Jamie’s American Food Revolution

[LitNetIsGreat]

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/jamies-american-food-revolution/4od#3121603

Anybody else watching this? Great stuff last week.

I am a bit of a fan of Jamie Oliver because he is a fellow culinary revolutionary!! He did so much good in helping to get rid of the junk single-handedly in UK schools. However, in trying to do the same in America I think he has met his match (tough job as I can't see many Americans being told what to eat by a Brit!). Great viewing though, must see stuff.

[Drkshadow03]

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/jamies-american-food-revolution/4od#3121603

Anybody else watching this? Great stuff last week.

I am a bit of a fan of Jamie Oliver because he is a fellow culinary revolutionary!! He did so much good in helping to get rid of the junk single-handedly in UK schools. However, in trying to do the same in America I think he has met his match (tough job as I can't see many Americans being told what to eat by a Brit!). Great viewing though, must see stuff.

I watch an episode of this like almost a year ago . . . I didn't realize it was still on.

[LitNetIsGreat]

I think that it was shown in the US first and has only just come on here (unless this is a repeat?). There are only six episodes with the first one shown last week. I had to laugh at those stern dinner ladies, especially when he called one of them a "lunch lady" in all innocence - she nearly bit his head off!

What I like about Jamie is his passion and committment to good food. Not necessarily anything fancy, but just decent, quality stuff - honest ingredients instead of uniform junk. I certainly agree with him that good, honest food and good company can go a hell of a long way.

[LitNetIsGreat]

For anyone in the UK - I believe the second episode is on tonight, either 9pm or 10pm.

[MANICHAEAN]

Keith Flloyd I think was the best of the "celebrety chefs" from the UK. Apparently he really started in the RAF, getting involved & dishing up good grub, a taste for which he acquired as a child in rural English settings. A glass of wine while cooking, he, more than any other, got men into the kitchen and made it fun.

Jamie Oliver at first, I liked his enthusiasm, but he got to much exposure & everything seemed to gravitate back to Italian cuisine.

"Hells Kitchen" with Gordan Ramsey & the " f---k" word every 5 minutes was too much gimmick & playing a role than cooking.

[MarkBastable]

Keith Flloyd I think was the best of the "celebrety chefs" from the UK. Apparently he really started in the RAF, getting involved & dishing up good grub, a taste for which he acquired as a child in rural English settings. A glass of wine while cooking, he, more than any other, got men into the kitchen and made it fun.

Did you see Keith Allen's meeting-my-hero documentary on Floyd? Floyd died the very evening it was aired, which was clever of him, because the coverage of his death was increased about tenfold by the coincidence. Anyway, he came over as one of those people who's great fun to know a little, but you wouldn't want to know a lot.


Jamie Oliver at first, I liked his enthusiasm, but he got to much exposure & everything seemed to gravitate back to Italian cuisine.

I think he's remained pretty honest. And if you're going to gravitate towards a cuisine, that's not a bad one to pick.


"Hells Kitchen" with Gordan Ramsey & the " f---k" word every 5 minutes was too much gimmick & playing a role than cooking.

I liked the swearing. It was especially good when he was dealing with restaurants in New Jersey, where the proprietors and staff tended to say f*ck with such generous abandon that they made Gordon look like Mary Poppins.

[LitNetIsGreat]

Floyd was good, but more drink and food, as opposed to food and drink!

Jamie was on form tonight (or last year) I'm thinking of recruiting him for the Neely revolution!!!

[Virgil]

However, in trying to do the same in America I think he has met his match (tough job as I can't see many Americans being told what to eat by a Brit!).

Americans don't like to be told what to do by anyone, including fellow Americans. :wink5:

[MANICHAEAN]

Mark
Alas, I missed the documentary. Hope to pick it up again on one of my home leaves as a repeat.
Did you ever see Floyd cook kangaroos tail in Australia. He did his usual remarkable, hands on; add garlic, gulp of wine, add a bit to the creation in order to bring out the flavour etc. Then when dishing up & tasting he remarked how he had a penchant for the smaller sections of the tail.

[OrphanPip]

Kangaroo tail sounds interesting. I've had kangaroo before, but never the tail.

[papayahed]

Kangaroo tail sounds interesting. I've had kangaroo before, but never the tail.



Was that at a Harvey's?

[OrphanPip]

Was that at a Harvey's?

Haha, it was at a steakhouse that serves game meat, I was surprised to see it on the table d'hote, so of course I had to have it.

[LitNetIsGreat]

Here is Jamie's speech at the TED award in relation to the programme. I'm not sure what the TED award is, but this is a damn fine and passionate speech - top man Jamie is indeed. This is worth 20 minutes of your time for sure:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIwrV5e6fMY

[OrphanPip]

TED is a conference for discussing current issues in science and culture. It stands for Technology Education and Design. There have been some really interesting TED presentations, they're one of the few places that gives scientist a platform for speaking about current issues and developments in science for longer than those 2 minute talking pieces on the news.

http://www.youtube.com/user/tedtalksdirector?blend=1&ob=4

[Lokasenna]

There's something about the man I just don't like - perhaps the fact that he is always trying so hard to be likable. For some reason, he just gets my heckles up - I can't help but think of him as a sanctimonious, self-congratulatory, preening little spiv.

And all those bloody Sainsbury's adverts as well...

[LitNetIsGreat]

Oh no I have to disagree with you there old Loka, I think he's great; totally passionate and 100% spot on with what he is saying here and elsewhere. I don't think Mrs N is too keen on him, she thinks he's a little smug, but I disagree. What you can't dislike or refute is what he is saying here though, no one sane can.

