Ohio

Ohio inmates whip up five-course meal from prison garden for 60 community members

Published

3 months ago

August 28, 2024

Ohio inmates whip up five-course meal from prison garden for 60 community members

Michelin star from behind bars?

Inmates at an Ohio prison with a penchant for cooking whipped up a five-course meal over the weekend and served it to members of the public in a first for the state.

Almost 60 people dined in the Grafton Correctional Institution’s garden space, where the very fruits and vegetables they were munching on for the groundbreaking meal were grown by prisoners.

The unique experience was made possible thanks to the prison’s EDWINS Leadership and Restaurant Institute, which offers six-month culinary courses to incarcerated people at 652 prisons and jails around the country, setting them up with the skills and certifications needed to work in a fine dining establishment.

Founder Chef Brandon Crostowski said the program was born out of the belief that “every human being, regardless of their past, has the right to a fair and equal future” — an ideal that was felt by all for the momentous meal.

“They’re not looking at me as a number. They’re looking at me as a person,” Greg Sigelmier, 40, an inmate at GCI, told the Associated Press.

A long rectangular table adorned with a white linen cloth, bouquets of flowers and fresh bread was placed between the two gardens, dubbed the “EDWINS’ Garden” and the “Hope City Garden.”

Guests from the local community were offered a beet salad with goat cheese and greens to start, followed by a kale “purse” with farmer cheese.

Next, they were treated to roasted salmon topped with a béarnaise sauce and braised garden greens. Roasted lamb with tomato provencal followed.

Dessert included a corn cake with blueberry compote and Chantilly cream.

Each course was paired with a mocktail, one of them named the “botinique” — soda with a thyme-infused honey syrup and lemon.

Almost all the bites were grown in the prison garden.

“Working together as the community that we are and at the end getting to eat the food, it’s the best part. You should see the faces on these guys when they’re eating just the regular chicken noodle soup that we just all worked together. It’s incredible,” 28-year-old Efrain Paniagua-Villa said.

Cooking was not foreign to Paniagua-Villa — he routinely made meals with his mom and sister before his incarceration — but the task has served as a fruitful pastime.

He said cooking with EDWINS has helped fill the gap that was left when he began his stint in prison 2 1/2 years ago.

The incarcerated men in the EDWINS culinary program at GCI are serving a variety of sentences from short to life and range in age from 20 to 70, according to the organization.

Some of the men will have the opportunity to graduate from the program and apply to work at many restaurants in the Cleveland area upon their release.

“Many of our guys that live here are going home, so they’re going home to be our neighbors. We want our neighbors to be prepared to be law-abiding citizens, and that’s what this program is about. It’s not just about teaching guys how to cook or how to prepare food,” said GCI warden Jerry Spatny. “

This gives them reentry level skills so that when they go home, they can be successful in that environment.”

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Ohio

Who should be College GameDay’s guest picker for Ohio State vs. Indiana football? Here are options

Published

2 hours ago

November 20, 2024

Press Room

Who should be College GameDay’s guest picker for Ohio State vs. Indiana football? Here are options

COLUMBUS — ESPN is sending College GameDay to Columbus for Saturday’s battle between No. 2 Ohio State and No. 5 Indiana.

Making the trip to a matchup between two of the best teams in the college football was likely an easy decision for College GameDay.

Now, a tougher choice awaits. Who will be the celebrity guest picker?

ESPN has a variety of routes it can take.

It could pursue a former Ohio State player now in the NFL.

Justin Fields, a backup quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers whose team plays on Thursday in Cleveland, is an option. Wide receivers Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, who are both on a bye, could also be available.

ESPN could pursue a non-athlete with connections to OSU.

That brings Columbus natives such as Olympic gymnast Simone Biles or restaurateur Guy Fieri into the conversation.

We asked Subtext subscribers on the cleveland.com Ohio State channel who they’d like to see as the guest picker. Here are some options they presented.

Former Ohio State football players

Justin Fields

Fields spent two seasons (2019-2020) as Ohio State’s starting quarterback. He went 20-2 with 5,373 passing yards.

Jim Tressel

Tressel spent 10 seasons as Ohio State’s coach, highlighted by the 2002 campaign in which he led the Buckeyes to a national championship.

A.J. Hawk

Hawk is a former Ohio State linebacker (2002-2005). He has a connection to ESPN as a co-host on the Pat McAfee Show. McAfee is among the panelists on College GameDay.

Garrett Wilson and/or Chris Olave

Wilson played for the Buckeyes (2019-2021) before he was taken by the New York Jets in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. The Jets are off this week.

The Saints, Olave’s team, are also off — giving ESPN and option to bring both on the show. In a 2020 win against Indiana, Olave and Wilson combined for 270 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave played together at Ohio State before pursuing the NFL.AP

Archie Griffin

The Buckeyes celebrated the 50th anniversary of Griffin’s first Heisman by unveiling a statue outside of Ohio Stadium in August. He’s the only two-time Heisman winner.

Cris Carter

OSU receiver Jeremiah Smith has spent all season breaking Carter’s freshman receiving records. The former Buckeye also spent time working at ESPN on Sunday NFL Countdown and Monday Night Countdown.

