Sadly, we live in a society that is aghast at such problems, but unwilling to put the money where the problem is. The UK Times recently posted an article about how Britain is truly on the forefront of school lunch reform. Because of Jamie Oliver they even have regular training sessions for the “Lunch Ladies”. They learn how to better prepare fresh foods and methods on how to get those little guys to try it.

Alexandra Frean from Times Online:

Efforts to improve school dinners are doomed to fail unless more money is spent on ingredients, one of the country’s leading chefs says.

Raymond Blanc, of Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons in Oxfordshire, said yesterday that the average of 70p per day spent on ingredients for each school meal was shockingly low and should be increased to at least £1.30 – and even £1.50 – to ensure that school cooks could buy nutritious food. “We have reduced the concept of school food to one of filling up little bodies with fast energy, which often means that children do not get nutritious foods,” he told The Times.

“It is all very well to buy an apple, but if it is not a good apple and it is covered in chemicals and residue, that is no good.” Food for school dinners should be produced locally, freshly prepared, seasonal and, where possible, organic, he said.

The amount of money spent on ingredients has increased substantially since Jamie Oliver’s television campaign three years ago exposed the Turkey Twizzler culture in school kitchens and found that local authorities were spending as little as 40p a day on ingredients. Now the average amount spent is 60p a day in primary schools and 74p in secondary schools.

Last year the Government allocated £220 million over three years and a further £240 million until 2011 to improve catering facilities and subsidise meals, but the catering industry says it comes to just an extra 10p per child per day. The Local Authority Caterers’ Association reported last year that two thirds of English councils were making a loss on school meals because take-up had fallen since the introduction of healthier menus.

Mr Blanc said that the answer was for the Government to provide greater subsidies for school food. Without this, he said, problems of childhood obesity and poor diet would never go away.

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UK Chefs Fighting for Better School Meals

 In case you missed it,  Jamie Oliver will be returning to the Food Network on Sunday Night.  He will first contend with Chef Mario Batali on Iron Chef America and then you can watch the premier of his new show Jamie at Home.

Nina Lalli from The Village Voice saw an upcoming episode and thinks that if you like Jamie Oliver, you are going to love his new show:

He is dressed like the Beastie Boys circa “Check your Head,” grates cheese all over the table, says things like “I reckon it’s about 3 tablespoons,” and uses his hands a lot. The camerawork is of the food-porn variety, with sudden, extreme close-ups and intermittent blurriness that should come with a warning to the hung-over.

Each episode is about a different ingredient (Sunday will be peppers and chillies). The one we watched was pumpkin and squash, and he made an “Asian-style” duck and pumpkin salad, some muffins, and soup. We like his unfussiness, and the effort to talk about foods in-season and gardening is cool. This show is watchable, like the old days of Food TV. But what’s a kilo?

The fun starts this Sunday, January 6 at 10pm EST with the battle at Kitchen Stadium followed by Jamie at Home.  Oliver’s new show will then begin its designated time-slot, Saturday mornings at 9:30am on January 12th.

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Jamie Oliver On The Food Network Sunday Night

On Sunday, January 6, 2008 we will see the return of Jamie Oliver to the Food Network.  He will first battle Iron Chef Mario Batali in kitchen stadium and then fans will get to see the first episode of his new show, Jamie at Home:

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.

I guess Jamie Oliver has paid his dues to the food gods and shown that he is a marketable force.  Once, oh so long ago he had a couple of shows, Oliver’s Twist and Naked Chef, until he disappeared into the 2am shift at Food Network and then off the air waves all together.  He came back with a charity, cookbooks and several popular TV specials on the Travel Channel and TLC along with many guest spots on the Today Show.

I actually do enjoy Jamie Oliver, so I am glad that he is returning.  It will be interesting to see him on Iron Chef America.  If Mario doesn’t wipe the floor with him though I will smell a set-up.

Jamie’s new show, Jamie at Home will end-up on the Food Network “In the Kitchen” weekend line-up, Saturdays at 9:30am.

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Jamie Oliver Returns To The Food Network

Jamie Oliver’s newest cookbook is all about making you become a better book.  Cook with Jamie:  My Guide to Making You a Better Cook has his overall fun and enthusiastic charm according to Publishers Weekly:

Starred Review. The seemingly inexhaustible Oliver (The Naked Chef, Happy Days with the Naked Chef, etc.) returns with what may be his best book yet. Aiming to educate readers on cooking basics, Oliver offers over 175 recipes that emphasize flavor and freshness over labor-intensive preparation. With a conversational style that favors general guidelines over strict instructions-recipes often call for a “knob of butter,” a “handful of shelled peas” or “a big handful of freshly grated Parmesan”-Oliver’s friendly and enthusiastic approach handily deflates new cook anxiety. Loaded with photos that cover common skills like cleaning and preparing fresh lobster, discerning degrees of doneness in meat and crafting homemade pasta, Oliver’s patient explanations leave little room for confusion. His dishes, many of which are updated versions of classics, are impressive and accessible. A simple baked potato is made savory by stuffing it with bacon, anchovies and sage, and a basic risotto becomes extraordinary with the addition of apples, walnuts and gorgonzola. Empathizing with those strapped for time, he offers four takes on that trusty fall-back, chicken breasts, all of which can be prepared in a single baking dish. Loaded with everyday dishes ranging from fried calamari and onion gratin to shortbread cookies, this volume doesn’t set any new culinary standards, but it will certainly make an impact on determined newcomers still intimidated by the prospect of preparing a three course dinner.

