Jamie Oliver Joining the Video Game Craze
Thursday, July 17, 2008 | posted by Mike
It looks like Gordon Ramsay isn't the only one who has a forthcoming video game on the horizon. According to the folks over at YumSugar:This October, British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver will be releasing a handheld cooking game on Nintendo DS. What's Cooking? With Jamie Oliver will simulate real-life cooking situations, from selecting ingredients at the supermarket to plating meals at the table. The Atari video game will have an interactive cookbook featuring 100 of the celebrity chef's original recipes, alongside photographs taken by David Loftus.
…You might remember that, in our post about the Gordon Ramsay game, the really interesting thing was the possibilities afforded by the Wii interface. Well, the Nintendo DS (which will also feature a Ramsay game) also provides an intriguing possibility or two.
The game will include a series of real-time virtual challenges that involve real-life chopping, stirring, and plating; recipe cook-offs with other players; and a timed competition against the clock.
Thanks to my long commute, I flirted with the idea of picking up a DS, which is unique in that it features two screens, one of which is actually touch-sensitive. So, you’ll be controlling your game with the usual set of joysticks and buttons, but you can also use a stylus to do things with the touch screen. Need to give that sauté pan a shake? Go ahead and do it with the stylus. The other neat feature of the DS is that it includes WiFi capability, so you’ll be able to do things like play head-to-head with friends who also have the game. The portable nature of the DS will also mean that it can accompany you into the kitchen to follow real recipes, assuming you aren’t a klutz and drop the $130 device into the sink.
No kidding…I’ve been a total disaster in the kitchen lately. Last week, I managed to splash insanely hot canola oil onto my forearm while frying up some onions. There is now an open sore the size of a quarter on my right arm. Then, last night, while honing my chef’s knife, I managed to stab the end of the knife into my left wrist, narrowly missing the assorted veins, tendons and ligaments that reside nearby. In other words, it’s probably best not to stand next to me these days.
OK, OK…I promise this is the last video game post for a while. But, I am on a slight technology kick, so check back tomorrow for a post about how you can use the technology of today to enjoy some great stuff from yesterday.
Labels: Jamie Oliver
Former Chef from Jamie Oliver's Fifteen Project Found Dead
Thursday, March 06, 2008 | posted by Mike
Some sad news out of the UK where one of the enrollees in Jamie Oliver's Fifteen program, which sought to give troubled youths a chance to turn their lives around through an opportunity in the kitchen, was found dead near the Cornwall location of Fifteen. According to the Daily Mail:Depressed Christopher Pethick, 20, was found dead in woodland just 18 months after securing a place on the Fifteen training programme.The program was started a few years back and was the focus of a short series called Jamie's Kitchen, which was featured on cable (but not Food Network, if I remember correctly). It is a noble effort and all signs point to it being a successful endeavor, considering they've gone from one location to three. Obviously, when you're dealing with troubled teens, there is always the risk that, even with the fantastic opportunities afforded here, the situations and influences that got these kids into trouble in the first place may re-emerge.In May 2006 he became one of 21 young cooks chosen out of 300 hopefuls who applied to work in Fifteen in Watergate Bay, Cornwall.
But he dropped out of the course after just two months with "severe depression."
Labels: Jamie Oliver
Jamie Oliver: Better than Churchill and MLK?
Monday, March 03, 2008 | posted by Mike
Possibly, at least according to a survey from the UK on who children should look up to as role models. According to an article from Reuters:I think that Jamie should be content with his seventh-place showing. If I were him, I wouldn't be particularly jealous of Richard Branson, who came in second -- behind "a family member" and in front of Jesus.Diana, Princess of Wales was placed sixth and celebrity chef and healthy eating campaigner, Jamie Oliver came in number seven.
"Despite our obsession with celebrities and footballers it would seem they do not make the cut when it comes to top role models, with go-getters such as Branson and Jamie Oliver being the exception," said Mark Hodson, Head of Research at Opinium.
Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was ranked eighth, American civil rights hero Martin Luther King ninth and Microsoft founder Bill Gates came 10th.
