Wagamama pledges to run six prison classes every year
Since the launch of the scheme, Wagamama has been able to offer full time employment to 15 individuals, one of whom has taken on an apprenticeship after their first month
Wagamama has pledged to run six prison masterclasses each year, in both female and male prisons to support as many people as possible into employment upon release, following a team of Wagamama chefs’ successful visit to HMP Hatfield last year.
In partnership with the Ministry of Justice, a team of chefs from the chain of restaurants recently visited HMP Swansea to conduct cooking classes, where they trained 15 convicts to cook some of Wagamama’s classic dishes.
Since the launch of the scheme, Wagamama has been able to offer full time employment to 15 individuals, one of whom has taken on an apprenticeship after their first month. All of those hired had faced homelessness and unemployment upon release.
Last week, headed by food development chef Jamie Henderson and the area chef for Wales Henry Staple, fed hundreds of convicts with food that was prepared by their peers at local B-category HMP Swansea.
The Wagamama chefs were joined by the 15 inmates who were interested in a job in hospitality upon release and took over the prison kitchen for the day.
Together, they created about 450 portions of mouth-watering Wagamama dishes including chicken katsu curry, yasai katsu and bang bang cauliflower. All of these dishes were made completely from scratch with fresh produce enabling the men to learn new skills and experience the Wagamama “working ways”, getting a true flavour for what working in its kitchens is like.
A Wagamama spokesperson said: “Over the last 12 months, Wagamama has visited multiple prisons across the UK where we engage with men and women who are close to release. We talk about Wagamama, who we are, what we stand for and the job opportunities we have to offer, alongside our apprenticeship opportunities to build on any kitchen based education they have received from the prison.
“The session at HMP Swansea was an open invitation to all men in the prison and proved highly successful and a blueprint for further work in this space.”
Duncan O’Leary, chief executive of New Futures Network, said: “Getting prisoners into work is the best way to cut reoffending and keep the public safe. That’s why some of the nation’s best-loved restaurant and pub chains are teaming up with prisons to give prisoners the skills they need to secure a job on release – all while helping hospitality firms train the workforce they need to grow and thrive.”
