Jamie Oliver’s soapbox – the opinions of the outspoken chef
Jamie, when he first hit our screens, buzzing around on his vespa was the ultimate, worry free young bloke, with a penchant for cooking. Now he is becoming a grumpy old man I rather like the cut of his jib. He raises a number of interesting challenges about the public sector and local food and we should applaud him keeping such things on the agenda. The full breakdown of his recent utterances is set out below:
Jamie Oliver said today he found it hard to talk about modern day poverty.
He said: “The fascinating thing for me is that seven times out of 10, the poorest families in this country choose the most expensive way to hydrate and feed their families. The ready meals, the convenience foods.”
The celebrity chef is prone to controversial opinions. Here’s a round up of Jamie Oliver’s soapbox:
On British kids
In February 2011, the celebrity chef said that British children are “wet” compared to the Eastern Europeans he employs in his restaurants.
Britain’s culture
He has also portrayed England as a wealthy country where materialists spend money on lavish TVs.
Drinking alcohol
Alcohol has already come under attack from Oliver. When an interviewer suggested that the English can’t food because they drink too much, he said: “It’s true. Historically we’ve never produced wine. We have a culture of alcohol and we’re more beer orientated: the only people who drink more than us are the Irish and the Scottish.”
On school dinners
The original campaign will always remain close to Jamie Oliver’s heart.
He said: “School food has come a long way since my original campaign, but more needs to be done to improve standards and teach kids about food. We can’t underestimate the importance of investing in our children’s health and productivity at school.”
On packed lunches
Although he said we shouldn’t monitor packed lunches, Oliver has criticised unhealthy packed meals parents give children. “I’d say some are close to child abuse”, he said.
On academy school meal standards
Oliver attacked Michael Gove over plas to allow academy schools to opt out of national school food rules.
On the health secretary
When then-health secretary Andrew Lansley said that there had been a drop in the number of children eating school dinners following the healthy eating drive, Jamie Oliver hit back.
He said: ”To say School Dinners hasn’t worked is not just inaccurate but is also an insult to the hard work of hundreds of thousands of dinner ladies, teachers, headteachers and parent helpers who strive to feed schoolkids a nutritious, hot meal for 190 days of the year.”
On farmed chickens
In one episode of Jamie’s Fowl Dinners, male chicks with no use for egg production were put in a container and deprived oxygen.
He said: “I don’t think it is sensational to show people the reality of how chickens live and die at the moment. It may be upsetting for some people, but that’s how things are.”