Sure, a spot ahead of THE BIG GUY may seem like quite a coup. But I'm guessing you wouldn't want to court the same controversy brought on the last time an Englishman compared himself to JC.
Labels: Jamie Oliver
Jamie Oliver Demonstrates the Power of Food
Wednesday, February 13, 2008 | posted by Mike
Jamie Oliver...cooking meals and reuniting families.Labels: Jamie Oliver
Jamie Oliver Chicken Show Available on YouTube
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 | posted by Mike
Sometimes TV shows are available in crystal-clear online video.And sometimes they're recorded by someone in their den and posted to You Tube.
In this case, the latter is true. I haven't been able to find an online version of the controversial Jamie Oliver chicken special from last week, but you can work your way through something like fourteen separate (due to You Tube's size restrictions) videos at this person's profile.
If you have some time on your hands and are so inclined. Have at it.
Labels: Jamie Oliver
Jamie Oliver Kills Chicken in Front of Studio Audience
Wednesday, January 09, 2008 | posted by Mike
First off, let me say that the two programs featuring Jamie Oliver this weekend on Food Network were very good. The Iron Chef America episode was a fun and entertaining as we expected, and the new show was smart and captured all of the usual Jamie Oliver passion for food. The notebook-doodle transitions were clever, and The Official Dad of TVFF will be happy to know that he gives Fahrenheit numbers in addition to Celsius.Just a note for TVFF regulars...going forward, we won't be posting ex post facto formal reviews of shows. It's kind of pointless, since you can just tune in and see it at the same time as us. When we have a chance to get our hands on a screener and give you a preview of an upcoming show, we'll do that. Of course, we will keep giving you general and specific reactions to new and continuing shows and will cover any and all news and surprises as they happen.
OK...to the issue at hand.
Why would an internationally-known chef electrocute and then drain the blood of a chicken in front of horrified onlookers and then broadcast the whole thing on national television? Apparently, to prove a point about animal cruelty.
Jamie Oliver, the television chef, electrocuted a chicken and drained its blood in front of a television studio audience as part of his campaign to highlight Britain's poultry industry.
The chef carried out his demonstration to show how the vast majority of chickens in this country are slaughtered.
In another scene, he shows a clutch of males chicks who are unsuitable for the egg industry being suffocated in an oxygen-starved chamber.
Oliver hopes that the distressing images will persuade people to stop buying battery-reared chickens - the preferred choice for most consumers in the UK - and encourage supermarkets to pay farmers more for ethically-reared ones.
The special is slated to be aired this Friday in the UK, and will include additional information about chicken farming. Oliver's activism is well known, including his crusade against unhealthy food served in schools and his founding of the Fifteen program.
The way animals are raised and processed has obviously been a topic of much discussion of late. Although this demonstration is an extreme and intense (and possibly manipulative) confrontation of the consumer, the distance between source and shopper has come to mean that we don't have to think about the "gory details" associated with animal handling.
Regardless of your thoughts on the feelings of the animals, this lack of connection to the handling and processing of the food we eat certainly opens us up to potential dangers that may result. Perhaps being a little more knowledgeable about the products we eat is a good thing, even if it's uncomfortable.
Labels: Jamie Oliver
Get an Early Look at Jamie Oliver on Iron Chef America
Wednesday, December 12, 2007 | posted by Mike
Well, we all know that Jamie Oliver is coming back to the Food Network. The show will debut a month from today on Saturday, January 12 at 9:30 am. Ugh...helooooooo, DVR!That's good news.
Here's even better news: If you just can't bring yourself to wait until the 12th, you can check out Jamie on Sunday, January 6 at 10 pm when he competes against Mario Batali on an episode of Iron Chef America.
Should be a blast. That's about as much personality as you can cram into Kitchen Stadium, and their backgrounds promise big flavors for the judges. I will be highly disappointed if Jamie doesn't break out the mortar and pestle. Let's just hope he doesn't sing.
Obviously, this special appearance will be used to promote the new show, Jamie At Home (capitalized "At" theirs, not mine). Maybe you're thinking to yourself: "I wish someone would tell me why I should watch this new program!"
