Discussion on Cork Prison’s ‘Open Door’ pop-up restaurant to take place as part of film festival
Dr Noel Murray, head of the Department of Tourism and Hospitality at MTU, JJ Healy, lecturer in the Department of Tourism and Hospitality at MTU and President of MTU Prof Maggie Cusack at the Open Door event in Cork Prison in May 2022. Photo: Darragh Kane
A panel discussion focusing on Cork Prison’s ‘Open Door’ pop-up restaurant will follow the Irish premiere of a film which explores the prison restaurant in Milan’s Bollate Prison, during the ongoing Cork International Film Festival.
In the Italian jail, inmates are provided with professional culinary training and high quality dining, described as a transformative experience, and this is similar to what is happening in Cork Prison through the Open Door project.
Munster Technological University (MTU) culinary lecturer JJ Healy will be one of the key figures at the panel discussion in the Triskel Arts Centre on tomorrow evening.
Mr Healy, whose career spans culinary education and hands on prison rehabilitation work, will be joined by a panel including Liam Spacey, the governor of Cork Prison, Karen C Whelan, the chief officer work training in the prison and Odran Lucey, the executive head chef at Tralee’s Rose Hotel.
“The Open Door demonstrates how culinary skills can provide prisoners with a genuine pathway to rehabilitation, instilling a sense of pride, confidence, and a tangible set of skills that can directly impact their lives post-incarceration,” said Mr Healy in advance of tomorrow night’s event.
The Open Door project is a collaboration between the Irish Prison Service, MTU’s Department of Tourism and Hospitality and the Irish Association for Social Inclusion Opportunities.
Each year, six inmates undergo a practical, eight-week culinary skills programme, culminating in a pop-up restaurant run entirely by the inmates, with MTU hospitality management students taking on roles as front-of-house staff.
The event offers guests—a mix of potential employers from the hospitality industry—an opportunity to experience the talents of the inmates while offering a platform for future employment.
The next Open Door pop up event will be in March 2025.
Tomorrow night's event gets underway at 7.45pm in the Triskel. To book tickets visit corkfilmfest.org or download the myCIFF app.
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