Jamie Oliver is Serving Up Some Knowledge to Families Who Need It

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is getting ready to begin a new TV series in which he brings home cooking back where it belongs — in the home. And, he’s starting in Rotherham, which is where he “faced serious opposition to his school dinners campaign from mothers who passed junk food to their children through the school railings.” Were you aware of this controversy? I wasn’t, so let me fill you in:

Oliver has campaigned for more nutritious school dinners for some time now, using his fame (and a TV show) to influence the British government into making changes. He was met with some serious opposition, partly in the form of Julie Critchlow, who has a child in high school, and who says, “No matter how healthy it is, if kids don’t like it they’re not going to eat it.” She and another mother actually went to the school and sold junky fast food options to the kids through the fence so they wouldn’t be forced to eat anything that was actually good for them. Keep in mind, students at this school are also allowed to brown bag or go home for lunch. She was also angry that Oliver was teaching her kids to be more picky about their food.

Anyway, now that Oliver has won the healthy school lunch battle in Britain, he intends to send his message home, teaching people how “to cook simple but delicious food, from scratch.” He’s hoping that folks will realize it can be “quick, cheap, and easy — as well as rewarding,” and families will be ready to toss their take-out in the trash. Oliver realizes that folks are busy and they’re on tight budgets, but part of the problem is that not everyone has really learned to cook. He hopes that by showing people how to go back to basics, they’ll appreciate what they’re putting on the table and begin to live healthier lives.

Thanks, Jamie, for encouraging people all over the world to live healthier lives.

Photo courtesy of starpulse.com