Tuschman to the rescue:
“Jamie Oliver has always been a Food Network fan-favorite and we are so excited to have a new series that showcases his easily accessible cooking style and his exuberant personality,” said Bob Tuschman, Senior Vice President, Programming and Production for Food Network. “His new show focuses on recipes that are quick, fresh, inventive and easy to recreate at home.”
Jamie Oliver returns to Food Network with his new series Jamie At Home. Jamie's back doing what he does best - cooking at home with simple, accessible ingredients, including fruits and vegetables that he recently started growing in his garden kitchen. In each episode, Jamie focuses on a specific ingredient and shows viewers several completely different recipes. Whether whipping up a delicious spicy pork goulash, foraging for mushrooms to create a wild mushroom and venison stroganoff or harvesting pumpkins for a mouth-watering, warm winter salad of roast duck and pumpkin, Jamie will show viewers that using fresh ingredients can be simple and oh so satisfying.
Labels: Iron Chef America, Jamie Oliver, Mario Batali
Jamie Oliver Has a Novelty Song...
Tuesday, December 04, 2007 | posted by Mike
...and it's terrible.
And it's about lamb curry! Normally, I have no problem with the dish. Heck, I had a pretty tasty lamb vindaloo at Mehek in Princeton a few weeks back, but this might be enough to put me off it for a while.
The song is officially called "Give it to Me Hot (Lamb Curry)."
I think the video speaks for itself.
OK, a little bit more, from the This is London article:
Give It To Me Hot (Lamb Curry), a lyrical version of a recipe, has made him a star in Thailand, Singapore and the Czech Republic and attracted 150,000 hits on YouTube.
Wait -- what? I suppose I get the Thailand and Singapore part, but the Czech Republic?!?!
Labels: Jamie Oliver
Jamie Oliver Coming Back to Food Network
Wednesday, November 14, 2007 | posted by Mike
Well, I suppose this answers that question:
This January, popular British Chef Jamie Oliver returns to Food Network with the debut of his brand new series Jamie At Home. Premiering Saturday, January 12 at 9:30am ET/PT. the half-hour series joins Food Network’s “In the Kitchen” daytime line-up and follows Oliver around his home, as he prepares delicious meals from produce that has been grown in his country garden.
“Jamie Oliver has always been a Food Network fan-favorite and we are so excited to have a new series that showcases his easily accessible cooking style and his exuberant personality,” said Bob Tuschman, Senior Vice President, Programming for Food Network. “His new show focuses on recipes that are quick, fresh, inventive and easy to recreate at home.”
Jamie Oliver returns to Food Network with his new series "Jamie At Home." Jamie's back doing what he does best - cooking at home with simple, accessible ingredients, including fruits and vegetables that he recently started growing in his garden kitchen. In each episode, Jamie focuses on a specific ingredient and shows viewers several completely different recipes. Whether whipping up a delicious spicy pork goulash, foraging for mushrooms to create a wild mushroom and venison stroganoff or harvesting pumpkins for a mouth-watering, warm winter salad of roast duck and pumpkin, Jamie will show viewers that using fresh ingredients can be simple and oh so satisfying.
Good stuff! OK, I'm off to D.C.
Labels: Jamie Oliver
Jamie?
Monday, November 12, 2007 | posted by Mike
Big television events bring big audiences, obviously. Big audiences means big opportunities to promote programming, obviously.
The promotions folks recognized this fact and took advantage of the Next Iron Chef finale to run a couple of spots promoting upcoming series. One spot gave a complete run down of upcoming shows, providing the names...and not much else. Kind of a teaser without a whole lot of detail.
OK, now let me take you back to this post from back in March about the 2008 South Beach food festival:
WARNING: WHAT FOLLOWS IS IDLE SPECULATION: So, we know who is the big sponsor for this event every year. We also know that Jamie Oliver hasn't had a new show on the Network for some time now. Wouldn't an appearance at South Beach be a great way to get some additional publicity for a new series?
Fast forward to Sunday evening, when the Food Network promo spot was serving up the titles of new programs in rapid-fire fashion. One of the "coming soon" shows was Jamie at Home. Now, that wouldn't happen to be the same Jamie at Home that is currently airing on Channel 4 in the UK, would it? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...