Cam Heyward

Like Fields, Heyward is a former Buckeye now with the Steelers. Pittsburgh plays at Cleveland on Thursday, giving Heyward an uncommon Saturday off in November.

Orlando Pace

Pace was a two-time unanimous All-American during his time at Ohio State (1994-1996). The former offensive tackle was a Heisman finalist in 1996.

Braxton Miller

Miller, a former Ohio State quarterback (2011-2015), was twice named the Big Ten’s most valuable player.

Cardale Jones

Jones was the third-string quarterback for Ohio State entering the 2014 season with Miller as the starter. However, injuries to Miller and J.T. Barrett forced Jones into the starting role. He helped lead the Buckeyes to a national title.

Carddale Jones — Cardale Jones helped lead Ohio State football to a national title in 2014.AP

Craig Krenzel

Krenzel was the starting quarterback for Ohio State’s 2002 national championship team.

Maurice Clarett

Clarett was also part of the Ohio State team in 2002, delivering one of the best freshman seasons in program history. The running back has been a fixture around the Buckeyes this season.

Celebrities with connections to Ohio or Ohio State

JD Vance

Vance was elected earlier this month to serve as the next Vice President alongside Donald Trump. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Ohio State.

Simone Biles

Biles has collected seven Olympic gold medals in her decorated career. Her football fandom is evident too as she’s married to Bears safety Jonathan Owens.

MLB All-Star Celebrity Softball Game, July 7, 2019 — Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles was born in Columbus, Ohio.cleveland.com

Guy Fieri

Fieri is a famous restaurateur known for his shows on Food Network. He was born in Columbus in 1968.

Jason Day

Day, a professional golfer, won the PGA Championship in 2015. He was born in Australia but lives in Westerville, Ohio.

Bryce Harper

Harper, a star for the Philadelphia Phillies, is from Nevada and didn’t attend Ohio State. However, his wife played soccer for the Buckeyes.

J.K. Simmons

Simmons spent much of his childhood living in Worthington, Ohio. The actor is known for his role in various films, including, “Whiplash” which earned him an Oscar in 2014.—

R.L. Stine

Stines is the writer of the novel series, “Goosebumps.” He was born in Columbus and attended Ohio State.

Greg Oden

Oden is a native of Indiana who attended Ohio State before becoming the top pick in the 2007 NBA Draft.

Buster Douglas

Douglas is a decorated former heavyweight boxer. He was born in Columbus.

Matt Rife

Rife is a comedian and actor who was born in North Lewisburg, Ohio.

Graham Rahal and/or Bobby Rahal

The Rahal name is famous around racing. Graham Rahal was born in Columbus and is an Ohio State fan. His father, Bobby Rahal, is a former Indy 500 champion (1986) who was born in Medina, Ohio.

Twenty One Pilots

Twenty One Pilots, which features Columbus natives Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun, once stopped a concert in 2021 to watch an Ohio State game.

John Legend

Legend, a singer and songwriter, was born in Springfield, Ohio.

Jack Nicklaus

Former professional golfer Jack Nicklaus attended Ohio State. His 18 major championships are most all-time.

Gene Smith

Smith serves as Ohio State’s athletic director for 19 years before retiring in June.

Patricia Heaton

Heaton attended Ohio State and was born in Bay Village, Ohio. She’s an Emmy-winning actress who appeared in shows such as, “Everybody Loves Raymond” and, “The Middle.”

Jake Paul

Paul, a YouTuber and boxer who recently beat Mike Tyson, is a Cleveland native.

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Ohio

House explosion in southwest Ohio kills 2 people

Published

10 hours ago

November 20, 2024

Press Room

House explosion in southwest Ohio kills 2 people

BETHEL, Ohio — Two people were killed and another person was injured in a house explosion Tuesday in southwest Ohio.

The explosion occurred just before 9 a.m. The power of the blast scattered debris throughout the neighborhood, reports say.

Bethel-Tate Fire Chief Christopher Cooper tells WLWT Channel 5 that a man and woman died in the blast. An injured male, whom witnesses say was a heating repair worker, was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center with burn injuries, WLWT reports.

The home was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived, WCPO Channel 9 reports. The man and woman who lived in the home reportedly had several cats and at least two survived the blast, WCPO reports.

The Ohio State Fire Marshal will lead the investigation into the blast. Bethel is a village in Tate Township in southwestern Ohio.

(The Associated Press contributed to this story.)

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Ohio

2 dead, 1 injured after house explodes in Ohio

Published

17 hours ago

November 19, 2024

Press Room

2 dead, 1 injured after house explodes in Ohio

Two people are dead and one person is injured after a house exploded and caught on fire in Ohio.

The house, located in Bethel, about 40 miles east of downtown Cincinnati, exploded around 9 a.m. on Tuesday morning, The Cincinnati Enquirer, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported. Bethel-Tate Fire Chief Christopher Cooper told the outlet reports of the explosion had come in while crews were approaching the area.

Once there, they found debris from the explosion and the house on fire. Officials confirmed that two people died as a result of the incident. Another person has been taken to a local hospital with burn injuries.

Cooper also said that crews are currently working on finding the source of the explosion, with neighboring homes suffering minor damages.

Photos show the explosion aftermath

Photos from the site show the smoldering remains of the house following the explosion with some of the house’s belongings being strewn across the area.

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.

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