Following the example of Gordon Ramsey's "Bad Boy's Bakery" in the UK, the "Zonzon" project takes the patisserie world into prisons. Combining reinsertion and pleasure for taste buds, the small cake factory has the specificity of taking place behind bars.
Set up by the French communication agency "évoo", the system offers prisoners the chance to train in patisserie occupations, while serving their time. On a volunteer basis, it lets prisoners learn a trade and obtain a pastry cook diploma. People selected are those whose sentences are not too long and "who will one day go back to society", says the Zonzon website. More than the commercial sphere, it is life after prison that is at the heart of the project's issues and the reason that each participant receives a minimum wage paid at the end of his detention.
Trained and managed, the team will be responsible for the entire biscuit production process (purchasing, packaging, production by hand...). The simple, cardboard packaging is produced ecologically, doesn't require glue and is hand-folded. Its design will be the opportunity to conclude private partnerships with artists (graphic designers, illustrators, artists...).
Currently, the project is being negotiated with private and public partners for implementation, development and equipment purchase. The distribution circuits have not yet been defined, but the hand-made biscuits should be found on the shelves of certain grocery stores and tea shops in Paris.
Created in 2012 by the chef Gordon Ramsey, the Bad Boy's Bakery has been an example for the "Zonzon" project. To start with, it was supposed to be a temporary project for the series "Gordon behind Bars", on Channel 4. But during filming, the head cook managed to enter a distribution partnership with the Caffé Nero chain. Given the dynamics developed and the implication of the prisoners, the Working Links association took over to ensure the sustainability of this small company. Supported by the European Social Fund, and the UK Justice Ministry (National Offender Management Service), it is now in place and delivers to other sales points in London. These can be found on the store site.
In parallel with the work by prison volunteers, a mechanism also lets them become more confident and show their efforts to their friends and family. Thus, the family circle of the employee of the month receives a gift basket from the private partners of the Bad Boy's Bakery. Since its creation, this unusual patisserie has already seen results. Some participants, now out of prison, talk about their experience, from behind bars to civil life on the store's website. In the video below, Abigail Conway-Todd, at Working Links, notes that "we have a reconviction rate of only 3%".
*Photos from the Zonzon website: http://www.zonzon.fr/
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