We’re Hiring: The Cookout at HMP Isis
Food Behind Bars is looking for two passionate food professionals to join us at The Cookout, an exciting community café and training kitchen based inside HMP/YOI Isis in southeast London.
The Cookout is a unique initiative that combines hospitality training, community food provision and social impact. The café operates as the prison’s staff restaurant and is run by young people in custody who are learning practical kitchen and front-of-house skills. Alongside serving staff, The Cookout produces nutritious meals for community organisations across Greenwich, which are distributed to people who need them most.
Learners gain hands-on experience preparing fresh, nutritious food while developing confidence, teamwork and employability skills that can support them when they leave prison. The Cookout already produces 250–300 meals each month for community projects, including groups supporting refugees, older people and families in need.
Food Behind Bars will be relaunching and expanding The Cookout in 2026, managing the café day-to-day and developing it into a flagship training space within the prison. As well as serving staff and community meals, we plan to expand the operation to supply fresh food to the visits centre and other areas of the prison. Our goal is to create a vibrant community café and training hub, where learners can develop their own ideas, experiment with food and build the skills needed to pursue careers in hospitality after release.
To make this happen, we are recruiting for two key roles:
Café Manager
The Café Manager will lead the day-to-day running of The Cookout, overseeing kitchen operations, menu development and service while delivering hands-on training to the learners working in the café. This role will shape the programme and play a key part in developing The Cookout as a flagship Food Behind Bars project.
Café Assistant Manager
The Café Assistant Manager will support the smooth operation of the café and help deliver the training programme alongside the Café Manager. This is a hands-on role working in both the kitchen and front of house, mentoring learners and helping ensure the café runs efficiently each day.
Together, these roles will help create a supportive and inspiring environment where learners can develop real hospitality skills, gain confidence and contribute to their community through food.
To learn more about each role, including responsibilities and requirements, as well as how to apply please download the full job descriptions below. Please submit your application to judy@foodbehindbars.co.uk by midnight on Friday 27th March.