The A.V. Club visits the Cook County Sheriff’s garden with The Publican staff

It should go without saying that if you get asked to go to the Cook County Jail to check out a garden with the staff of Anthony Bourdain’s favorite Chicago restaurant, The Publican, you go. That’s how The A.V. Club found itself smack in the middle of a jail yard on the South side one Saturday earlier this month, checking out the Cook County Sheriff’s garden with 20-odd staff members from one of the city’s best restaurants.

Helmed by executive chef Paul Kahan, The Publican is a seasonal, beer-centric restaurant specializing in fresh, full flavors, executed simply but exceptionally. It’s also known for a commitment to social justice, whether it be through food drives, fund raisers, or, in this case, buying a good chunk of its produce from the Sheriff’s garden.

Every year, about 100 non-violent offenders graduate from the jail’s garden program, where they can spend time learning about horticulture, landscaping, and gardening, ideally with the goal of getting a job in the public sector once they get out. Inmates have access to all the fruits and vegetables they produce, with which they can jazz up their sad baloney sandwich lunches. According to Mike Taff, the garden’s coordinator, for a lot of inmates, it’s the first time they’ve eaten a lot of the foods after growing up on junk.

The Publican, along with several other high-end restaurants in town, get a good deal of their produce from the garden, including radishes, beets, corn, and herbs. Later this year, Publican staffers will work with Taff on a class about herbs and teach inmates what they can cook with some of the foods they’re producing.

The Sheriff’s garden is a pretty amazing program, and organizers have helped set up similar programs in detention centers all over the country. All proceeds from produce sales go right back into the program and, for the most part, they try and stay organic. Check out the video of the Publican staffers tour below for a ton more information, including what inmate life is like day to day, what grows best in the garden, and how interested citizens can get involved.