Third prison restaurant for Fred Sirieix’s charity
A charity established by Fred Sirieix, the French maître d’hôtel who hosts Channel 4 show First Dates, is to open its third restaurant for prison staff.
Right Course will launch its latest outlet at Berwyn, employing prisoners who will learn the skills of working in a kitchen or being a waiter. They can earn City and Guilds qualifications to prepare them for careers in catering on release.
The charity opened its first outlet five years ago at HMP Isis, and expanded to Wormwood Scrubs last year. In an interview with Inside Time last year, Sirieix said that post-Covid, post-Brexit labour shortages made this a good time for people to find work. He said: “If anyone wants a job and has qualifications, they’re going to find a job because people are looking for chefs, front of house, concierges, receptionists, porters – it’s crazy the amount of vacancies there are.”
Revealing his expansion plans, he added: “With two restaurants in two prisons we can make a small difference – but to make a difference across the country to the reoffending rate and the staff shortage in hospitality, if we had 30, 40, 50 restaurants …”
As well as offering a training opportunity for prisoners, the staff canteens are intended to provide a pleasant atmosphere for staff to enjoy during their meal breaks.
Sirieix has lived most of his adult life in London, bringing up his family in the city. In 2006 he started his first charity to help disadvantaged young people to find jobs in the hospitality industry after experiencing crime in his local neighbourhood. He told Inside Time: “I thought to myself – if you want to change the world and do something about it, for the place you live in, for your children, it’s up to you do something.”
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