The Caterer Interview – Al Crisci
Al Crisci, winner of the 2011 Education and Training Catey award, is the creator of the Clink restaurant and founder trustee of the Clink Charity. Lisa Jenkins finds out how restaurants are helping to rehabilitate offenders
You had been the catering manager at HMP High Down in Sutton, Surrey, since 1994. How did the Clink come about in 2007? The prison had a remit to develop NVQs in the kitchen, so some prisoners could leave with qualifications. One prisoner was sent back because he couldn't get a job and had re-offended, and it seemed such a wasted effort. I asked permission for the prisoners to contact me once they had been released, and I started to contact potential employers with their CVs and a recommendation. Then I had the idea of inviting these employers for lunch.
Then one guest, Casilda Grigg, a food critic, suggested we make it a restaurant. It was a great idea, but I wasn't sure how to implement it. A year later, the prison was expanding and I asked the governor to build me a restaurant on the premises. We had a plan for the kitchen, but there was no money for the dressing and design of the restaurant, so we put the project to the back of the schedule and I set about raising £330,000. I didn't have a clue what I was doing.
What motivated you to take on such a challenge? Setting up a restaurant was the only way I could get an espresso machine! Seriously though, I knew what the guys were going to cook, and I knew that when they saw what they had cooked, they would be inspired too. That's what excites me - much more than the customer service and all that side of it.
My motivation was giving them totally new experiences: the taste, the look, the theatre. I wanted the catering side to be centre stage, and I knew that if it was an open kitchen they would have to behave as well. As a teenager, I had two friends who were brothers, and they had a really strict Italian upbringing, just like me. After their parents divorced, they went off the rails, they both became addicted to heroin and died. I watched their parents at their funerals, and it was
devastating. The brothers would have done anything to get their drugs.
Our prisoners come from all sorts of backgrounds: they may have never known their parents, or lived in foster care, or one parent may have spent their life in prison; they might have been abused, or grown up in a family of crime; or they may be addicted to drugs or alcohol. But sometimes, life just collapses, people get hooked on drugs, and they will do anything for the next fix.
Have you ever had any trouble with discipline in the kitchen or front of house? No, never, and I wasn't worried too much because I have a zero-tolerance policy. The prisoners are told the rules and if they break them they aren't allowed to come back.
You have to be consistent, and once a couple of people had been let go, it didn't take the rest long to realise that they had to toe the line.
When the prisoners see the restaurants for the first time, half my job is already done because they start behaving straight away. Even with bars on the windows it feels different.
Prisoners are not used to socialising. When they are outside they have their own set of friends, and by nature they have segregated themselves, so part of the change development is getting them to see that people are supporting them. That's why we make the restaurants interactive.
How do the prisoners cope with the interactivity? Contrary to what many people think, prisoners have no confidence. They might have a bit of bravado in a group or if they've got drug or alcohol issues, but everyone acts differently when they are under the influence. What we think is normal - going to work, paying the mortgage - they find difficult, and for prisoners to change they need a skill and an opportunity.
Time goes more quickly for them in the restaurant as they are doing a real job. But what people tend to forget when they eat here is that the people they've met that day get locked back up. Which is how it should be; they are being punished. I know that, but 'there for the grace of God go I'. I wasn't always a saint at school and we tread a fine line, and if ever my son did something wrong or became addicted or went to prison, it would terrify me if he wasn't treated properly, because it's easy for people to judge when it's someone they don't know.
People say why don't you just lock the door and throw away the key. But they have no connection to these prisoners - they don't see them as people. That's why the Clink is so good because they see a person. Guests ask: "Which ones are the prisoners?" and then they say: "Really, they look just like anyone else".
How do you deal with the failures? I try not to think about the failures. I guess you could call me callous, in that if somebody fails I can walk away and focus on giving the opportunity to the next person. I need to focus on the next person.
How are the prisoners supported on release? Originally, this was me, but as we have grown we have tried a couple of ways to keep in touch. We initially worked with Springboard, but now we are that much bigger, we wanted to organise it ourselves. We employ a support worker across each site with one person overseeing the team.
