The RoughStuff Story
A board for every purpose. Purpose in every board.
How our wooden chopping boards give opportunities and skills to inmates.
RoughStuff & The Prison
We’ve worked with prisons for over 15 years, empowering inmates with the skills, confidence, and discipline to make a positive impact in their community.
We have workshops in HMP The Mount, HMP Warren Hill, HMP Aylesbury and HMP Huntercombe.
Together, we’ve built state-of-the-art industrial workshops where prisoners can hone their woodworking skills making top quality oak chopping boards alongside our dedicated workshop managers.
Around 10-20 prisoners work Monday to Friday in each workshop to keep up with the demand for our boards. Beyond mastering new skills and discipline, each prisoner is also paid a statutory wage.
We have a contract with the prison to make the boards at an agreed commercial rate, and that income is used to help pay for the prison service as a whole and save us tax payers money.
It’s because of this relationship that we say there’s purpose in every board…
Pictures sent in by happy Customers
Awards, Trophies and Smiles!
Oak Chopping Board Care
Caring for your oak chopping board is like caring for most wooden chopping boards. They’re natural products! So here are a few tips:
Try not to leave them submerged in water or exposed to direct heat
After use, clean with washing up liquid and a brillo pad.
Sanitize boards using coarse salt and half a fresh lemon to remove stains, odours, and bacteria. Scrub the board with the salt and lemon, let it sit for 5–20 minutes, then rinse and dry completely.
If you like to keep your boards looking smart we recommend that you regularly oil them with food safe kitchen oil.
Always follow general hygiene standards for using food on wood surfaces. RoughStuff is not responsible for how you use your board.
If you have any other queries on caring for your wooden chopping board, check out this article.
Truly Rustic Range
Our beautiful Truly Rustic Bats and boards are made in HMP Aylesbury and HMP Huntercombe.
Each one is individual, entirely handmade.
We have a few boards on our website but the majority are sold at our upcoming Markets and Fairs.
Upcoming Fairs and Markets
March 7 St Ives Farmers Market
March 13,14,15 Tring Market
March 21, 22 Thriplow Daffodils
May 2 Ely Eel Day
May 2 Hamble Spring Festival
May 3, 4 Ely food and craft fair
May 4 Haselmere Charter Festival
May 10 South Suffolk show
May 16 Hadleigh show
May 23 Beccles Food Festival
May 23,24,25 Big Eat
May 24,25 Bury St Edmund’s Spring fair
May 27, 28 Suffolk Show
June 2,3,4,5,6, Chichester Flower Festival
June 6,7 South Downs Food Festival
June 13 Taste of Anglia Kentwell Hall
June 20 Emsworth Food Festival
July 3,4,5 Haselmere Fringe Festival
July 5 Stowmarket Food Festival
July 11 Tendring Show
July 12 Culford Classic car show
July 18 Saffron Walden market
July 21 Saffron Walden market
July 28,29,30 New Forest and Hants County Show
August 15,16 New Forest Food Festival
Aug 22, 23 Framlimgham country show
Aug 30, 31 Bury st Edmund’s food festival
September 27 Farnham Food Festival
Nov 6, 7, 8 Cressing Temple Barns Xmas fair
Nov 13,14,15 Norfolk Xmas Fair ( Norfolk Showground)
December 13 Farnham Christmas Festival
More dates will be uploaded as soon as they have been confirmed.
HACRO
We take the social enterprise of RoughStuff very seriously. Our founder, Matt, is Chairman of a charity called HACRO, which helps people who have been on the wrong side of the law turn their lives around. They help deliver family support and ex-offender employment programmes – both proven to reduce re-offending.
The Boss
Matt had a number of grown up jobs with a couple of FTSE 250 companies before setting up and subsequently selling his own.
Some 16 years ago he and his then business partner stumbled across the restaurant business and identified an opportunity for Rustic food service products.
With an excellent brand and a concerted sales effort, they quickly took more orders than they could handle. It was at this point they thought about trying to help the Prisoners at HMP The Mount to set up a charity that has now merged with HACRO, where Matt is now Chair.
Contact us at
boards@roughstuffoak.co.uk
01923 267077