Watts Cooking: Deliciously simple recipes to inspire home cooks

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If you end up in prison you're told that you're never going to get a job and you're going to be in a vicious circle." Long story short, 18 years old, ended up in prison with a six-and-a-half year sentence. At that point I'd very much thought that was my life over, that I was never going to achieve anything because that's what's built into you when you're going through school and stuff like that. Each day we'll be sending you a selection of our top stories from across our county, as well as breaking news so you can be the first to know.

Jon Watts Quick and Easy - Chef Jon Watts

Never stop believing in yourself," said Jon, who is hopeful of soon putting together a cookery book. "We as humans are all very powerful, every single one of us. We all have greatness inside of us. But it was in prison that his life changed and he was given a second chance. He came across the Duke of Edinburgh Award and jumped at the chance to learn new skills and change his fortunes. Fast forward three-and-a-bit years and he became the first person in custody to get their bronze, silver and gold award.

He hopes his inspiring journey shows that if you apply yourself correctly and demonstrate a willingness to turn things around then great things can happen. Sift in the flour and then add the cornflour, fold it together until you have a fudgy brownie like texture. Finally fold through the white chocolate chips before pouring the mixture into the lined baking tin.

Recipes - Chef Jon Watts - inspiring you to cook

I found myself hanging around with people that were involved in crime and all sorts of other nonsense and it sort of gave me a sense of belonging and a kind of purpose. This is something that I always knew would happen," he added, "but I thought it would be like I'll release a book and I'll be able to get myself on there. That's because things could've been very different for Jon, now 32, although he's proven that anyone can change their circumstances with the right attitude and application. In a clean bowl, melt the biscuit spread in the same way until it is runny, then drizzle all over the top to give a nice pattern.When I left school [at 16] I felt completely lost, a little bit let down by the school to be honest. I just felt like I had no guidance on where to go," he said. I was practising the night before, I was making the dish at home and pretending I was talking so I wasn't going unprepared, but I've also done it in my head for the last seven, eight years. It didn't stop me being very, very nervous." A pinch yourself moment if there ever was one, and the appearance came 10 years to the day from his prison release. One of the components of the gold award is to learn a skill, and Jon opted for cooking as he was already working in the prison kitchen at the time. Jon's career has evidently gone from strength to strength and he uses his experiences to help youngsters today.