The support workers find out the prisoners'personal needs. This will include their mental health, alcohol and drug problems, housing, probation and offender managers and their work status. They co-ordinate their release and meet them every week for a minimum of six months, sometimes more if necessary.
The support worker is crucial for release. We may have trained someone to be a great chef, worthy of a good job, but they have to turn up, have somewhere to live and have money in order to eat. The support worker helps them set up bank accounts, register with a doctor and stay motivated.
Is there enough support for ex-offenders? No, not at all. And there's no excuse, really. The Clink five-step programme could be applied to any industry. Going through the programme in a restaurant is not always about being a chef or a waiter forever; it's about caring for people, finding out why they do what they do, trying to stop it and giving them some social skills and confidence.
Is hospitality doing enough as an industry? No, because we are the ones banging on doors, so it's very one-way - it's us banging the drum. Prisoners are being released all the time, so we need a network of employers - the bigger network of employers we can get, the better.
The nirvana is employers with accommodation. Not all ex-offenders need it, but a lot do, and it's perfect for them because being relocated gets them away from a hostel full of criminals. It's better to get them away from bad influences.
We always need equipment, although our existing suppliers have been enormously generous. We always need books, people can hire the meeting rooms at Brixton and help with training. At HMP Send we need plants, seedlings and expertise in horticulture, as we are hoping to grow most of our own fruit and vegetables to supply Brixton and High Down. In fact, we will have too much, so we are looking for suppliers who could sell it on for us.
The key things are jobs, accommodation, equipment and cash. We have to fundraise for every restaurant we open, and each one costs up to half a million pounds.
What are the benefits to businesses for taking on ex-offenders?
They are trained to a very high standard, which can be witnessed in the restaurants. Future employers can get to know them in our restaurants and give them a trial on release. They are multi-skilled as chefs and as front of house staff. They will have worked under a zero tolerance policy, which gives them a respect for
authority and they are grateful - this could be life-changing for them. Employers would have full disclosure. In fact, they would know more about somebody from the Clink than they would through normal recruitment channels.
When a prisoner is released, usually they are released on licence, which means that if they breach the terms of their licence they could go back to prison. It means they have a lot to lose by failing.
Do you have a message for the industry? I'd like people to judge the Clink as a professional restaurant and a professional training environment - not as a prison training environment or an excuse for a restaurant.
There are no gimmicks - they are real restaurants, serving real customers. The onlydifference is that the people serving the food are prisoners and the reason they are doing it is because they want to change their lives.
So if they are making the effort, it would be nice if the outside world could open their minds to that and give people a chance. If they are coming out, they need to fit in.
Clink Events
The operation has now expanded to include events. Clink Events offers catering for corporate, giving prisoners the opportunity to gain training in food preparation as part of the Clink's rehabilitation programme.
Cold canapés and buffets for cocktail parties and receptions are prepared at HMP High Down before being delivered to venues in London and the Home Counties.
Guests are served by homeless people receiving support from Centre Point. They are given intense training in food and drink service to equip them with the skills and ability to efficiently and professionally serve guests. Upon completion of their training, each trainee is issued with a certificate of achievement.
events@theclinkrestaurant.com
The Clink's ambassadors
The Clink has many ambassadors, including:
Antonio Carluccio chef-restaurater
Andrew Etherington director, Andrew Etherington Associates and vice chair, FCSI
Giorgio Locatelli, chef-patron, Locanda Locatelli
Cyrus Todiwala, chef-patron, Café Spice Namasté and Assado
Esher Williams, lecturer, Westminster Kingsway College
Future openings
HMP Send, Ripley, Surrey
Launched July 2014
Land within the grounds of the prison has been cultivated as part of the project, with eight polytunnels and irrigation built. The women prisoners will be trained in horticulture to grow high-quality heritage produce, which will be used on-site and at Brixton and High Down. Some prisoners will also be trained as trainers.
HMP Styal, Wilslow, Cheshire
Opening spring 2015
Situated a couple of miles from Alderley Edge, this women's prison will soon include a restaurant. It will be situated in an old church, outside the prison wall.
