The Clink (restaurant)
| The Clink Restaurants | |
|---|---|
  The first Clink Restaurant opened at HMP Prison High Down | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | May 11, 2009 |
| Chef | Alberto Crisci |
| Food type | European cuisine |
| Street address | HM Prison High Down |
| City | Banstead |
| County | Surrey |
| Postal code/ZIP | UK |
| Coordinates | 51°20′08″N 0°11′23″W / 51.3355°N 0.1897°W |
| Other locations | The Clink Brixton (London), The Clink Cardiff (Wales)and The Clink Styal (Wilmslow) |
| Website |
www |
The Clink Restaurants are a major part of The Clink Charity’s prisoner rehabilitation initiatives. The charity’s mission is to break the cycle of crime by changing attitudes, creating second chances and transforming lives whilst reducing recidivism rates for the benefit of society as a whole.
Each prisoner who works in a Clink Restaurant studies for accredited NVQs in food preparation, food service and cleaning. Whilst working in a Clink Restaurant prisoners gain experience within an exciting, operational business and receive in-depth guidance to find full-time employment within the hospitality industry upon release.
There are currently four Clink Restaurants in operation located at HMP Brixton, HMP Cardiff, HMP High Down and HMP Styal.
Other initiatives from the charity include The Clink Gardens at HMP Send and HMP High Down, which provide training in horticulture, and Clink Events which provides external catering services with like-minded social enterprises such as Centrepoint – a UK charity for homeless young people.
The original concept was the idea of chef Alberto Crisci, who was awarded a Catey Award in 2011 for his work with the charity, and set up by him together with Finlay Scott and Kevin McGrath.
Description
The first Clink Restaurant opened in 2009 at HMP High Down in Surrey, when Alberto Crisci MBE, then catering manager, identifies the need for formal training, qualifications and support for prisoners in finding a job after release. Alberto is supported by the (then) Governor of HMP High Down, Peter Dawson, and founder trustees Finlay Scott, Kevin McGrath, Lady Edwina Grosvenor, Tim Wates and Kate Quigley-Ruby.
In 2010 Christopher Moore was appointed the charity’s first CEO as part of a long-term plan to expand the prisoner training concept across Her Majesty’s Prison Service.
His main role is to focus on increasing awareness of the work and skills being developed across The Clink training schemes as well as garnering support from the catering industry and securing the necessary funds for expansion.
In spring 2012 the Bromley Gardens opened at HMP High Down with six poly tunnels and a glass house offering space for prisoners to train in horticulture and produce up to three quarters of the vegetables and herbs used in The Clink Restaurants. As part of High Down’s commitment to sustainability, 50 tonnes of food waste is composted each year and 2,500 litres of used fryer oil is converted into bio-diesel to run the prison vehicles.
The second restaurant opened at HMP Cardiff in September 2012. This was the first Clink restaurant to be located outside prison walls. It works alongside HMP Prescoed to offer over 30 Category D prisoners from HMP Prescoed and HMP Cardiff full-time work within the kitchen, restaurant and gardens.
In November 2013 Clink Events is launched to provide external catering for cocktail parties and receptions. Canapés are freshly prepared in Clink Restaurant kitchens by prisoners and The Clink engages with like-minded charities, such as Centrepoint – a UK charity for homeless young people – to train their homeless clients in food service skills.
The third Clink Restaurant opened at HMP Brixton in February 2014. The Brixton restaurant follows The Clink’s Five Step Programme, which has been successfully implemented at both of the previous Clink Restaurants, to educate prisoners and equip them with the skills and tools to secure employment upon their release.
In May 2014 The Clink enters into a women’s prison for the first time, launching The Clink Gardens at HMP Send, Surrey. The project provides prisoners with the opportunity to gain experience and City & Guilds NVQs in horticulture. Prisoners grow, cultivate and harvest crops and rear chickens for eggs. The produce is transported to The Clink Restaurants at other prisons for use in the training kitchens.
Building started in September 2014 at the fourth prisoner training restaurant, The Clink Restaurant at HMP Styal in Cheshire, to transform the century old, disused chapel within the prison grounds into a 100 seat restaurant with private dining spaces for up to 24 people.
The Clink Restaurant at HMP Styal officially opened to the public on 30 April 2015 as the first Clink Restaurant in a women’s prison and the first in the north of England.
The Future
The Clink Charity operates Clink Restaurants in partnership with Her Majesty’s Prison Service. Together we are focused on the goal of having 20 Clink training projects in operation by 2020, releasing 1,000 graduates a year into employment.
To do this the Clink Charity needs to raise £5 million and relies on generous donations from grant-making trusts, the general public and businesses.
Reception
The Clink Restaurants are registered catering colleges regulated by OFSTED who gave ‘outstanding’ reports following visits to High Down (2012 / 15) and Brixton (2015).
Nick Harding ate at the High Down restaurant and reviewed it for The Independent shortly after it opened, summarising his visit as "Excellent food, value and service. Interesting surroundings. I will be dining there again, if I get security clearance".
Giles Coren, columnist and restaurant critic for The Times visited the Brixton restaurant and wrote: “The Clink is doing great things for prisons, people, local communities and the reputation of Britain’s catering industry, and I salute it unreservedly.”
