Cooking in prison – from crook to cook

• Date: 09 December 2014
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPH-09-2013-0044
• Pages: 228-238
• Published date: 09 December 2014
• Author: Linda Kjaer Minke
• Subject Matter: Health & social care,Criminology & forensic psychology,Prisoner health

Cooking in prison – from crook to cook

Linda Kjaer Minke

Linda Kjaer Minke is an

Associate Professor, based at

Department of Law, University

of Southern Denmark, Odense,

Denmark.

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyse the principle and practice of self-catering

system in a Danish prison. Self-catering is a reflection of the Danish correctional principle of normalisation

between prison and community life. Unlike some other jurisdiction, issues of control in meal preparation are

subordinate to prisoners’ right to choose and prepare their own food.

Design/methodology/approach – Findings are derived from 13 months of ethnographic fieldwork in

a Danish maximum security prison for men, including in-depth interviews with 68 prisoners.

Findings – Overall findings showed that thinking about meals and their preparation is time consuming for

prisoners who tend to be positive about the system making connections with their ability to exercise

responsibility for making healthily choices. The research concludes that prisoners’ possibility for developing

cooking competences during incarceration could support prisoners change in social identity from crook

to cook.

Originality/value – Food is a fundamental need and the ability to choose what to eat and to prepare one’s

own food should be a right for all people, including prisoners. This research shows that Danish prisoners

are very pleased about the system of self-catering. Most prisoners are concerned about preparing their

own meals according to their taste and cultural diversity. If the prison offers the opportunity to train as

a chef during imprisonment it could support the prisoner’s change in social identity from crook to cook

on the outside.

Keywords Prisoners, Prison, Qualitative research, Rehabilitation, Food, Self-catering

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

Food is a critical part of human experience that cannot be underestimated (Foster, 2006).

Food is used by all human beings to nurture and understand body, identity, and relationships

and prisoners are no exception (Roos et al., 2008; Kruttschnitt and Dirkzwager, 2011).

Prison administrators recognise that quality of prison food can have implications for prison order

and safety: “Food (y) is one of the four things you must get right if you like having a roof on your

prison” (Prison Governor, UK National Audit Office, 2006, p. 1). Quality of food is perceived to be

as important to prisoners as the opportunity to receive visits and letters and have access to hot

water. While the roots of prison riots are complex and diverse, complaints about food quality

and shortages may spark off disturbances (Useem, 1985).

In his famous study, Sykes recognised the poor quality and lack of variety in prison food (Sykes,

1958), which may be understood as one of the pains of imprisonment. Other researchers

have been concerned with the extent to which prison diets meets basic nutritional needs

or if prison meals meet the dietary requirements of prisoners who, for religious reasons,

abstain from certain food (e.g. Lester et al., 2003; Liu, 2003-2004; Frechea, 2005; Lines, 2008;

Edwards et al., 2009).

There has been some work done on the range of meaning attached to food in prison, from

nutritional questions mentioned above through the construction of relationships and identity.

For example, Bosworth’s (1999) qualitative study in three English women’s prisons, explored

prisoner resistance to authority by focusing on the relationship between food, power, and

The author would like to thank the

anonymous reviewers for their

valuable comments and

suggestions to improve the quality

of the paper. The author is also

grateful to Amy Smoyer (US) and

Mary Munro (UK) for their work on

improving the paper. Finally the

author is grateful to the Danish

researcher Lars Moeller, who

introduced the author to this

journal.

PAGE 228

j

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRISONER HEALTH

j

VOL. 10 NO. 4 2014, pp. 228-238, CEmerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1744-9200 DOI 10.1108/IJPH-09-2013-0044