[Lokasenna]

What you can't dislike or refute is what he is saying here though, no one sane can.

I'll take that challenge...

And once again, Charlie Brooker (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpBYNzP5qQc&feature=related) is the voice of sanity. Watch it through - he gets on to Oliver shortly.

[kasie]

There's something about the man I just don't like - perhaps the fact that he is always trying so hard to be likable. For some reason, he just gets my heckles up - I can't help but think of him as a sanctimonious, self-congratulatory, preening little spiv.

And all those bloody Sainsbury's adverts as well...

I used to think that too, Loka, until I saw the series in which he worked with group of young people: I would have been tempted to throw the lot of them out, the work-shy, scruffy load of whining idlers, (what do you mean -my age is showing?) but he persisted. He showed real sadness when some of them rejected the opportunity he was offering them but his joy and enthusiasm when the rest rose to his challenge was inspirational. I believe he went on and repeated the experiment in a real-life restaurant.

He got my grandson into the kitchen and he has turned out to be no mean cook. And anyone who takes on those dreadful school dinners deserves all the support he can get.

[LitNetIsGreat]

I'll take that challenge...

And once again, Charlie Brooker (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpBYNzP5qQc&feature=related) is the voice of sanity. Watch it through - he gets on to Oliver shortly.

Yes funny to a degree, but misleading I feel.

Jamie piles food together for visual impact; he's trying to get the message across in the most direct manner possible. Of course pile anything much together and it is going to look ugly, but that is not the point, the point is to try persuade kids, and adults, to dump the crap processed, junk and take the healthy (i.e. normal) option.

If in order to do that he brings a JCB and a skip into the kids playground and throws things together then so be it - it's just one way to get the message across, just one little trick. In fact he spends far, far more time in actually making decent food and getting people to taste it for themselves, than such gimmicks if you like, but at least the gimmicks are there for the right reasons.

The clip was also unfair I felt in trying to make Jamie seem two-faced, in preaching healthy food and then in "selling out" by advertising ginger buns or whatever via Sainsbury's. This again is misleading. Jamie at no time is advocating that nobody never ever eats a donut, some French fries or a biscuit. If you watch his stuff he repeatedly admits to liking all of these things, but the key words here for me come back, once again, to moderation and balance - that and quality, always quality.

In terms of him being contracted to Sainsbury's; I think it is a good thing. The link he has got with the supermarket gives him good contacts to try and push for better food and animal welfare standards. For example in trying to get supermarkets to adopt to free range eggs he was able to push things with Sainsbury's and Waitrose (partner) because of this - to try to get them on board. Also, think that it is wrong to see the supermarkets as enemies of good food because this is not fair, there are some excellent products available in them and the convenience they give us is great. It is better, I feel, that we try to work with the supermarkets in improving standards and welfare for all concerned, farmers, animals, shoppers alike and in working with Sainsbury's Jamie is doing that, even if it is to a small degree. (Though I also think growing a few things yourself is unbeatable.) Another factor with this, and what the clip is appearing to suggest, is that because Jamie is trying to do good things with food that he's not allowed to make money from advertising; what an absurd notion! He's got to do it all for free is that it otherwise it doesn't count, he's "selling out"? In this world that's just naive...

Yes there is something of the cockney swagger about Jamie, at bit of bish, bash, bosh - a bit of Essex old boy charm, but in the end I think Jamie's heart is in the right place and he's doing a great job, of which I fully support.

[Lokasenna]

Well, to be fair, Brooker never really aims for fairness - his criticism is designed to be entertaining. But I also happen to think that he is largely right. There is a fine line between the provision of information about healthy eating and the attempt to emotionally blackmail people into being healthy. In my personal opinion, Oliver crosses that line. Changing one's lifestyle choices requires the impetus to ultimately come from the self - otherwise it just doesn't work.

To use a different example, someone who is persuaded to give up smoking is far more likely to return to the habit than someone who made the choice to give up on their own. The latter case may seek help and assistance, but it's very much their choice - it hasn't been made for them.

So, in summary, the provision of information is good, the strong-arm tactics much less so. As for Oliver's adverts, it's more about their irritation factor than any quality of percieved hypocrisy.

[LitNetIsGreat]

Yes all adverts are irritating, I mute them always, agreed.

I can see your point about crossing the line and in most cases I would agree, however I think you could read Jamie's actions not as emotionally blackmailing people into being healthy, but as a way to maximize the messages he, and others, are trying to get across. He is blunt because he is passionate and believes in what he is doing. For me Jamie speaks common sense and if he uses the occasional shock tactic, i.e. showing people what really goes into chicken nuggets in order to get that cause across, then so be it.

In terms of smoking, if the government was forcing infants to smoke cigarettes at school then people would soon kick up a fuss! However, give them food that has been pumped full of chemicals, salts, sugars, artificial preservatives, high levels of saturated fat and whatever else, and feed it them for breakfast and no one cares - it's normal. Well of course it's not normal or it shouldn't be, but before Jamie got involved with school dinners in the UK it was. What was needed then was dramatic action and it worked. Merely giving them a leaflet would have done nothing.

The problem with bad diet is that it has almost been institutionalized; it's not like smoking which should be a personal choice - people have become moulded into the idea that bad food, boring food, unhealthy food, food with no taste, is the norm. The whole fabric of society has fallen into the lazy convenience mould of fast food and junk which is hard to break. Crap food is big business.

I'm not into forcing people into doing anything, or supporting such action, but sometimes you need to shake a few things up to make things happen.