Welcome to Jail / Benvenuti in galera + Q&A
Mealtimes are an essential part of Italian culture. They are the ultimate place and time of bonding, of sharing stories. Over a delicious meal, families gather, or strangers become family.
Filmed over three years, Welcome to Jail (Benvenuti In Galera) tells the story of the world's first restaurant opened inside a penal institution. Located at the Milan Bollate Prison, In Galera is a concrete example of social reintegration for inmates. What makes it unique is not only the high-quality dining experience it offers, but above all the stories and perspectives that intersect here.
For some inmates, working in the kitchen or the dining room is a chance to prove their ability to keep up with professional standards in the industry and demonstrate their ability to work as part of a team. And it is also a way for the outside community to get in touch with prison reality in a new and different way.
Join food writer and journalist Joe McNamee along with the people behind Cork’s own prison restaurant project: The Open Door, for a fascinating discussion on rehabilitation through upskilling in the culinary arts. The panel will include: Liam Spacey, Governor Cork Prison; Karen C. Whelan, Chief Officer Work Training, Cork Prison; JJ Healy, Culinary Lecturer MTU & The Open Door Project Coordinator, and William O’Brien, Chef de Partie, Rose Hotel, Tralee.