The Clink Restaurant at HMP Cardiff was named the tenth best rated fine dining establishment in the UK in the 2015 Travellers’ Choice Awards, announced by TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site.
The Clink's Five Step Programme
The Clink’s Five Step Programme – Recruit, Train, Support, Employ and Mentor – dramatically reduces the reoffending rate of those who have completed the training programme.
Prisoners with six to 18 months of their sentence left to serve are recruited for the programme and receive full-time training in order to reach the required level to succeed in the hospitality industry upon release.
Whilst the food offers a contemporary twist on traditional British cuisine, with each menu being designed around locally sourced and seasonal ingredients, the restaurants also provide an educational insight into the positive effect of rehabilitation and helps change public perceptions of prisoners.
Awards
• Catey Award for The Best Education and Training Programme
• London Peace Award for Diversity
• The Springboard Charity Award for Diversity
• The Longford Prize
• Footprint Award for Corporate, Social and Environmental Responsibility
• The Good Egg Award
• Time & Leisure Magazine Food Award for Readers’ Restaurant of the Year
• The Craft Guild of Chefs Award for Education Excellence
• The ACE Sustains Corporate Award
• Finalist in the Guardian Charity Awards
• Surrey Life Best Local Menu of the Year
• M&IT Awards bronze award for ‘Best UK Unusual Venue’
• Cost Sector Catering Public Sector Award
• Surrey Life ‘Services to the Community’ Award
• TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Awards 10th Best Restaurant in the UK
Ambassadors
The role of a Clink Ambassador is to provide a high level of exposure for the charity, undertake various ambassadorial roles and host fundraising events.
Group
• Albert Roux OBE, KFO– group chef ambassador
• Vic Laws MBE – group restaurant ambassador
• Graham Bamford – group mentoring ambassador
• Hugh Merrill MVO – group communications ambassador
• Hugo Llewelyn – group fundraising ambassador
• Alison Cathie – group publishing ambassador
• Dan Snow, Group Communications Ambassador
High Down
• Antonio Carluccio OBE – chef ambassador
• Adam Simmonds – chef ambassador
• Andrew Etherington – restaurant ambassador
• Peter Bramich – restaurant ambassador
• Julie Peasgood, Sustainability Ambassador
• Kate Quigley-Ruby, Restaurant Ambassador
Cardiff
• Matt Tebbutt – Chef ambassador
• Will Holland – Chef ambassador
• Sir Gareth Edwards CBE – restaurant ambassador
• John Retallick – restaurant ambassador
• Elspeth Dale – restaurant ambassador
Brixton
• Cyrus Todiwala OBE, DL, DBA – chef ambassador
• Giorgio Locatelli – chef ambassador
• Esher Williams – restaurant ambassador
• Silvano Giraldin – restaurant ambassador
Styal
• Thomasina Miers, Chef Ambassador
• Lisa Allen, Chef Ambassador
Clink Events
• Peter Avis, Events Ambassador
• Jules Heckman-Hughes, Events Ambassador
Send
• John Amand
The Clink Restaurant at HMP High Down
The restaurant is within the walls of HMP High Down, a category B prison, and seats 94.
The restaurant has a private dining room available for exclusive hire which seats 20. A projector and AV facilities are available for meetings, conferences and presentations.
The Clink Restaurant at HMP Cardiff
The restaurant is within the grounds of HMP Cardiff, a category B prison, and seats 90.
Food is served by prisoners from HMP Prescoed (a category D prison) who participate in The Clink Restaurants' training scheme.
The restaurant has a private dining room which is available for exclusive hire seating 24 and has a projector and AV facilities for meetings, conferences and presentations.
The Clink Restaurant at HMP Brixton
The restaurant seat is within the walls of HMP Brixton, a category C prison, and seats 120 diners.
Five private dining rooms are available for exclusive hire, seating between 12 and 20, with a projector and AV facilities for meetings, conferences and presentations.
The Clink Restaurant at HMP Styal
The restaurant is within the grounds of women’s prison HMP Styal and seats 120.
Two private dining rooms are available for exclusive hire which can seat between 8 and 20 people. A projector and AV facilities are available for small businesses and groups to hold meetings, lunches and events. The entire venue is available for exclusive hire on evenings and weekends.
The Clink Gardens
The Clink Gardens is another strand of The Clink’s innovative prisoner rehabilitation programme, training prisoners in horticulture at HMP High Down since June 2012 and HMP Send since June 2014.
The prisoners working in the gardens receive formal training and gain hands-on experience in order to achieve their City & Guilds NVQ in horticulture.
75% of the vegetables, herbs and eggs used in the restaurants at HMP High Down and HMP Brixton are produced by the women and men training at The Clink Gardens and the 100 Rhode Island Red chickens they also care for.
Clink Events
Clink Events launched in 2014 to offer external catering services for private cocktail parties and receptions.
Food is prepared by prisoners in training, before being delivered in refrigerated vehicles to the event venue.
To enable Clink Events to serve the food prepared by the trainee chefs, partnerships with other like-minded social enterprises such as Centrepoint, the UK’s leading charity for homeless young people, have been established. This extends The Clink’s training to vulnerable young adults, boosting their confidence and aiding their employability.
Service staff are given intense training in order to gain their level 1 NVQ in hospitality and to equip them with the skills and ability to serve guests efficiently and professionally.