Fine dining replaces jailhouse gelatin as Rimutaka Prison prepares annual festival meal

This is the third time Rimutaka Prison's taken part in the food on a plate festival, and top Wellington chef Martin Bosley's been there since day one. Photo / NZME

The typical meal of mince and peas was out the window today in the Rimutaka Prison kitchen as fine dining replaced jailhouse gelatin.

Inmates from the Wellington prison's kitchen are putting together their annual "gate to plate" meal as part of the city's food on a plate festival.

Today was their trial run, with canapes, a duck entree and venison for the main, all washed down with panna cotta for dessert.

Some of the inmates, whom NZME News Service cannot identify, are prison-kitchen veterans and are gaining qualifications that will come in handy on the outside.
One of them, Sean, has been in the kitchen for three years.

He wants to use his knowledge of nutrition to advise of healthy eating options when he works in the wellbeing and personal training sector.

That's in the future - for now Sean's keen to make the most of his gig in the kitchen.

"I've worked since I was 12 years' old. In here, same as out there, if you work and you're busy, you're doing positive things, not stagnating in the unit and getting into trouble.

"I've got a big dream. My dream is to help people and I want to make a difference in the world. I've made some mistakes, that's why I'm in here. I own what I've done and I'm taking responsibility for it."

Sean's the second cook for the jail, so is in the kitchen seven days a week, from 8am to 4pm, preparing the usual array of mince, chicken and vegetables, all cooked in the huge industrial ovens.

Tonight, the 870 prisoners will dine on battered fish, mashed potato, peas and coleslaw, all within the daily budget of $5.30 a man.

One inmate, whose cannot be named as it may identify him, said his kitchen skills would add to his chances of getting a job on the outside. He'd rather take one in the construction industry but "beggars can't be choosers".

Another inmate said he was lapping up the knowledge of the top chiefs who were helping the prisoners and he'd even got some ideas for when he resumes work at a restaurant when he's released.

One dish he'll definitely be nicking is a blue cod with coconut milk and lemon juice.
This is the third time the prison's taken part in the food on a plate festival, and top Wellington chef Martin Bosley's been there since day one.

Apart from the busy summer period, he visits the prison every week and has even hired a couple of former inmates at his restaurant.

Mr Bosley said he wasn't keen to be involved at first, but soon changed his mind and described the experience as the "most rewarding thing" he'd ever done.

He'd helped transform a group of initially disinterested men into the skilled foodies of today. Mr Bosley said the men would often spend time sketching their presentation and menu ideas in their cells before brining them back to the kitchen.

"It's fundamentally changed me as a person. It's caused me to confront a lot of philosophies and views," Mr Bosley said of his time in the jail.

"I realised it's not necessarily full of bad men. It's full of men who have done bad things and there's actually some good men in here."