On another note:
I alluded to the fact that I'll be doing a little bit of traveling this week and I wanted to take advantage of the knowledge and experience of the TVFF readers. I'm going to be down in Washington D.C. on Wednesday evening and would gladly appreciate any advice you have for a place to get a bite to eat, particularly if its along the Metro or in the Foggy Bottom/Georgetown area. Not looking for anything too fancy, mostly because there's nothing more depressing than seeing someone eating alone at a nice restaurant. Thanks in advance!
Labels: Jamie Oliver
Jamie Oliver to Be Even More Animated Than Usual
Thursday, August 30, 2007 | posted by Mike
Kind of a cheesy title, but it fits...
Yes, the live-wire British chef is considered a caricature by some, but thanks to an alliance with Aardman Animations, the folks behind the great Wallace & Grommit series, Oliver will actually be a character in an animated series.
The show, Little J, will follow Oliver as a 10-year-old trying to find the secret to becoming a great chef.
Oliver said: "I really want to pass on a little knowledge in a fun way, to really connect to the younger kids."
As you can see, Little J is a little bit deranged looking, and it's a bit odd for him to be partying and hanging out with the animals which will inevitably end up as one of his "pukka" dishes, but that's OK.
This is an interesting new tactic in Oliver's well-publicised crusade to improve the health of the United Kingdom's schoolchildren.
How do you think kids have been reacting to having their favorite fatty foods taken away? Exactly. So this show could be an interesting way for Oliver to improve his standing with younger children in the hopes that his message about health and nutrition finds a more receptive audience.
And we all know that marketers -- of both toys and food -- have become masters of using children's programming and cartoons in particular to sell products to unsuspecting children. Believe me...I had the Transformers to prove it. So it's interesting to see someone try to turn the tables on them.
Labels: Jamie Oliver
Pukka Confirmation?
Wednesday, August 15, 2007 | posted by Mike
Jeff left a comment (thanks!) below asking exactly what pukka meant. Well, here you go.And, hey...if Maugham and Kipling are using it, gotta be legit, right?
Labels: Jamie Oliver
Say It Ain't Pukka, Jamie!
Tuesday, August 14, 2007 | posted by Mike
I know he gets bashed quite a bit online, but I always liked Jamie Oliver. His was one of the first shows I watched regularly when I started to really tune in and follow food television. Yeah, truth be told, I'm a relatively new convert.
I always liked the goofy British-isms, the over-the-top use of the mortar and pestle and -- most importantly -- the strong Thai and Indian influence on many of his dishes.
And so it was with great joy that I managed to stumble across old episodes of The Naked Chef on BBC America (ahhhh...BBC America!). I get the feeling that the later shows that ended up on Food Network were more conscious of the American sensibility, because these episodes were chock full of goofy sayings that made absolutely no sense to me. But that's OK, because I still loved it whenever he said "pukka."
I had always thought that he made it up, but in the episode this weekend, he brought on an Indian chef friend who insisted that "pukka" meant "real" or "authentic." Not that it really mattered, but I guess it made me feel a little bit better about the whole thing.
Well, just as I have this little revelation, I see this:
Jamie Oliver has killed off his famous "pukka" catchphrase - and now describes his food as...
OK, let's stop right there. I'm fine with him trying to bury an overused catchphrase. I wouldn't want to be an old man at the retirement home having everyone come up to me and asking me to say "pukka" for them. And I'm all for him coming up with something new. But:
..."delish."In the TV chef's new C4 series, Jamie At Home, he uses his new buzzword - short for delicious - SEVEN times while cooking just three dishes.
Sigh. Don't we already have someone using that word?
Labels: Jamie Oliver
Italian Food
Tuesday, April 24, 2007 | posted by Mike
Mrs. TVFF is in Rome right now. Unfortunately, I'm sitting on my couch, trying to figure out why my WiFi doesn't work and writing TVFF posts. No offense to the intelligent and good-looking readers of TVFF, but...
Anyway, I figured that it would be fitting to enjoy a little Italian food of my own. And -- what do you know -- it has a food TV tie-in! (I love when that happens!)
