--- title: New York's Cannibal Cop Is now a Prison Chef Will Waiting for Retrial description: Gilberto Valle, New York City's "cannibal cop," was arrested for detailing fantasies of kidnapping and eating people. Now he's a cook. canonical: https://time.com/92486/new-yorks-cannibal-cop-is-now-a-prison-chef-mom-says/ author: Kyle Chayka article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-05-08T16:27:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:09:31.353Z og:title: New York’s “Cannibal Cop” Became a Prison Chef og:description: According to his mom og:url: https://time.com/92486/new-yorks-cannibal-cop-is-now-a-prison-chef-mom-says/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt41f45cd8ab453a84/69868e713617609b1b90be55/moosestew.png?branch=production&width=597&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 597 og:image:height: 336 og:image:alt: moosestew og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: New York’s “Cannibal Cop” Became a Prison Chef twitter:description: According to his mom twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt41f45cd8ab453a84/69868e713617609b1b90be55/moosestew.png?branch=production&width=597&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # New York’s 'Cannibal Cop' Is Now a Prison Chef, Mom Says > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=cd89346b-9fa8-492c-bd71-670bf72f5037&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Daily | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Richard Hall, Editor | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The informed consumer. A scaled audience of readers who turn to TIME to stay informed and make sense of the world, with meaningful reach across education and research, nonprofits and civic life, media and communications, government and public institutions, and business and professional services. ### TIME The Brief: key statements * The Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * The Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=cd89346b-9fa8-492c-bd71-670bf72f5037&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/subscribe?i=cd89346b-9fa8-492c-bd71-670bf72f5037&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's daily news newsletter? The Brief is TIME's daily newsletter, edited by Richard Hall. It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. by [Kyle Chayka](https://time.com/author/kyle-chayka/) ## Kyle Chayka May 8, 2014 4:27 PM UTC  Gail / Flickr by [Kyle Chayka](https://time.com/author/kyle-chayka/) ## Kyle Chayka May 8, 2014 4:27 PM UTC In 2012, New York City police officer Gilberto Valle was arrested for [allegedly plotting](http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/03/01/cannibal-cop-were-web-chats-about-eating-women-conspiracy-to-murder-or-just-a-sick-fantasy/) in online forums to kidnap, kill and eat women including his wife—fantasies that he illustrated with Photoshopped images found on his [computer](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/04/gilberto-valle-trial-cannibal-cop-fetish-fbi-agent%5Fn%5F2805133.html). Now, Valle has become a chef in prison. [_New York Daily News_](http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/cannibal-cooking-inmates-guards-prison-article-1.1783911) calls it “ the most ironic jail work assignment in recent memory,” but Valle is totally serious about honing his chef skills while jailed. “He has mastered making pizza,” his mother, Elizabeth Valle, said. The hobby helps him “kill time” while waiting to see if he might be granted another trial. The _Daily News_ story does not include comment from the prison where Valle is being held. Valle’s lawyers are mounting a defense that argues that the former policeman’s fantasies of cannibalism were just that—fantasies. Despite bragging that he owned a “human-sized oven” online, Valle never took any actions to actually kidnap or eat anyone. The conviction blurs the line between online life and reality. If anything, Valle’s fellow inmates don’t seem to be too nervous that he’ll include a special ingredient in his cooking experiments. They joke about his kitchen skills: “Don’t stand too close to the oven, and that kind of thing,” they say to him, Valle’s mother said. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/92486/new-yorks-cannibal-cop-is-now-a-prison-chef-mom-says/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/92486/new-yorks-cannibal-cop-is-now-a-prison-chef-mom-says/"},"headline":"New York’s 'Cannibal Cop' Is Now a Prison Chef, Mom Says","datePublished":"2014-05-08T16:27:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:09:31.353Z","description":"Just watch out for the soup","url":"https://time.com/92486/new-yorks-cannibal-cop-is-now-a-prison-chef-mom-says/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Crime","Food","police","New York","Prison"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt41f45cd8ab453a84/69868e713617609b1b90be55/moosestew.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kyle Chayka","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kyle-chayka/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt41f45cd8ab453a84/69868e713617609b1b90be55/moosestew.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"moosestew","caption":"","creditText":"Gail / Flickr","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/92486/new-yorks-cannibal-cop-is-now-a-prison-chef-mom-says/","name":"New York’s 'Cannibal Cop' Is Now a Prison Chef, Mom Says"}}]}] ```