Former US Convicts Cook Their Way to a New Life

With more incarcerations than nearly anywhere else in the US, crime is a serious problem in Washington DC -- and finding a job after prison is a struggle. DC Central Kitchen is helping some of those ex-offenders by teaching them how to cook, hoping those "knife skills" will turn into "life skills."

Published

11 months ago

Categories

Lifestyle, Finance, US

Topics

Cooking, Finance, United States

Places

United States of America, Washington, D.C.

Transcript

SCRIPT: Six months ago, Evelyn was behind bars, serving a three-year term for stealing to pay for drugs. It was there she heard about DC Central Kitchen – and a way to change her life. SOUNDBITE 1 Evelyn Butler (woman), DC Central Kitchen trainee and former convict (English, 12 sec): "I did so many things and I've messed up so many times... and when he told me that I could come to this program and that's what they were there for, to help me... I knew I had a chance. " Evelyn and two dozen others are apprentice cooks with a mission. For three months, they’re schooled in all things culinary – by professionals like Kendall, who sold her wedding cake business to teach them – and not just about life in the kitchen. SOUNDBITE 2 Kendall Barrett (woman), DC Central Kitchen instructor (English, 11 sec): "It's a whole different world, working here than it is what they've been doing. So we really are teaching them a lot of life skills. The reference is knife skills and life skills" Most of Central Kitchen’s students have done prison time, many are recovering addicts. But they’re a remarkable success story: 90 percent come out with a job offer in hand, and only two percent return to crime. Linwood, who started working at this pizzeria while still a trainee. He’s spent six years in prison but is optimistic about the future: SOUNDBITE 3 Linwood Ashton (man), DC Central Kitchen trainee and former convict (English, 16 sec): "My future is to maybe run one of these places. I feel like now I'm the manager. And I'm washing dishes, doing trash, getting boxes, helping out with food prep when I can but I feel like I'm managing in my own right." Coming up on graduation, Evelyn and the new chefs will have much more than a diploma to show off. ------------------- SHOTLIST: WASHINGTON, MARCH 22, 2013, SOURCE: AFPTV - VAR of Evelyn Butler cooking - shot of Evelyn with instructot Kendall Barrett - WS of the kitchen - CU peppers SOUNDBITE 1 Evelyn Butler - VAR of Evelyn and Kendall in the kitchen SOUNDBITE 2 Kendall Barrett - VAR of trainees cooking WASHINGTON, MARCH 28, 2013, SOURCE: AFPTV - shot of Linwood Ashton in the pizzeria where he currently works - VAR of Linwood in the kitchen - Linwood making the pizza dough SOUNDBITE 3 Linwood Ashton WASHINGTON, MARCH 22, 2013, SOURCE: AFPTV - WS of DC Central Kitchen trainees - shot of a trainee putting the finishing touches on a salad