Dilly Diner of the Week

If you fancy an arresting food experience then maybe this week's Dilly Diner is for you. Diners can eat at the restuarant inside the prison in Sutton, Surrey, for just £6 for a two-course meal. While the food is cooked up from the freshest ingredients, much from the prison’s own garden, and to the highest standards, diners have to make do with plastic cutlery for security reasons.The chefs, waiters and kitchen porters are all inmates - who could be behind bars for murder or grevious bodily harm.

The Clink is the brainchild of Alberto Crisci, a former chef at Mirabelle, a French restaurant in Mayfair, London, which used to be owned by Marco Pierre White.
Crisci, who moved on to become High Down’s catering manager, said the idea was to rehabilitate prisoners and give them the skills to obtain jobs on release. He stressed discipline was tougher than anything seen on a show like Hell’s Kitchen.

“Prisoners only have to step out of line once and they are out. This is a real restaurant. I expect them to do exactly what I ask them to do.”

Wine is served – but strictly controlled for fear it goes missing – while Crisci said prison staff had to be very careful about yeast, as it could be smuggled out into the cells to be used to brew alcohol. Although the food is very cheap there is one small catch for diners, however: they must book well in advance and obtain Home Office approval and security clearance