Bradford-founded restaurant group MyLahore visited the prison this week, with one of its chefs delivering a practical hospitality workshop for people preparing to eventually return to their communities.
The session took participants through the process of preparing Chicken Jalfrezi from scratch, while introducing techniques and everyday skills used inside a professional kitchen.
But MyLahore director Ishfaq Farooq says the initiative is about considerably more than learning how to cook one dish.
For the business, it forms part of a longer-term commitment to working with prisons and employment teams to help people develop practical skills and understand the opportunities available within the hospitality industry.
And at the heart of that work is a belief that people who genuinely want to change their lives after prison should be given the opportunity to do so.
“We strongly believe in second chances,” Farooq said.
“There are people preparing to return to our communities who genuinely want to change direction, work hard and build a different future.
“For some, discovering a passion for cooking or hospitality can be the first step towards that.”
Finding employment can be one of the biggest challenges facing people after leaving prison.
A criminal conviction can create another barrier to securing work at precisely the point when someone is attempting to rebuild their life and establish stability.
Farooq believes hospitality can provide one potential route forward because it is an industry where practical ability, attitude and willingness to learn can provide opportunities even for those without extensive qualifications or previous experience.
“Hospitality is an industry built around people,” he said.
“You can start with very little experience, learn practical skills, build confidence and, with the right attitude and opportunities, develop a genuine career.”
That was the thinking behind taking a professional chef into HMP Leeds.
Rather than simply speaking to prisoners about possible careers, the workshop gave participants an opportunity to experience some of the skills involved.
MyLahore and Wunder Crumble by MyLahore have previously worked with different prisons and employment teams, sharing industry knowledge and practical experience.
Farooq said the latest session was therefore not intended as a one-off visit.
The initiative also raises a wider question about the role employers can play when prisoners return to the communities in which businesses themselves operate.
For rehabilitation to succeed, Farooq argues, people need more than encouragement to make different choices. They also need opportunities to put those choices into practice.
That can mean businesses being prepared to give their time and expertise, as well as helping people understand how they could enter an industry.
“That’s why we believe businesses have an important role to play,” Farooq said.
“It’s not simply about talking about social responsibility, it’s about getting involved, giving our time, sharing our expertise and, where possible, creating real routes into employment.”
For a restaurant business, sharing those skills can begin with something as familiar as chopping ingredients, understanding flavours and learning how a busy professional kitchen operates.
But those practical lessons can also help develop confidence, teamwork, discipline and other skills needed in the workplace.
Farooq thanked HMP Leeds for facilitating the session and for its work preparing people for employment and life beyond prison.
For MyLahore, he said, the work would continue as part of its wider involvement in the communities it serves.
“For us, this is part of a much wider and ongoing commitment to supporting our communities and giving people who genuinely want to move forward the opportunity to do so.”
For those taking part at HMP Leeds, the Jalfrezi workshop may have been only one session in a prison kitchen.
But for someone looking towards life after release, discovering a skill, an industry they enjoy or simply an employer prepared to believe in second chances could be the beginning of something much bigger.
