Founder Alberto Crisci tells Victoria Stewart why he decided to set up a dining experience staffed by prisoners working towards cheffing qualifications 

When he was younger Alberto Crisci was once invited for tea at someone’s house and was nearly sick when offered bread smothered with sandwich spread.

“I never admitted that to the host of course. A sandwich for me was Mortadella, thick mozzarella, sliced tomato, fresh ciabatta, you know. And right at that moment I really appreciated what my mum did.”

Crisci, founder of a charity called The Clink, was born in Britain to Italian parents, and grew up with an understanding that “all food was seasonal. When we went back to Italy, the kids and I would play football and they’d take me into the fields because they knew there was a tree with ripe figs on it. So we’d climb up and eat them and then we’d go to another one and there’d be tomatoes. And their enthusiasm rubbed off on me, and I appreciated it, because I used to go for a month at a time and it was always in August where there was loads of produce.”

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Full article originally appeared in Evening Standard, July 2016