Posted by KTVU, CA on August 19, 2010 at 10:45:02:
Women's Jail Hosts Cooking Contest With Inmates
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- On Tuesday, cameras were rolling at a cook-off in Redwood City. The competition included celebrity chefs and judges. However, there was a very serious purpose behind it.
The contest that was billed as an Iron Chef competition featured four teams of four. The difference between this kind of cooking competition and the kind of competition one might see on a reality television show was the location and contestants.
The kitchen was inside of San Mateo Country’s Women’s Jail and two of the contestants on each team were either present or former inmates at the facility.
"I have a long history of in and out [of jail],” said former inmate Janelle Delugg. “Repeat offender. Been in prison, you know? Had a lot of problems. Now, I never been better in my life."
Delugg credited the culinary classes she took while incarcerated at the women’s jail to her new direction in life. The program is new joint effort between Menlo Park’s Job Train and the sheriff’s department.
"The best social service program in the world, in my opinion, is a job,” said Job Train director Sharon Williams.
"The recidivism rate is 70%,” explained San Mateo County Sheriff Greg Munks. “Any other business, that'd be considered a failure. We know that 60% of the women in our custody were unemployed at the time of their arrest, so we know that job training is key."
Inmates were paired with celebrity chefs, including San Mateo Co. District Attorney Jim Fox, who helped put some of the contestants in prison.
During the competition Fox jokingly admitted to attempting to unfairly influence the judges with homemade fudge.
The DA backroom bribe didn’t help his team. In the end they came in third place.
First place went to a team led by a sheriff’s captain. Amilia Otis, the inmate on the winning team said she has plenty of practice in the kitchen.
"I have six kids, so I cook a lot," said Otis.
When the competition was over, some of the contestants were free to leave, while others were not. But, as one judge said, when these inmates do leave jail for good, they will all leave as winners.
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