:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/will-ferrell-Eric-Bloom-0116202502-4611c68637f04b6699ea27f4fa59f694.jpg "‘(Don’t Fear) The Reaper’ musicians debunk ‘More Cowbell’ myths")
A convicted French drug dealer who became a social media sensation for his videos on how to cook creatively while behind bars has been hired by a top Parisian pastry chef.
On social media, he is called “Pingouin” (Penguin), named after one of Batman’s main adversaries.
But the unnamed 28-year-old ex-convict said he was saved by cuisine and a desire to share cooking tips to spice up fellow inmates’ meals, using minimal ingredients to concoct delicious dishes.
“The Penguin’s a cook gone bad. I’m the opposite,” he told Le Parisien.
In a rags-to-ratatouille tale, the former inmate had no previous cooking experience when sentenced for drug dealing in 2020 and incarcerated in Villepinte prison in Seine-Saint-Denis, northeast of Paris.
Pingouin said he developed a passion for cuisine “because I had to cook for myself” but lacked everything but the most basic of cooking utensils. “Then, after a few months, I got the urge to be creative,” he told the capital’s daily newspaper.
“The first slightly elaborate thing I made was a cake. I’d asked my neighbour for a recipe… He used a pot of yoghurt to make the weight,” he added.
Credit: TikTok / @Pingouin7593
The budding chef managed to get hold of a mobile phone in prison, despite an official ban. Under the pseudonym Pingouin7593, he started releasing TikTok tutorials for other inmates, including simple techniques on cooking a burger, tiramisu, croissant, churros and chocolate fondant.
“I think it worked because they’re not complicated recipes, they’re things you find in prison,” he said.
His fame quickly spread beyond prison walls.
One video, in which he explains how to create an oven with a frying pan and a grill, and a mixer with the mesh of a ventilator and a fork, racked up over nine million views.
On Instagram, he has over 40,000 followers, while on Snapchat his stories are viewed thousands of times a day.
In just a few months, Pingouin became a social media star, causing him trouble with prison management despite his painstaking efforts to remain anonymous by covering his face.
Despite the mobile ban, he continued to post content because “as far as I was concerned, with these videos, I was preparing my reintegration” into society.
His plan worked as he caught the eye of a former apprentice of Jeffrey Cagnes, a famous pastry chef who was amazed at his creativity and dedication.
Last July, after serving four years, Pingouin was released under an electronic tag and offered an internship by Mr Cagnes at one of the most fashionable patisseries in Paris.
Pingouin said he recognised Mr Cagnes from TV, where he has been a judge on the cooking contests Le Meilleur Pâtissier (The Best Patissier) and Top Chef on M6.
After just three weeks of work, he was offered a permanent contract.
“We’re all entitled to a second chance,” he said. “I’ve done some stupid things myself, I nearly got into trouble… When you take on someone who’s been in prison, once you’ve hired them, you forget about their past.”
Pingouin may have entered the company incognito, but his colleagues soon found out about his online identity.
Kitchen credentials
“I’d seen his videos and thought they were genius,” said Mr Cagnes. “I thought it was crazy to be able to make desserts like that from nothing… When I found out it was him, I asked him why he hadn’t told me.”
Two months after his arrival, Mr Cagnes said he had no regrets as his new recruit who quickly proved his kitchen credentials and took new trainees under his wing.
Today, Pingouin works five days a week, eight hours a day, while also taking a pastry-making course.
“I know what I’m doing and what I want to do. I’m focused,” he told Le Parisien, adding that he had drawn a line under what he called his “bull—” drug dealing past.
“Sunday was my best day since I arrived. I was on my own, I baked 480 croissants, 400 pains au chocolat, 120 pains suisses… I didn’t feel like leaving.”
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
