The kitchens of HMP Perth are alive with the clatter of pots and the low murmur of focus as inmates complete their morning work. Among them is Andy, a Liverpool man serving more than five and a half years for a crime committed in Scotland. Today, like many days recently, he’s sharpening more than just knives — he’s sharpening his chances of a better future.
Cooking Up a Second Chance
Andy is one of a small group of prisoners enrolled in a ten-week training programme led by hospitality giant Greene King. The course, held inside the prison kitchen, teaches professional culinary skills, provides real-world certifications, and crucially, builds a bridge to employment after release.
“I just love being in the kitchen. I feel a passion when I’m in the kitchen,” Andy told Scotland Tonight. “The training that you get, they’re always on your shoulder whispering things into your ear instead of calling you up, which has been good.”
Andy’s passion isn’t new — before his incarceration, he owned and ran his own café. But rebuilding a life after prison isn’t straightforward. Without opportunities, the risk of falling back into old patterns looms large.
“If you work hard in prison, you think ‘I’m going home, I’m going to get a job doing what I want to do’ and then, bang, there’s no job,” Andy said.
“That could possibly take someone back to prison.”
Greene King’s Ambitious Target
Greene King’s efforts at HMP Perth are part of a wider push to reduce reoffending by offering prisoners tangible prospects.
John Tracey, a representative from Greene King, explained:
“We’ve got 160 people already employed with Greene King through custody and full-time employment, and the aim is that will increase to 400 by the end of 2025.
It’s an achievable target with all these programmes that are up and running.”
Their model focuses on providing prisoners not just skills, but real job opportunities — giving them a legitimate way forward, not just a dream.
Tackling Scotland’s Reoffending Crisis
The importance of such initiatives is underscored by worrying national trends.
Official figures show that 26.9% of prisoners who have served custodial sentences in Scotland reoffend within a year of release.
The consequences of reoffending ripple through families, communities, and the economy. It is one of the toughest challenges facing Scotland’s prison service today.
Tom Martin, Head of Offender Outcomes at HMP Perth, said the prison is changing how it prepares inmates for life after release.
“For the first time, the prison is working with local services to make the transition back into the community easier,” he said.
“If you look at the prison population, the demographic is quite high between the ages of 30-49. Generally, these are people whose employment has broken down, family support networks have fractured, and they may have turned to offending to survive.”
By building ties to employers and local services before release, HMP Perth hopes to break this cycle — offering inmates a structured pathway back into society.
Beyond the Kitchen
It isn’t just about cooking. Other projects inside the prison focus on construction, painting, and maintenance — all designed to offer inmates multiple routes to stable work outside.
But for Andy, the kitchen feels like home.
He dreams of opening another café one day — this time armed with more than just a love for food, but with the backing of real skills, a recognised qualification, and a job offer ready when he walks out the gates.
“It gives you hope,” he said simply, as he returned to stirring a giant pot of soup.
