In an 1895 drawing of the Prison de la Santé (Paris) appear the words “Celui qui ne veut pas travailler ne doit pas non plus manger”—part of a protestant temple was being used as the prison’s tribunal. Beyond 2 Thessalonians 3:10 (“For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: ‘The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat,’ ” New International Version Bible), the scripture “tu gagneras ton pain à la sueur de ton front” (Genèse 3:19, Bible en français courant) had gained much ground among the general population in protestant and catholic countries after the Reformation. The punitive aspect of this scripture, however, was highlighted in a 1617 letter of advice to the bishop of Paris which suggested that work should be an antidote to the “laziness” of prisoners (click here to read the letter). The complexity of why someone ends up incarcerated is not helped by unfair notions of laziness. Instead of being potentially threatened with the withholding of food, inmates can be inspired and challenged with a more constructive approach to food: culinary programs in prisons, for example. In 2017, Michelin-starred chef Fabrice Moya of France went to Tzalmon Prison in Israel to teach inmates how to make two dishes: gourmet chicken with roasted vegetables and beef filet au jus. In 2011, after having worked in French restaurants in Paris (Lucas Carton) and New York (Le Cirque, Chanterelle), American chef Brandon Edwin Chrostowski created a program which began offering culinary classes at the Grafton Correctional Institution in Ohio, and in 2013 he opened a restaurant for French fine dining staffed by formerly incarcerated individuals in Cleveland. The EDWINS Leadership and Restaurant Institute is still running today.
F. Séguin. [Les prisons de Paris] Prison de la Santé ; Le temple protestant commun servant de prétoire. 1895. Musée Carnavalet, Paris. Paris Musées, → https://www.parismuseescollections.paris.fr/fr/musee-carnavalet/oeuvres/les-prisons-de-paris-prison-de-la-sante-le-temple-protestant-commun-servant#infos-secondaires-detail
Page 245. Archives curieuses de l’histoire de France depuis Louis XI jusqu’à Louis XVIII. Eds. M. L. Cimber and F. Danjou. 1ère Série, Tome 15. Paris: Beauvais, 1837. → https://www.google.com/books/edition/Archives_curieuses_de_l_histoire_de_Fran/8TzyzpMUlfQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA245&printsec=frontcover
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References & Suggested Reading
Burnet, Régis. Celui qui ne travaille pas ne mange pas : Vingt siècles de répression des pauvres. France, Editions du Cerf, 2015.
Edwins. EDWINS Leadership and Restaurant Institute, https://edwinsrestaurant.org/about-us/brandon-edwin-chrostowski/.
“Israel: French chef gives prisoners crash course in cooking.” YouTube, uploaded by i24NEWS English, 25 April 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw-AyjNZZLw.
Lafaist, Louis. Archives curieuses de l’histoire de France depuis Louis XI jusqu’à Louis XVIII. Eds. M. L. Cimber and F. Danjou. 1ère Série, Tome 15. Paris: Beauvais, 1837.
Séguin, F. [Les prisons de Paris] Prison de la Santé ; Le temple protestant commun servant de prétoire. 1895. Musée Carnavalet, Paris. Paris Musées, https://www.parismuseescollections.paris.fr/fr/musee-carnavalet/oeuvres/les-prisons-de-paris-prison-de-la-sante-le-temple-protestant-commun-servant#infos-secondaires-detail.
Snook, Debbi. “Edwins’ Cleveland team takes on New York City, Oscars, tonight’s dinner.” Cleveland.com, 24 January 2018, https://www.cleveland.com/cooking/2018/01/edwins_cleveland_team_takes_on.html.
Spierenburg, Pieter. The Prison Experience: Disciplinary Institutions and Their Inmates in Early Modern Europe. Netherlands, Amsterdam UP, 2007.
Stern, Gary. “Here’s How This Former Le Cirque Chef Is Transforming the Lives of Ex-Prisoner’s.” Forbes, 22 February 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/garystern/2022/02/22/edwins-leadership–restaurant-institute-combining-french-cuisine-with-a-mission/?sh=5a5ecaab4915.
“Watch Knife Skills: An Oscar-Nominated Film about French Food, Ex-Inmates & Second Chances.” Center of the Plate, D’Artagnan Blog, 1 March 2018, https://center-of-the-plate.com/2018/03/01/watch-knife-skills-an-oscar-nominated-film-about-french-food-ex-inmates-second-chances/.
