As Conrad Gallagher tucks into his first breakfast at Cloverhill Prison this morning, it may console him to hear that the prison has received both the Q mark and the Excellence Award in hygiene for its catering facilities.
Indeed, after the Donegal-born chef settles into the remand prison in Clondalkin, he may decide to work in the kitchen. About 10 inmates work there and they are also encouraged to take training courses in cookery and hygiene.
The 14-day menu cycle may not be able to accommodate Conrad Gallagher's trademark "towers" of food but after five weeks in the tough Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, he might welcome the chance to get behind a cooker again.
Prisoners may also enjoy the notion that they are being fed by a Michelin-star chef and a former owner of some of Dublin's most prestigious and expensive restaurants.
Asked what was on the menu for the chef's first meal last night, a prison spokesman said it would not be helpful to give specific menu details.
However, he said that all prisoners were offered a nutritionally balanced diet, and ethnic or religious needs were catered for. One quarter of the prisoners are foreign nationals.
The day starts for inmates when their cells are unlocked at 8 a.m. Each cell is shared by two or three remand prisoners.
Breakfast usually consists of cereal and toast, while a typical dinner of beef, chicken, pork or fish is eaten at 12.30 p.m. The evening tea at 4.30 p.m. might be a salad while supper of tea and a bun is given at 7 p.m.
Prisoners are then locked up at about 7.30 p.m. Between meals, prisoners are locked up, unless they are exercising, working or using the learning and development unit. Because it is a remand prison, inmates are allowed daily visits.
Mr Gallagher will be given a few days to settle in before being assessed for work in the prison, a spokesman said.
"I don't know about him working as a chef," one prison worker said yesterday. "We already have one head chef. Putting two in the one kitchen might cause a bit of trouble."