Last night was a pasta and broccoli in a garlic olive oil/butter sauce that was recreated by memory from one of Jamie Oliver's cookbooks. I couldn't be bothered to pull out the book, but I'm confident that my rendition was close enough.
But the more adventurous part of this story comes from the fact that I was in New York on business today. No, I wasn't skulking around Chelsea trying to "accidentally" bump into a Food Network personality. It was for a conference.
However, I never like to waste a trip into the city on just business, so I decided to make a run down to Bleecker Street Pizza, which was one of the spots that Hungry Detective Chris Cognac profiled in his New York episode. It was a straight shot downtown on the F train, and it was well worth it.
There is a sign in the window proudly proclaiming it to be the "best in New York" according to the Food Network and Cognac. Now, even if you ate pizza for dinner every night, you would probably never be able to try every pizza joint in New York, especially if you consider new openings and ownership turnover. So I'm not sure that anyone can ever say definitively what the best is. But I wouldn't argue against Bleecker Street. It was fantastic.
New York pizza is just a different animal than the kind you can get anywhere else. Bleecker's featured a perfect blend of cheese and sauce, and the cheese had a very fresh and rich flavor. But the crust is what distinguishes the great from the good. It was almost uniformly crispy, with the exception of the trademark floppy end that signifies a New York style slice. I'm not an expert on cooking pizza (despite my summer spent making pizza and dancing in a giant rodent suit for a certain chain restaurant), but I really think that the key to the crust might be the fact that you're getting slices that are being warmed up a second time. Hear me out.
What does biscotti mean? That's right: twice baked. The process of cooking them twice gets rid of the moisture and makes them extra crispy. If done correctly, I'm thinking the same thing happens with the pizza crust. Of course, you can end up with overcooked, but Bleecker's was right where it needed to be.
As for ambiance...there is none. But it's the kind of place that you can grab two slices and a Coke and sit there by yourself. There was also what looked like a grandfather and grandson sitting across from me. For what it's worth, the kid looked like he was enjoying it. Of course, you could put ketchup on a piece of cardboard and call it "pizza" and a kid will like it.
But those of us that know better know that great pizza can be a wonderful thing, and finding a place that does it well is like finding a good stock broker. If I could only get Bleecker Street to deliver to TVFF HQ...
Labels: Chris Cognac, Jamie Oliver
An Early Start on SoBe '08
Monday, March 12, 2007 | posted by Mike
Riptide, the blog for the Miami New Times, is running with a scoop on the lineup for next year's version of the South Beach Food Festival. From the sound of it, they'll be honoring a couple of big names in terms of world-renowned chefs and international food celebrities. In addition to what I'm sure will be a full roster of demonstrations and lectures from your favorite foodies, there will be special honors handed out to Jean-Georges Vongerichten and the Naked Chef himself, Jamie Oliver.Check out the post if you want a run down of what Messers. Vongerichten and Oliver did to snag themselves the commendation.
WARNING: WHAT FOLLOWS IS IDLE SPECULATION: So, we know who is the big sponsor for this event every year. We also know that Jamie Oliver hasn't had a new show on the Network for some time now. Wouldn't an appearance at South Beach be a great way to get some additional publicity for a new series?
Labels: Jamie Oliver
Life Imitates Art?
Monday, December 18, 2006 | posted by Mike
Now that I'm home, I'm unwinding from the trip and trying to get caught up on the various things I missed while away. E-mails, visits to blogs and taped television shows are all on my "to do" list. So, it was funny when two of the items managed to converge in a particularly strange way.I was watching The Office (the best comedy on television for my money, by the way) and in walks Dwight Schrute, resident oddball, with a dead goose of undetermined origin. Despite protests from Toby, the HR representative, Dwight wants to roast the goose and serve it to his coworkers.
As I was watching the scene, I thought to myself, "Hey, wait a minute..."
A story on Irish Examiner.com has some info about Jamie Oliver's latest foray into television. No, he doesn't have a new show. Instead, his production company is behind a show starring Oliver's colleague, Fergus Drennan. Of course, any show like this needs a hook. I'll let the folks at the Examiner fill you in.
