Todiwala, who has been chef ambassador for the charity-run restaurant since its opening, has been training the prisoners in preparing Indian dishes using traditional spices, ingredients and techniques and has created a celebratory four-course menu exclusively to mark the special occasion.
Open to the general public, guests will be greeted with a non-alcoholic fruit cocktail before enjoying an menu that will feature authentic flavours from an assortment of Bombay street food, Goan and North Indian inspired dishes.
Crucial to the continued growth and success of the prisoner training initiative, an auction and raffle will take place over the course of the evening raising vital funds for The Clink Charity with all money raised from the sale of tickets also going directly to the development of future Clink projects and the mentoring scheme.
In line with the charity’s commitment to sustainability, that has gained all three Clink Restaurants a three star rating from the Sustainable Restaurant Association, all the vegetables and eggs will come from The Clink Gardens at HMP Send where women prisoners train in horticulture.
As chef proprietor of Café Spice Namasté, and a recognised television chef who regularly appears on BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen, Cyrus is well-known for raising the bar in the UK’s Indian and pan-Asian food scene. As a Clink Restaurant chef ambassador Cyrus also helps to promote the work of the charity and sources employment opportunities for Clink graduates.
The exclusive dinner provides a unique opportunity for people to enjoy an array of aromatic, Indian cuisines in a unique setting whilst supporting the ongoing work of The Clink Charity and broadening the hospitality experience on offer to the trainees.
The Clink Charity’s restaurants use the Five Step Programme, developed by the charity, where prisoners with between six and 18 months left of their sentence are selected, following in-depth testing to assess their suitability to the scheme. On completion of their training, mentors work with the prisoners to find employment opportunities with the UK and upon prisoners’ release, mentors meet them at the gate and support them through the employment process.
Once a job has been secured, the mentor will visit the graduate at their place of work on a weekly basis for a minimum of six months to ensure their continued commitment to their own rehabilitation.