Prison culinary school dedicated to Matt Haley

Matt Haley believed the restaurant industry could be a path to redemption for people who were coming out of prison.

After all, the beloved Delaware restaurateur and James Beard Award-winner used his love for cooking to go from addict and inmate to restaurant mogul and humanitarian.

Haley was a strong supporter of programs that help those in prison learn job skills. He was working to create culinary schools in state prisons right up until his 2014 death in a motorcycle accident during a humanitarian trip to Nepal.

Gov. Jack Markell said Tuesday that Delaware would continue that campaign in the Matt Haley Culinary Arts Training Center at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center near Smyrna.

STORY: Friends, family remember Matt Haley

Culinary program offers inmates a chance

"Matt's legacy is already secure," Markell said, standing between large pictures of a smiling Haley. "But this will memorialize him for literally generations to come."

The program at Vaughn, the state's largest prison, will be similar to the one already in place at Baylor Women's Correctional Institution. An unused cafeteria will be converted into a full-scale commercial kitchen and a classroom, which will give instructor Anthony Stella all the tools he needs to equip inmates to pass the certifications that can get them good jobs in the culinary field.

"I'm so excited about this kitchen because it will allow me to help mold them into productive citizens," Stella said.

Teachers must get correctional officers' training

The blossoming of culinary programs in Delaware's prisons are part of a larger effort to reduce the recidivism rate and prevent people from continually cycling in and out of prison.

Markell pointed out that cycle doesn't just ruin lives, it costs state taxpayers some $280 million a year.

"We've got to be a whole lot better at making sure when people get out, they stay out," Markell said.

One of the best ways to end the cycle, he argued, is to help inmates get marketable skills that will help them get a job when they get out.

In recent years Delaware has also made it easier for ex-offenders to get their drivers' licenses back and banned public employers from requiring that job applicants disclose convictions.

Tuesday's unveiling ceremony was attended by several of Haley's family members and closest friends, including his mother.

Steve Himmelfarb, a friend and executor of Haley's will, said Haley thrived in Delaware because the state was uniquely welcoming to him despite his criminal record.

"Today Delaware reaffirms its belief in second chances," Himmelfarb said.

Contact Matthew Albright at malbright@delawareonline.com, (302) 324-2428 or on Twitter @TNJ_malbright.