'Changed my life': How a culinary training program helps inmates

NEW YORK (PIX11) — “Coldwater Kitchen,” a new documentary highlighted at the DOC NYC film festival, follows a culinary training program instilling inmates at a Michigan prison with a sense of purpose as well as the skills to succeed on the outside.

Chef Jimmy Lee Hill, who heads the program, joined PIX11 Morning News along with one of his students, Chef Daqwuan Sistrunk, on Friday to discuss the initiative.

“Food has just been my life,” said Hill, explaining his motivation. “That’s my calling, at least for right now, and I love my job. So I think that makes it easy.”

Sistrunk, who went from drug dealer to prison inmate to Detroit restaurant owner, credited his culinary pursuits with helping to set him on the right path.

“The program’s changed my life tremendously,” said Sistrunk. “I was well-prepared when I got home.”

Information on “Coldwater Kitchen,” including how to stream it, is available here.

Watch the full interview in the video player above.