Mates Inn is full-service restaurant where inmates learn the culinary arts.
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It's late morning and the staff at Mates Inn is preparing for the lunchtime crowd.
The crew has been cooking since 8 a.m. and evidence of their work fills the kitchen. The aroma of rotisserie chicken mixes with barbecued short ribs and fresh-baked bread.
In addition to serving gourmet meals, most of the staff is also serving time.
Mates Inn is located in a nearly 90-year-old, red brick building on the grounds of the New Jersey Department of Corrections' central office campus on Stuyvesant Avenue in Trenton. This restaurant serves as a fully-functioning business and a classroom for inmates learning the culinary arts.
You won't see a giant sign advertising this eatery, but it's open to the public for lunch Monday through Friday, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Inmates do it all
Between eight and 10 inmates travel from Garden State Youth Correctional Facility, which generally houses inmates in the 18-30 range, to work at Mates as part of the prison's vocational training program. Two chefs oversee their students as they handle all aspects of restaurant operations, including developing menus, preparing meals, baking and serving customers.
These are all minimum security inmates within 24 months of release.
"We're just basically training the guys to be able to get a job when they get out," explained Mark Yaros, supervisor of education with the Department of Corrections. "They do it all with the direction of the two chefs. Everybody gets a turn at pretty much everything."
Jahborn Garrett works in the kitchen doing food prep. (Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media)
Doing everything includes using knives in food preparation.
Officials take precautions to prevent any security issues, but note that these inmates have been screened and understand the importance of following the rules.
"At the beginning of the day, everything is counted and at the end of the day everything is counted," Yaros said. "Most of these guys are on their way out the door. They've got everything to lose, nothing to gain by doing anything."
No one recalls who cooked up the name Mates Inn -- a play on the term "inmates" -- but it's been around for more than 30 years, providing lunch at reasonable prices for both state employees and anyone else hungry for a good meal.
How reasonable are those prices? Entrees range from $6.75 to $9.50.
Mates is popular with state employees and locals in the Trenton area, including seniors. The restaurant also hosts banquets and even cooks for a Mercer County-based program that feeds the homeless.
The culinary program is popular with inmates for a few reasons, Yaros says. They receive training in a field which hires ex-offenders and has a high demand for talent. "It's also a job that if you get it you never go hungry," he adds.
On top of that, this gig is the best-paying one for inmates, who earn 7 dollars a day for their work at Mates.
Dora Dunn, a culinary arts teacher at Mates Inn. (Michael Mancuso photo)
Leading the students are chef instructors Dora Dunn and Stephen Villari, and as 11 a.m. approaches, both are focused on the mission.
Villari teaches Jahborn Garrett how to prepare slow-roasted rotisserie chicken, guiding him through seasoning the meat and preparing vegetables.
"I go home next month and I think I want to go home and be a chef," Garrett says as he applies olive oil to the hearty chunks of poultry.
Before these trainees set foot in the kitchen, they earn their ServSafe certifications, learning the essentials of food preparation, storage and safety. ServSafe is a training and certification program administered by the National Restaurant Association.
Armed with that certificate, these guys have a head start as they look for work on the outside.
Cooking is a life skill
Villari describes the process of teaching his students. "I look at it like a recipe," he says. "It's a recipe of people that are just trying to better themselves. It's a recipe of coming together as a team." From there, the teachers want to provide their students with the skills they will need to land a job in some aspect of the food industry, he says.
Dunn began her culinary career at The Ritz-Carlton, "and I feel like I have an opportunity to spread Ritz-Carlton sparkle wherever I go," she says.
She previously taught culinary arts and appreciates the chance to work at Mates.
"It gives me a chance to teach my students what a restaurant or hotel or caterer is looking for in an employee."
Dunn sees this training as an asset on the job and at home.
Inmates work next to fresh focaccia bread. (Michael Mancuso photo)
"You can make a good living doing this, but I think cooking is a basic life skill," Dunn says. "People should know how to feed themselves, how to take care of their families."
She doesn't see any difference between teaching in a culinary school or at Mates.