In the show, Road Kill Café, Drennan goes to Sandwich in Kent to persuade locals to forage for the first time and discover the delights of road-kill meat.
But, lest you think that this sort of thing might be a bit unsanitary:
I'm certainly aware that farm-raised animals aren't slaughtered with buttercups and jellybeans. And there is no logical problem with getting your meat courtesy of the front fender of a Nissan Altima. But I'm guessing this show will be a curiosity at best. Most people don't like even thinking about roadkill, so the thought of grilling up that deer who didn't quite make it across all six lanes of the highway isn't particularly appealing.“The animal must be fresh. If rigor mortis has set in it’s not eaten. Otherwise it’s immediately back to his kitchen.
“He firmly believes that road-kill is better than processed meat.”
Note: If you are interested in abattoirs (and who isn't?), be sure to search out the fascinating episode of Errol Morris' First Person series called "Stairway to Heaven." It's about slaughterhouses in the sense that Citizen Kane is about news reporting, so don't let the topic turn you off.
Labels: Jamie Oliver
Jamie Oliver Webcast
Monday, September 25, 2006 | posted by Mike
In the past, I have mentioned that (to put it generously), some TV food celebrities and programs do a better job of using technology and the Internet than others do. Dave Lieberman and Alton Brown -- nice sites. Giada De Laurentiis -- not so much. (Shouldn’t she at least have more pictures on there?)Jamie Oliver will be teaming up with AOL and Penguin Books to make good use of modern technology with a video webcast and chat, dubbed a “Cookcast,” according to an article on Webuser.
The 45-minute event will take place on October 12th at 7:00 p.m. (warning: I’m assuming that is “England time.” I’m too lazy to figure out what time that would be for you. Feel free to look it up yourself).
It appears that the event will be available to all site visitors, but the article states that there will be an added potential treat for AOL subscribers or AOL e-mail account owners:
In the run-up to the webcast, AOL UK is also running a competition to win the chance for a family to join Jamie in his kitchen for the event. The winning family will have a once-in-a-lifetime cooking lesson with Jamie and help him cook the treats he's planning live online. Entry is simply by creating and submitting a short video showing how much you need Jamie's help in the kitchen.Check out the contest and submit your video at www.aol.co.uk/homecookingday.
Labels: Jamie Oliver
Sorry, Mr. President
Thursday, September 21, 2006 | posted by Mike
I’m sure that we’ve all been in this situation at one point or another:You unexpectedly find yourself nearing dinner time and not too far from the hip/crowded/hot restaurant in town. You figure you’ll take a shot and run in to see if maybe they’ve had a cancellation and have a seat available for you. Maybe you even think your snazzy clothes or a well-placed tip will give you a better chance. Of course, the hostess laughs at you as soon as you mention that you don’t have a reservation and you slink off into the night looking for a Taco Bell.
Usually, the humiliation is limited to you and your friends or family. When you’re the former “leader of the free world” and you try to crash a celebrity chef’s notoriously booked restaurant and you get turned away for the second time, it’s tabloid fodder.
The Mirror has a story about former president Bill Clinton and his crowd trying to get a seat at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen restaurant in London without a reservation a couple of years ago. Jamie was having none of it then. And now, he’s been turned away again. The reason this time: fad diets.
The School Dinners star, 31, says: "Clinton's right-hand man was a total plonker.Good for Jamie, and on behalf of anyone who has been turned away from a restaurant, thanks!
"He comes into the kitchen, throws down the menu and says it's unacceptable because half the party are on the South Beach Diet.
"What a pack of proper nonces they were."
However, he's willing to reserve judgment on the former President himself.
"I'm sure Bill's a nice bloke but the people around him were horrid and in a restaurant all paying customers are more or less equal."
