Kebabs and cheeseburgers: Christmas menu this year for prisoners

Which prisoners eat at HMP Liverpool, HMP Altcourse and HMP Berwyn from their festive menus

Merseyside prisoners will have plenty of Christmas menu options to choose from this year, from cheeseburgers on Christmas Eve to kebabs on New Years. The ECHO submitted a Freedom of Information request to HMP Liverpool, Altcourse and HMP Berwyn asking for their menus over the festive period until New Year’s Day.

While the menus for each prison are different, they all include options for vegetarian, vegan and halal diets. Each year, people who serve time can see the menu in advance of Christmas week and choose in advance the meals they want to have.

During the Christmas period there are some treats which are not normally available, including mince pies, Christmas pudding and trifle. Special menus are available on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Below we have published the full party menu for both HMP Liverpool and HMP Berwyn for 2024.

HMP Liverpool

HMP Liverpool, a category B/C prison in Walton, has a Christmas menu similar to previous years. On Christmas Eve, breakfast and lunch are “as usual” for prisoners, however there are options for tea. There are:

• Cheeseburger in a bun
• Scotch pie and gravy
• Halal dough chicken burger in a bun
• Salmon and dill fish cake
• Grilled vegetables in a bun

All with chips and beans and fresh fruit or chocolate muffin

Christmas Day Breakfast:

• Bacon x2 brisket
• Vegetable sausage x2 breast

All served with boiled egg, cereal, brew packet and milk.

Christmas Day Lunch:

• Roast turkey, chipolata sausage, bacon roll, sage and onion filling and sauce
• Halal fried chicken, small sausage, sage and onion filling and sauce
• Poached white fish and cheese sauce
• Festive vegan slice and sauce

All together with roasted potatoes, carrots, Brussels sprouts and a Christmas pudding with vanilla sauce and mince pie.

Christmas Day Tea:

• Sliced ham salad ciabatta
• Tuna mayonnaise baguette
• Cheesecake (vegan alternative available)

With an individual fruit cheesecake and Christmas cake, satsuma and packet of crisps.

Christmas Day breakfast:

• Weetabix with milk
• Roll with margarine/marmalade portion
• Cereal bar

second Christmas lunch:

• Fried chicken portion with chasseur sauce
• Baked pork chop with pepper sauce
• White fish portion with mornay sauce
• Cranberry and filling gourmet sausage roll

All with fried potatoes, garden peas and sweet corn and a strawberry mousse.

Boxing Day tea:

• Spicy chili kebab ciabatta (Halal)
• Corned beef and pickle baguette
• Egg mayonnaise and cress barmcake

With a royal gala apple, fruit trifle, packet of crisps and a ginger cake.

New Year’s Eve:

For New Year’s Eve, breakfast and lunch are “as usual” for prisoners, but there are options for tea.

• Cheese and ham pitta pizza
• Halal steak slice
• Spicy Chicken Pitta Pizza (Halal)
• No meat sausage (vegan)
• Vegetable burger in a bun

All with chips and spaghetti, fresh fruit and slice of cake and custard.

New Year’s breakfast:

• Sausage x2 breast cake (Halal)
• Vegetarian sausage x2 barmcake

All together with a boiled egg, cereal/brew pack and milk.

New Year’s lunch:

• Roast chicken thighs, sage and onion filling, Yorkshire pudding and gravy
• Traditional roast pork with applesauce, Yorkshire pudding and gravy
• Oven-roasted white fish with tomato sauce
• Italian pasta is baked with sweet pepper and spicy crumble

All together with roasted potatoes, carrots, green beans, bread roll and margarine. Also with white chocolate roulade or vegan fruit cocktail.

New Year’s Day Tea:

• Chicken mayo and salad ciabatta (Halal)
• Minced pork and tomato baguette
• Tasty cheese and salad barmcake

All with a banana, chocolate and orange cake and a packet of chips and chocolate snowball.

