuables, undergo a body search and pass through several reinforced steel doors before being seated.
Catering manager Alberto Crisci came up with the idea of offering visitors high-quality food at High Down Prison The Clink, within the walls of High Down Prison, in Sutton, Surrey, promises to be the most captivating dining experience in the country. It is the brainchild of Alberto Crisci, catering manager of the 747-inmate jail. When it opens its doors early next year, inmates will cook and serve up to a 1,000 meals a day to staff and visitors and will create haute cuisine for 80 paying customers a day. Four-course meals are a steal, beginning at just £15 a head - although porridge is unlikely to be on the menu. Dishes will reportedly include pan-fried John Dory, paupiette of chicken with spinach mousseline, roast turbot with broad beans and pancetta, and lavender mascarpone with spun sugar. Organic produce will be supplied by the prison's greenhouse and gardens. Patrons will enter the prison gates for a strict search before proceeding through the jail to a lavish dining room sealed with a barred door. The maitre d' will escort guests past a baby grand piano to glass-topped steel tables set beneath an exhibition of prisoners' artwork. The furniture was designed and constructed by inmates at Durham Prison, who sign each hand-crafted piece. Mr Crisci, a former chef at the prestigious Mirabelle in London's Mayfair, has run the prison's kitchens for 11 years. In 2005, he won BBC Radio 4's Food And Farming award. He said it would 'change the public's perception of prisoners', adding: 'I want The Clink to be the sound of chains being broken for men who want and deserve a second chance at life.
'Do we release an ex-offender to no job and a slim chance? Or do we offer him income, purpose and self respect?' The project is expected to help more than 300 prisoners a year, who will be able to gain catering qualifications to help them secure a job on release. To take part, inmates will need security clearance, and the use of knives in the kitchen will be closely monitored. Governor Peter Dawson has allocated more than £300,000 from the prison budget and charity donations to set the restaurant up. He said: 'Every time a chef or waiter at The Clink serves a meal, they will play their part in dispelling the prejudice and ignorance that gets in the way of successful resettlement.' But Matthew Elliot, of the Taxpayers' Alliance, said: 'Colleges across the country face cutbacks. Why is it right for criminals to have top-notch facilities when law-abiding students don't? 'You don't send people to prison to have access to The Savoy Grill.' Comments (29)Here's what readers have had to say. Great idea! Gives inmates something positive to do and maybe when they are released they can get a job in catering. - SP, Surrey, 16/10/2008 12:55 Prison (if not prisons) in South Africa have been doing this very succesfully for years and years..... grow their own veg....... till the land and cook the food for the public............ this offsets the cost of runnng the prison. - Tina Wilson, Kinloch Rannoch, Scotland, 16/10/2008 12:09
|
|
|
in your opinion are 'unfair' or 'a waste of money', perhaps you should think more like Mr Crisci, and find ways around things. Think outside of the box, and stop regurgitating anti- progressive, narrow minded and somewhat ignorant, view on this issue.
The Klink is an innovation. The first of it's kind in england. The food served as seen above, is NOT what is served on a normal day to the inmates, this is what is served in the restaurant.
I think this country needs less sheep more people like Mr Crisci. Please don't hesitate to think twice before making such bigoted comments.
- Alana Crisci, reading, 16/10/2008 13:28