"A student is a student is a student," she says, "Whether they go home to mom and dad's house at night or whether they go to lock-up."
Given this attitude, it's no surprise to hear that she's never felt intimidated working with inmates.
"What intimidates me is getting the food out on time," she says, "tasting the way we've decided we want it to taste, looking the way we've decided we want it to look."
The kitchen might be sweltering, but the chefs keep their cool, calmly teaching their students as customer orders start arriving on slips brought in by the waiters.
Some of the most popular items include shrimp scampi, short-rib sliders, chicken wings and fresh-baked focaccia bread. The salad selection -- chicken, antipasta, Caesar and fiesta -- are also a hit. Desserts include strawberry shortcake.
The menu changes every few weeks.
"The newest addition to the menu is the chopped sirloin steak," Villari says. "That's served with a blend of shiitake mushrooms, crimini and portobellos."
Activity picks up in the kitchen.
"The shrimp scampi is the big favorite here," confirms Markeith Palmer, as he works quickly to fill new orders. He likes the fast-paced kitchen environment and may pursue a culinary career when he's released in two years.
When asked what he likes most about the job, "just getting things done and making the customer satisfied," he says with a smile.
It's more than cooking
The soft-spoken, courteous wait staff takes orders and clears tables, making sure not to interrupt diners who are in the midst of a conversation.
Ramon Santiago said he's learned quite a bit during is stint at Mates and may pursue a restaurant job when he's released next August. He spent a few months honing his skills in the kitchen and now handles waitering duties.
He likes the chance to get out of the correctional facility and interact with others. "It makes your mood a lot better," he says. "You're involved with civilization a lot more than you would be back at the prison."
Culinary inmates Ramon Santiago, left, and Tashawn Manuel. (Michael Mancuso photo)
This experience is about more than cooking.
"It's not just that they're learning how to work in a restaurant, but they're learning to be responsible," said DOC spokesman Matt Schuman. "It's a lot more than just the skills that they're learning. They're learning to have people depend on them, in some instances probably for the first time in their lives."
Tashawn Manuel prefers working in the front of the house, waiting tables and interacting with diners.
"I've learned how to work in a restaurant and what goes on in a restaurant," he says. "I'm a waiter, so I've learned how to wait tables and interact with people."
Manuel, who has 90 days left to serve on a weapons charge, is considering a food services job when he leaves.
His message for prospective customers?
"Mates Inn is a good restaurant. You should try it. Great food ... great chefs."
Diners share that sentiment.
"I think it's one of the best restaurants in Mercer County," declares regular customer Steven Brody. He tells his colleagues at the New Jersey State Police about this place.
'It's true gentlemen who serve you'
Others also spoke about the enjoyable experience that keeps them coming back.
"We like the whole idea of it," says Michael Fischler, who was dining with his wife, Bea Scala-Fischler. "We like the whole idea of easing people back into the community and giving them some skill in order to come back, as opposed to coming back raw from a prison."
These loyal Mates Inn customers live in Trenton, so a trip here is right around the corner. Fried chicken and the shrimp scampi are some of their favorites.
Scala-Fischler likes that this program is educational in so many ways, including focusing on how the meal is served and the order in which dishes should arrive.
Out come the meals as inmates serve their customers. (Michael Mancuso photo)
"They're being taught that an appetizer comes before the meal, not along with the meal," she said. "Sometimes they get it right and sometimes they don't, but this is a learning experience for them."
Diners can't leave tips at Mates and payment is in cash to a DOC employee by the front door.
Customers do leave plenty of feedback about their experience, though, with many comments displayed in the foyer. "On a scale of 1 to 10, my lunch was a 20!" one customer raves. Another praises the tartar sauce, but suggests a little less garlic.
Brody jokes that he's an evangelist of sorts for Mates, sharing the news of this hidden gem whenever he can.
"I think the passion of the people working here is outstanding," he says. "It's true gentlemen who serve you. There's a personal pride in everyone who is a part of the staff.
"Everybody you meet just takes a sense of ownership in creating a product that's enjoyable."
Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us: nj.com/tips.