This is what Jamie Oliver writes:

My guide to making you a better cook.  I can’t tell you how long I’ve dreamed about writing this book. It’s the biggest book I’ve ever done, and I’ve really tried to make it a timeless, modern-day classic. Whether you’re a student, a young couple, an established cook, or a novice, I’ll take you through a whole load of simple and accessible recipes that will blow the socks off your family and any guests you might have round for dinner. There’s information on the equipment that I think you should have in your kitchen, advice on how to recognize and cook loads of different cuts of meat, as well as on how to get the best value and quality when you’re out shopping. With all of us consuming more processed food than ever, it’s a sad fact that most people just aren’t confident enough to cook anymore. With this in mind, now is the time for you to get stuck in and reclaim your fantastic cooking heritage!You know what . . .if you’re going to eat three times a day for the rest of your life, you might as well learn to cook properly and enjoy it! So roll up your sleeves and let me help you. P.S.: By the way, you should feel good about buying this book because every single penny I make from it will go toward training and inspiring young kids from tough backgrounds all over the world to have a career in food through the Fifteen Foundation. So on behalf of them, thank you.

You can find Cook with Jamie:  My Guide to Making You a Better Cook at Amazon and booksellers everywhere.

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Jamie Oliver Wants You To Be A Better Cook

It looks totally real! Doesn’t it?

From Daily Mail:

The 31-year-old celebrity chef spent four hours being cocooned in latex before emerging as a waddling lard-tub for an advert to promote the follow-up to his Jamie’s School Dinners series.

He clutched a brace of burgers in his sausage-like fingers before climbing aboard a motor scooter which duly buckled under his weight.

There was no doubting the message that junk food piles on the pounds.

“He did look very convincing as a fat person,” said a passer-by who saw the ad being filmed in Peckham, South London.

In his controversial series, Oliver highlighted the shocking lack of healthy food in the average school menu. He used controversial tactics including showing pupils unappetising vats of processed meat to educate them on what they were really eating.

His claim that British school dinners were the “laughing stock of Europe” sparked a major public debate and ministers made plans to encourage healthier eating.

More than 270,000 members of the public signed Oliver’s petition to ban junk food from the school canteen.

At the time, dietitian Rosan Meyer said it was “the cleverest piece of public health education we’ve had in many years”.

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Jamie Oliver Packs on the Pounds!

1 (4 pound/2 kilogram) free range or organic chicken
7 ounces (200 grams) tamarind*, broken up
1 piece ginger, sliced
2 red chiles, seeds removed, 1 chopped and 1 finely sliced
1 red onion, skin on, sliced
2 sticks lemongrass, bashed, bruised and roughly chopped
1 bulb garlic, cut in 1/2
1 large bunch fresh coriander
1 (400 ml) can coconut milk
8 ounces (225 grams) rice noodles
Thai Fish Sauce*
Soy sauce
Drizzle olive oil

This recipe came from his Oliver’s Twist show, which I rarely see any more on the network. Too bad.

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Chicken Soup for the Sick

Jamie met Nora “The Dinner Lady” at his first test school.  At first Nora was no too thrilled with Jamie, but then she quickly became one of his staunchest allies.  Nora helped him put together the program and train the other Dinner Ladies.

Nora is quickly becoming quite the celebrity around England and now has her own website, Nora’s Kitchen and a cookbook, Nora’s Dinners, quick and easy dinners for families to cook together.

*Picture downloaded from www.jamieoliver.com

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Jamie Oliver & Nora The Dinner Lady

Webby

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Jamie Oliver Won A Webby

Jamie Oliver’s School Lunch Project documents his journey into the British School System and what that system is feeding the children.  Just like the United States, Great Britain has an obesity problem among the population as a whole.

During the documentary, we see Jamie spending time in the school kitchen to see what exactly goes into all that food and how the school kitchen is run.  He attempts to try and revamp the school menu on an insanely small amount of money, 37p (roughly 70 cents) per student.  Needless to say, this was more then just a little close to impossible.  Jamie also had to work at winning over the lunch ladies, especially the task master, Nora.  Of course, Jamie Oliver wins them over with his knowledge, passion and regular guy attitude.  The next group he has to impress is not so easy…the children.  Not only do most of the children not want to finish the lunches this professional five star chef serves up, but while teaching a classroom of elementary students, Jamie discovers that kids know more about McDonald’s and Domino’s then they know what asparagus and leeks look like.

Jamie Oliver’s School Lunch Project is on The Learning Channel, Monday nights at 7:00 pm. For re-runs of episodes, check your local listings.

*Picture downloaded from TLC.

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Jamie Oliver’s School Lunch Project

Sharon Osbourne and Jamie Oliver are going head to head in the battle of the books – it has been announced.

Jeremy Clarkson, Piers Morgan and the late John Peel are also in the race for the WHSmith Book of the Year title.

X Factor judge Sharon has been nominated for her warts-and-all biography Extreme, but she faces stiff competition from celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s cookbook Jamie’s Italy.

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Sharon Osborne takes on the Naked Chef