The Clink Restaurant run by inmates at HMP Cardiff has announced its closure. The charity behind the fine-dining venue based at the prison said the restaurant will shuts its doors after more than 10 years of teaching prisoners skills in both kitchen and front of house roles.
It is understood the lease for The Clink Restaurant Cardiff cannot be renewed. The Clink Charity said it will continue to maintain its presence in Wales through supporting graduates of the Clink Restaurant into employment and through its Clink Kitchen scheme which trains prisoners in prison kitchens to become qualified to work in hospitality after release. You can read about what happened when we spent the day behind the scenes talking to inmates at The Clink here.
In May 2022, it was announced that the number of Clink Kitchens across the prison estate had quadrupled since September 2021. Supported by probation services, the Clink Kitchen scheme will expand into even more prisons over the next year including HMP Cardiff and HMP Swansea, the charity said.
Currently, there are 30 Clink Kitchens across the prison estate as of this month. The programme continues to expand with the next 20 due to open in the next six months.
Yvonne Thomas, chief executive of The Clink Charity said: “It’s a sad day for us – Wales is such an important part of The Clink. Over the last 10 years, we have trained more than 400 serving prisoners and people on probation, helped them to get and keep jobs, and to stop people offending.
“We would like to thank our customers and patrons in Wales for their wonderful support over the last 10 years. We look forward to continuing our work in Wales training people who have offended in partnership with Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service.”
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