“Cooking Inside” is a revolutionary documentary series that explores the lives and conditions of
incarcerated peoples around the country through the meals they made while inside. “Cooking
Inside” asks formerly incarcerated people to recreate meals they made in prison exactly the way
they had to prepare them, while sharing their stories from inside as they cook. It’s “Orange is the
New Black” meets “Chef’s Table.”
By using the format of a traditional cooking show to fold in heart-wrenching stories from the
inside, “Cooking Inside” will be incisive while remaining light-hearted and punchy.
Our goal is to film ten episodes that each covers a different meal and a different demographic,
so the series explores our prison system as it affects Americans from a multitude of identities
and backgrounds.
Each 22-minute episode will focus on a different formerly incarcerated person (or group) making
a unique meal the way they had to make it inside. Moreover, each episode will focus on issues
pertaining to those specific subjects (race, background, prison experience, etc.) while diving
deeper and deeper into the overall issue of human rights violations within the U.S. prison
system.
Adrian Drepaul and Caz Stewart went above and beyond each week to gather enough
ingredients and materials to cook a special gather-around-the-table meal for them and their
incarcerated “family” on Sundays. Food brought them together, and food will bring their stories
to audiences. In order to cook a Mexican wrap, Adrian and Caz had to use a toilet seat as a
cooking top, as well as nail clippers and wire to heat water. They collected all of their ingredients
through commissary, acquisition, negotiations with other inmates, and careful planning. Each
week was a MacGuyver-level act, and it happens every day in prisons across the country.
Each episode will offer a unique, dynamic, and climactic story of time served through the
fascinating act of putting together a simple meal using minimal resources. For those who
haven’t lived it, the plight of incarcerated persons is only understood in distant, broad strokes.
Sharing these stories through food makes them immediate and palpable.
Prison culture has woven itself into the traditional fabric of America and “Cooking Inside: From
Prison to Home” will have its finger on the pulse of the country. The show will address and
humanize one of the most pressing issues in our society in a format that mirrors some of the
most popular cooking entertainment shows people are watching today. Follow these funny,
illuminating, and heart-wrenching stories, all while learning cooking tips from the people society
often forgets.
Director | Brent Lambert-Zaffino
Executive Producer | Adrian Drepaul
Director of Photography | Kendrick Varela
Sound Recording | Nick Payne
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