HMP Altcourse

Christmas Day Breakfast:

A bread bap and a sauce bag with the option of:

• 2x sausage and baked beans
• 2x Halal chicken and sausages
• 2x vegan sausages in a bap

Christmas Day Lunch:

• Roast turkey and pig in a blanket
• Chicken in pepper sauce (Halal)
• Vegan nut roast

With options for:

• Roasted carrots, sprouts, sauce, cranberries and filling
• Or turmeric rice

And either:

• Christmas pudding and custard
• Or a tangerine

Christmas Day Dinner:

• Tuna mayonnaise baguette
• Baguette-fried ham
• Vegan cheese baguette

All with a choice of:

• 1x vegan sausage roll
• 1 x samosa
• 1 x vegetable spring roll
• A packet of sea salt crisp

Sweet Christmas Day:

• Minced pie
• Satsuma
• A can of pop

Christmas Day breakfast:

A bread bap and a sauce bag with the option of:

• 1x halal burger with baked bean
• 2x bacon with baked beans
• Spicy bean burger with baked beans

2nd Christmas lunch:

• Halal chili con carne
• Half-roasted chicken and curry sauce
• Vegan sausage roll

With options for:

• Potato boats and sweet corn
• Plain boiled rice

And a mince pie.

Boxing Day dinner:

• Halal beef curry
• Chicken Kiev
• Vegan dahl

With options for:

• 1 x samosa
• Pitta bread
• Turmeric rice

Sweet Christmas Day:

New Year’s breakfast:

A roll and a sauce bag with the option of:

• 2x halal sausages with baked beans
• 2x bacon with baked beans
• Spicy vegan burger with baked beans

New Year’s lunch:

• Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding
• Halal lamb tikka
• Vegetable hot pot

With options for:

• Roast carrots, broccoli and gravy
• Plain boiled rice

And a caramel wafer.

New Year’s Day dinner:

• Halal burger in a bun
• Hot dog bun
• Vegan Cornish roll

With chips and baked beans.

Happy New Year’s Day:

HMP Berwyn

Christmas Day Breakfast:

• Cereal and milk
• Fresh fruit juice
• Yogurt
• Banana
• Brewing package
• Sausage x2 BAP at 9:00 a.m
• Hot chocolate and mince pie

Christmas Day Lunch:

• Vegetable wellington
• Salmon steak in mornay sauce
• Chicken thighs and breasts with stuffing balls
• Roasted turkey crown and tasty roulade
• Beef and vegetable stew is baked

With fried potatoes, new buttered potatoes, buttered vegetables, gravy and chocolate fudge cake.

Christmas Day Tea:

• Vegan cheese and tomato bap
• Cheese and onion sandwich
• Tuna mayonnaise sandwich
• Chicken and bacon sandwich
• Cheese and ham
• Flavored noodles
• Christmas cake
• Satsuma
• Christmas muffin
• Chocolate chip cookies
• Packets of crisp

Christmas Day breakfast:

• Cereal and milk
• Yogurt
• Brewing package
• Sausage x2 BAP at 9:00 a.m
• Hot chocolate and cake

2nd Christmas lunch:

• Vegetable cheeseburger in a bap
• Halal chicken curry and rice
• Three sausages in onion sauce with mashed potatoes
• Cheeseburger in a bap

With chips and baked beans.

Boxing Day tea:

• Beetroot salad in a bap
• Egg mayonnaise bap
• Chicken and corn mayonnaise bap
• Large sausage roll, pasta salad and bap
• Gymnastics package

With options for:

• Pack crisp
• Pack soup
• Chocolate chip cookies

New Year’s breakfast:

New Year’s lunch:

• Vegetable nut roast in basil sauce
• Chicken breast in creamy mushroom and mustard sauce
• Salmon in a cheese and chive sauce
• Roast beef, gravy and Yorkshire pudding

And fried potato, buttered vegetables and today’s sweet.

New Year’s Day tea:

• Tuna mayonnaise cucumber bap
• Chicken coronation bap
• Vegan sausage roll salad bap
• Ham and tomato bap
• Gymnastics package

With options for chips, soup, fresh fruit or chocolate biscuits.