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

8 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