Feature: Prisoners dish up an innovative way of finding crime-free lives

An ambitious scheme using tasty food to help prison inmates lead honest lives was hailed a success Monday by Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb.

Crabb paid a visit to a restaurant in Wales' capital city, Cardiff where the workforce is made up entirely of prisoners from the city's prison.

From chefs, to kitchen staff and waiters, everyone at Clink Restaurant are serving time.

The restaurant is so popular with the public it has even caught the eye of the travel organization Trip Advisor. The Clink in Cardiff has also won a number of prestigious awards, including the Sustainable Restaurant Association's 3 Star Award and The Craft Guild of Chefs Award for Education Excellence.

Dishes include locally produced wild boar and venison, and the restaurant supports suppliers of high quality, fresh and organic produce supplied from growers and farmers throughout Wales.

The restaurant staff all study for diplomas in hospitality and catering as well as customer service, ready for the work world after their prison sentences are completed.

After visiting Clink, which is next door to the prison, Crabb commented: "The Clink restaurant is a great example of how you can train for work in a realistic setting. This is a proper working restaurant with all the stress and pressure of the real thing. I hope those who learn the catering trade here go on to rewarding jobs."

The restaurant scheme has given plenty of food for thought in the world of prisoner rehabilitation. At Clink Restaurant, reoffending rates among prisoners average just 12.7 percent, against the national average of almost 50 percent.

Crabb's visit to Clink - one of a chain of four Clink Restaurants at British prisons - was part of a fact-finding tour to see innovative schemes helping to equip prisoners with job skills.

Armed with diplomas and certificates, the staff at Clink have a far better chance of finding work in the catering industry when they are finally released.

Crabb added: "Finding a job is hard enough without having just served a prison term. I am interested to see the really practical ways of trying to turn an ex-offender into someone who can go to a employer with useful skills to offer.

"Ensuring people leaving prison have a decent chance of getting a job is good not only for them, but for society as a whole. It cuts down on re-offending and the risk of drifting back into criminal habits. The statistics show that this approach works."

Clink - the name comes from a popular British slang word for prison - is the name of a charity set up to reduce reoffending rates of ex-offenders by training and placing graduates upon their release.

A spokesman for Clink said: "Since launching the charity, we have achieved incredible results."

The charity aims to open 10 prison restaurants to the public by 2017, with a target to see 500 of their graduates released into employment every year. Endit