From the 12th century until 1780, The Clink was Britain’s most notorious prison, detaining heretics and priests, debtors and rebel rousers.

With the clink of a lock, inmates were condemned to a diet of bread and water. Things change. On May 11th  2009, The Clink re-opened at Her Majesty’s Prison High Down, Sutton, Surrey. This time, however, it is a restaurant serving gourmet and wholesome food to prison staff, visitors and the public.

The Clink is the idea of the Catering Services Manager at H.M. Prison High Down, Chef Alberto Crisci. A fully operational restaurant is now open INSIDE the walls of the gaol, operated entirely by prisoners, serving up to 1000 meals a day to staff, visitors and commercial customers.

The restaurant is self sustaining and non-profit making. With the commitment of the prison's Governor, Peter Dawson, the restaurant is now open and in full operation, as part of a multi-million pound investment in the improvement of prison facilities. With no additional tax payer investment, nor extra staff costs, the restaurant is a considered and practical move toward a solution to problems faced by lives interrupted.

There are easy jokes about doing porridge, or thyme served, but a prison sentence is no joke. Hard time is hard fact. When a prisoner is released, he faces what seem insurmountable problems, including health, housing, family and employment. The Clink represents a genuine opportunity for change. It offers every inductee the chance to gain catering qualifications, experience within an exciting and operational business, and guidance to a full time job upon release. In turn, this provides ex-offenders with self respect, secure housing and a stable family life. A decent life in a decent society. One High Down inmate spent the last year of his sentence on secondment at an external restaurant. With Chef Crisci’s work with Surrey Job Match, three ex-offenders left HMP High Down to high skill catering positions. The Clink will garner a national reputation for excellence that will increase pathways to employment for hundreds of men, or even more.

'It isn’t enough to tick educational target boxes

Or to treat prisoners like statistics ...'

- Chef Alberto Crisci

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