An empty cabinet is required. This is the condition that must be fulfilled in order to be able to book a table at this new restaurant in Marseille. The feature: You have to go to the Baumettes Penitentiary, where the kitchen is run by the prisoners.
Next October, “LesFine foodwill open its doors to the general public. A moment that promises to be unique both for customers, a first in France, and for the residents of the center. About forty prisoners will be responsible for about the same number of covers each year, spread over the two services. They will work in the dishwasher, kitchen and dining room under the supervision and advice of three food specialists.
Professional integration
Seats in the restaurant will be open to inmates of the Baumettes Exit Support Facility (SAS). A facility that will receive 80 people at the end of their sentence, and whose release is planned in the coming months. For them, such an opportunity is an important element of reintegration. Together with customers and chefs, they will be able to learn the rules of hygiene, group work, hierarchy and acquire certain social skills. The idea came from the prison administration after looking at several such examples that took place in particular in Milan or London.
“Cooking allows people to appreciateexclaims Armand Hurault, director of the Festin Association, which runs the project alongside the Baumettes. According to him, gastronomy carries and inspires. he”allows you to learn skills in an industry that is under high pressure, especially in a tourist region like ours“, he stated to the daily newspaper 20 minutes . Christine Charbonnier, secretary general of the interregional management of the prison services in Marseille, sees in this initiative a second way to facilitate this integration: to improve the image of the French;from ignoranceabout the prison and its inhabitants. To: 20 minutesHe expressed his desiredeconstruct the image civil society may have of detainees. An inmate can develop and our goal is for him to find a place in society after release.“.
Mediterranean cuisine on the menu
The restaurant will welcome the public for lunch Monday through Friday, “jail“. Only people with a clean record will be allowed to enter, who must obey a few rules, namely leaving their cell phones and changing at the entrance. Alcohol is strictly prohibited.
The menu features bistro fare with Mediterranean flavors and southern herbs. Some ingredients will be collected directly from the vegetable garden of the Baumets Penitentiary.
Source: Le Figaro
