Key Cafe, Gloucester Road: 'Eating carbs with conviction'
Kathryn Sumner visits a café staffed by former offenders that has been a long time in the making
Things feel particularly dark at the moment. Between the rise of the far right, the genocide, wars and continuing cost of living crisis — it can all feel quite hopeless. So I was heartened to read about this very positive project on Gloucester Road that seems to be making a real difference to the lives of those who have been through the prison system. It gives me hope that repeated small efforts, even on a local level, can make a big difference. And if making a difference can be done with a bacon butty in hand, what’s not to love?
There’s something endearingly British about jam as a tool for social change. Once the domain of W.I.s across the country, fruit-filled preserves are now being produced behind bars at HMP Bristol as part of a project to stop the cycle of reoffending. And they’re selling like the hot cakes that are also on offer inside the Key Café on Gloucester Road.
Located just a stone’s throw away from the prison gates, this new venture has been a long time in the making. And, beyond the carbs, caffeine and vaguely industrial décor of many a Bristol café, it has quite a story to tell.
It was in 2023 that I first wrote about the project aiming to break down barriers to employment for former offenders through paid placements and support. With prison populations rising by 74% in the last 30 years and 48% of offenders reconvicted within a year*, there’s a compelling case for action. So, can food help mend the faults in our penal system where policy and society have failed?
Along with a strong contingent from the city’s food scene and beyond who have given their support, I’m fully behind the Key Café’s mission, so it was with an air of trepidation I wandered in from the bright sunlight for an early lunch.
Only a freestanding chalk board outside gives any indication of the café inside the newly renovated building. But, as well-heeled customers stocked up on jars of jam at the counter, I got a sense that these prison-made preserves and their counterparts may just be the sweetener needed to get the wider population on board.
The Jail Jars are the result of a collaboration with Warmley-based Single Variety Co and were first sold in Clifton’s acclaimed Papadeli, which was co-founded by the Key chair Catrin MacDonnell.
Jam also features on the breakfast menu, served with toast from nearby Hobbs Bakery. In fact, if, like me, bread is the way to your heart then this menu holds the key.
The meat supplied by Wapping Wharf-based Jolly Hog is only marginally beaten on locality by the hearty Rise and Prove rolls, which are made by people inside HMP Bristol. The generous quantities of sausage and bacon crammed into a sandwich (£6.95) were declared faultless by my partner. Dietary requirements dictated he have it on the gluten free bread which, while tasty, couldn’t live up to the freshly-baked rolls.
The latter I can vouch for as wholesome and crunchy with as soft a middle as any bread lover could ask for. From the vegan sausage and mushroom filling (£5.50), the sausage, well doused in HP, was a solid accompaniment. The mushrooms lacked flavour and failed to do their carb casing justice, although nothing some seasoning and a bit longer on the griddle wouldn’t fix.
Among the components of our meal, I’m convinced there was something close to the perfect breakfast roll.
I’m not sure, in all honesty, I could have picked the curiously named vegan Cornish sausage roll (£4.25) out of a lineup alongside the Greggs equivalent. But then there’s a reason those savoury delights are so popular, as testified by my toddler, who demolished the lot and asked for more.
A reboot smoothie (£4.75) is not only a delicious blend of fruit, ginger, carrot and courgettes, but one that achieved the admirable task of getting a two-year-old to enjoy vegetables.
Service was wonderfully warm and unpolished, and walls are home to framed art created by prisoners and ex-offenders through the charity Prodigal Arts, alongside the merchandise of jams, tote bags and coffee from Triple Roast in Montpelier.
Stocking up on a dark chocolate brownie and jar of jam to go, we could have called it a day at that. In the interests of leaving no slice unturned, I felt dutybound to return later the following week to sample more bread (it’s a tough gig I know). The tomato-topped bruschetta (£4.50), with just the right combination of fresh zest and crunch, I heartily recommend. The mushroom and pesto topping (£4.50) was pleasant enough but fell slightly flat in comparison.
The Key Café team, as the menu states, serve good food with conviction – and that counts for a lot. It’s impossible in this case to separate the meal from the mission.
But the food, taken on its own merit, was a solid carb-lovers combination of hearty, locally sourced and not too hard on the bank balance.
Sure, there’s room to be a bit heavier handed with the seasoning in places, but ultimately, The Key is a testament to the power of collaboration and food to bridge communities and break down barriers.
As I sat with my breakfast coffee and toast contemplating the state of the world, I spread on more raspberry jam (which, by the way, is excellent) and feel a bit more positive. There are people out there making real strides towards positive social change – and we can all play a part in our own small ways.
I’m not saying that jam is going to save the world, but it’s not a bad place to start.
*Stats taken from this page of the Key Café website About Us — The Key - Unlock Potential (originally from Prison: The Facts – Bromley Briefings)
All words and photos by Kathryn Sumner
Key Cafe, 246 Gloucester Rd, BS7 8NZ
Read next:
Why wine bars are not really wine bars any more
I was fortunate enough to bump into Fiona Beckett at Hart’s Bakery sometime last spring; I recognised her from her wine column in The Guardian, which I’ve read religiously for years. I’m even happier to say we’ve been friends ever since, and more fortunate still that she’s done me the honour of writing a piece for The Sauce. There’s no one in Bristol be…
The 12 best places to eat in Bristol on a budget
This article was a request from a reader, who lives in Cardiff but visits Bristol frequently and is looking for places to eat without spending an arm and a leg. The more I travel — I write to you today from Hong Kong — the more I find that guides like this are one of the greatest ways to explore a city from a local perspective. I hope that this guide wi…