Hospitality businesses including Hilton, Wagamama, Starbucks, Greene King and Marston’s have joined forces with UK prisons as part of an initiative aimed at getting prisoners into work, cutting crime and reducing reoffending.
The ‘Chefs Unlocked’ event will see over 50 prisoners across six prisons given skills to help them secure employment.
It has launched in partnership with The Right Course, a charity co-founded by TV personality Fred Sirieix, which transforms prison canteens into training restaurants, providing prisoners with professional hospitality qualifications and employment pathways.
Launched last month at HMP Wormwood Scrubs, prisoners cooked three dishes which were judged by a panel including Hilton chefs, Sirieix, and guest judge James Timpson, minister for prisons, probation and reducing reoffending.
Senior leaders from the other hospitality businesses involved, which all employ prison leavers, will feature as judges in future events.
Hilton UK and Ireland SVP Stephen Cassidy said: “At Hilton, we are investing in programmes that create pathways to lifelong career growth. Initiatives like Chefs Unlocked are integral to helping us achieve that goal.
“By collaborating with partners like The Right Course, we can support rehabilitation by equipping prison leavers with essential culinary skills, opening the door to meaningful and purposeful employment within the hospitality industry.”
Teams will be evaluated on their culinary skills, presentation, and front of house service – skills that “can be transferred into real-life employment opportunities” once prisoners have completed their sentence, Timpson said.
“Employment is one of the most powerful tools we have to cut crime. If we can get prisoners the skills they need to hold down good jobs, we break the cycle of offending and reduce the number of future victims, in turn protecting the public.”
Timpson told The Grocer the Chefs Unlocked events will function as “a showcase for employers”. As well as presenting prisoners’ skills, these events will also let employers know “this is when they’re going to be released, this is where they’re going to live”.
Sirieix added that when a prisoner finishes their training, The Right Course puts prisoners in front of employers: “We organise interviews, we help them with interview techniques, how to present themselves.
“We only operate in about five prisons but if you want to really change and make a difference, we have about 90 prisons in the UK and we need to have a restaurant in every one.”
According to the Ministry of Justice, having a job post-release reduces the likelihood of reoffending by nine percentage points.
In the past 12 months, 38% of offenders were found to be in employment six months after their release from custody, more than double the number when compared to 2022, which stood at 15%.
Chefs Unlocked forms part of the wider Unlocking Hospitality programme, a national recruitment campaign that runs every year in prisons to boost employment opportunities.
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