Labels: Jamie Oliver
Jamie Oliver Continues to Save the World
Thursday, September 07, 2006 | posted by Mike
As if his school lunch campaign wasn’t enough, Jamie Oliver is back at it with two new efforts at being both a chef and one of those phila...er, phila...er, yes, er, Good Deed Doers. (A special TVFF.com shout-out to whoever identifies that quote in the comments!) It’s very cool that there are more and more people (Bill & Melinda Gates, Warren Buffet) who have both the means and the motivation to take a principled stand on issues that they find important and do something about them.I’m sure that part of it is wanting to see one’s name on a library or university hall, but the fact that this new social activism and philanthropy is centered on topics and issues that are of interest to the benefactor leads me to believe that there is some genuine desire to address the problem and solve it for the betterment of society.
As we mentioned in the post’s hyperbolic title, Jamie Oliver is making strides on two fronts, one related to his previous efforts and one new one. After raising awareness about the unhealthy cafeteria food served to British schoolchildren, Oliver caught flak for turning the kids (and their parents) off of cafeteria foods and towards equally unhealthy packed lunches. Now, the Naked Chef is speaking out on the parents’ responsibility to provide their kids with packed lunches that are nutritious. However, he is aware of the catch-22 of the situation:
Asked whether he would like to see a ban on packed lunches he said: "Many of us would like to say yes, if there were facilities for better hot meals in all schools.Oliver is also in the news for his decision to install two wind turbines to generate energy for his Fifteen restaurant in Cornwall. Regular viewers of Oliver’s shows know that he is always extolling the virtues of using organic ingredients and other environmentally-friendly meat and vegetables, so his eagerness to harness the power of the wind for his restaurant should come as no surprise.
"I would love it but that will not happen."
Labels: Jamie Oliver
Maybe Not Everyone Likes What Jamie Oliver is Doing
Friday, August 18, 2006 | posted by Mike
I’m sure you’re all devastated by the lack of an Ace of Cakes review. Well, I was busy last night and flat-out missed it. Sorry. I’ll get off my Duff (pun intended) and catch it at some point. Expect a short review then. Of course, if there is an enterprising guy or gal out there saw it and wants to submit a review, send it along to tvfoodfan@gmail.com and I’ll post it. (Be sure to let me know how you’d like to be credited)We linked to those charming photos of Jamie Oliver in the fat suit the other day. If you didn’t check them out, be sure to look at the new ones that the Daily Mail has, including the one with the Vespa. Was that really necessary?
We’ve been taking it for granted that The Naked Chef’s program to improve the diets of British schoolchildren has been a good thing. Silly us! According to Claire Fox, who is the Director of something called the Institute of Ideas has a different take on what Oliver is doing. From a speech to the Showcomotion Children’s Media Conference in Sheffield, England:
Oliver’s Channel 4 programme has been a convenient - if unwitting - Trojan horse for pushing Department of Health messages. Oliver and other broadcasters have proved to be an invaluable asset for a government keen to launch a mass campaign of behaviour modification.Oddly, Fox makes no mention of the threat posed to our precious bodily fluids by fluoridating water.
…Likewise, when Oliver proclaims to the nation’s children that processed food is bad and organic food is good, are children fully informed that the evidence for this claim comes from the Soil Association, the main advocacy group for organic farming in the UK?
OK…Fox does have a point that we don’t know with certainty the long-term effects of processed foods or “unhealthy diets.” And, in many instances, those with a financial incentive are the ones supplying the evidence that is being put forward.
But the clinical and anecdotal evidence certainly points to unhealthy weight and diet issues, and it’s not like everyone is getting fat off free-range chicken. I don’t know Fox or the Institute, but these are the same terrible arguments put forth by John Stossel here in the U.S., which strike a chord with the viewer because they imply that you should go ahead and do whatever makes you feel good…why should “they” to tell you what’s right and what’s wrong? And who do you think is pushing that line of reasoning? Hint: McDonald’s and Archer Daniels Midland’s lobbyists are better funded than the organic food lobby.
Is this issue one that requires personal responsibility? Of course, but if kids are going to see Ronald McDonald four times a day on television, they need someone giving them a different perspective. And, in schools, kids have a very limited amount of choice when it comes to their lunch diet. If that means that governmental agencies use the support generated by the campaign to justify new, stricter regulations on unhealthy foods, how is that any different than food-handling regulations that came out of the writings of Upton Sinclair?
Labels: Jamie Oliver
