Six Cork prisoners who took part in an intensive eight-week culinary course served up a feast behind bars last night.

Over 50 invited guests - including 25 prospective employers from the hospitality industry - gathered at the prison yesterday for a final exam like no other.

It’s the fourth year of ‘The Open Door’ pop-up restaurant, which is a collaboration between the Irish Prison Service and Munster Technological University.

JJ Healy, a lecturer at Munster Technological University who is teaching the prisoners of Cork Prison's "Open Door Restaurant” initiative. Image via the Irish Prison Service.

The Pat Kenny Show aired a report by Newstalk’s Southern reporter Jamie O Hara, who went inside Cork Prison to speak to the people involved.

He spoke to prisoner Glenn, who said he hopes to continue working in the industry with his newfound experience.

“I’ll try to further my career in that industry,” he said.

“Even just going down to work every day, it’s something I enjoy doing anyway.

“It’s good for the mind and stuff as well.”

Cork Prison's "Open Door Restaurant” initiative. Image via the Irish Prison Service.

Glenn said that the course gives participants confidence in their skills and also promotes a team environment.

“Couple of younger lads might be a bit nervous the first day, it’s a new thing for them,” he said.

“We’re seeing today, even in the space of six weeks, they’re after coming along a lot, you can see the confidence levels there after rising a bit.

“So, it’s good to see, like everyone’s helping each other out and it gives you confidence to try new things, to know that you can go into something now knowing anything about it.

"You can slowly build yourself up, so you can put people on good paths.”

Cork Prison's "Open Door Restaurant” initiative. Image via the Irish Prison Service.

Assistant Governor Brian McCarthy said the programme is very popular among prisoners.

“It’s been kept to a small group, we haven’t opened it up to 20 or 25 prisoners, we kept it to the maximum of six,” he said.

“There have been more than six looked for it, they were vetted, interviewed, sat down, gone through the programme and what’s expected of them, how long and difficult the programme can be.

“Those six then were picked as the best of the lot - and none of them has failed yet, they’ve all gone through it.

“It has been a very tough course, it’s condensed a lot just to the time scales but they were working all day yesterday and they’re working all day again today and they will be again serving food all day, every Monday, for the last five or six weeks.”

Cork Prison's "Open Door Restaurant” initiative. Image via the Irish Prison Service.

The course is considered a huge success, with a spokesperson from the Irish Association for Social Inclusion Opportunities (IASIO) saying programmes like this are key for decreasing chances of re-offending.

“Employment is a significant indicator whether someone will commit another crime,” he said.

“That being said, it’s not the only thing, right? And so, employment within a larger context of someone’s life can be that thing that they put structure on.

“They can put the structure of what they need to do to avoid substance misuse or to be more present in the lives of their families.”

Prison Governor Liam Spacey said that employers have contacted the prison looking to hire inmates up for release who had completed the course.

Up to 90% of the men who took part in the programme found work after leaving prison.

Main image: Cork Prison's "Open Door Restaurant” initiative. Image via the Irish Prison Service.