Reinventing yourself as pastry chefs, bakers and wine producers. There are many, in Italy, i projects for training and reintegration in the society of people who have served or are serving a prison sentence. And, in this context, the project "Ideas on the run”: a social cooperative born in 2020 in “Cantiello e Gaeta” prison in Alessandria with the aim of creating jobs for detainees, inside and outside the walls. A project that has also raised public awareness Sonia Peronaci. The famous food blogger, creator in 2006 of the cooking portal "Giallo Zafferano" and now mother of the site "soniaperonaci.it" and of the Sonia Factory editorial team as well as presenter of the program "La cucina di Sonia" on La7d, paid a visit in September , at the social cooperative Idee in Fuga. A meeting that allowed the inmates of the Penitentiary Institute to learn some secrets of her cooking.
Escape of Flavors
Escape of Flavors it is the brand that identifies the first Bottega Solidale in an Italian prison and a line of food products (beers, preserves, digestives, snacks, sweets and jams) resulting from the work of prisoners within the walls of the prison. The mission of Fuga di Sapori, and more generally Idee in Fuga, is to motivate and educate prisoners, increasing the guarantee that once they have served their sentence, they do not find themselves committing crimes because they are without a job. Reason why he opened the new artisanal pastry shop, Escape of Sapori Bakery: simple recipes based on few ingredients. Again with the same aim, given the success, the cooperative has opened another shop in the center of Alessandria: this ensures continuity between "inside and outside" for those who decide to work for the cooperative even after leaving prison.
Sonia Peronaci for Ideas on the Run
Sonia dedicated an entire day to the inmates who work in the new artisan pastry workshop inside the prison. She taught how to make Neapolitan pastiera and different types of biscuits already on sale in the Solidarity Shop and on the Fuga di Sapori website. “It was an exciting experience that touched me deeply – says Sonia Peronaci – and allowed me to get to know a reality in its different facets. I was very pleased to be able to discuss and give advice, thanks to my experience, and that cooking was a moment of union and sharing.”
“For our cooperative, meeting special people like Sonia is a source of great joy and motivation: being able to count on her collaboration means a lot and allows us to give even more dignity and value to the food activities we carry out with prisoners. His kindness and availability warmed our hearts, and we are certain that from this meeting excellent products will be born which we hope will conquer the palates of many people", he said Carmine Falanga, president of the cooperative.
