Jamie Oliver; Ministry of Food

donnajt

I fell in love with Jamie when he turned my husband onto cooking!!! And as I've said in previous posts, I had the pleasure of meeting him and he is completely down to earth, unpretentious and a humble human being, I sincerely believe he does these programmes for want of ensuring our children grow up to become healthy, wholesome adults.

I really enjoyed the programme last night - there are loads of can't cook won't cook parents out there, but the thing that saddened me most was that when the takeway arrived, the children sat on the floor and ate out of yellow polystyrine packaging - come on surely it takes no effort to take 4 plates out of the cupboard, lay the table and enjoy a family meal???

I emphasised with the lack of money, we have all struggled at some point to buy good ingredients - it's only with practice that we learn to cut corners and access support from forums like today - perhaps Martin should team up with Jamie...or even better Bernadine Lawrence

Regarding the smoking issue - I am ignoring that, I can't remember the ladies name - but the joy on her face when she cooked the pancake for her son, or her pride and despondency when she cooked the salmon and realised what crap food she had been providing for her children made the whole show worthwhile

looking forward to next week's episode

r.mac_2

I thought the programme was very interesting and certainly sparked lots of discussion in our house!

I was really shocked at how some people live - and it made me very thankful for what I have and the skills that I have. Things are tight for most at the moment and I really felt for some of the people we saw over the course of the evening.

I really admire what JO is trying to do - I just felt that when the lady with the two young children broke down about debt and money that she needed more than JO to show her how to cook. She needed a martin lewis there as well to help her see a way out of debt and introduce simple budgetting.

I'm not quite sure how as a country we can tackle all the issues raised in the programme - I thought it was a powerful piece of political comment and I will be watching the rest of the series with interest.

Chuzzle

:mad: I missed it!

Can I just say regarding learning to cook at school, I was at high school from 1984-1989 and me cooking lessons consisted of plenty of reading and theory work and precious little practise! I did fruit salad and scones and that was all I made at school so yes at some point some schools did stop doing decent home cooking lessons! My mum rarely allowed us to help her in the kitchen - the kitchen was her kingdom bless her and woe betide any1 that got in her way when she was in there!!:o Having said that I have managed to learn to cook and I think if you can read and have a basic level of common sense then you can cook! I learnt from watching cookery progs on tv and from trying things out, not all with great success!

Good on ya JO keep up the good work.

thecornflake

I watched this with interest, having in a previous life living out of the deep fat fryer a few years ago and although improved I'm still trying to increase the amount of home cooked food we have (about to start a thread on latest adventures in menu planning).

Although it was a good idea he didn't emphasise the money saving aspect enough, this would have given them a lot more motivation and a lot of people think healthy home cooking is more expensive. Especially with the credit crunch this would have given his 'revolution' a lot more weight.
I actually think he should have tried to feed his family for a month on the budget those people had to spend on food, as he clearly didn't understand that side of things. The meatballs were a good idea but Salmon? No-one on the little amount of money could afford to buy Salmon regularly, I think that was unrealistic.

dianadors

Skint_Catt wrote: »

I did wonder why he didn't sjust how them a basic pasta dish .

And I wondered why he didnt start with an Omlette instead of Salmon (much more affordable if you are on benefits I would have thought). However I think we need to remember that it is as much about making "good television" as it is about teaching the nation to cook. My family and I enjoyed watching this.

Incidentally - we are from Rotherham!! My son (aged 13) commented that we didnt know any one who couldnt cook. I would love to teach cookery in schools (which is where I learned in the 70's) I just dont know how to go about it. Where do I start?

trying-very-trying

alec_eiffel wrote: »

I've not seen the show yet but I have it on to watch tonight. I've just read this article by Felicity Lawrence with her take on things -

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/oct/01/foodanddrink.oliver

Thanks for this link. I've been reading it and very interesting it is too. It gives a bit more of the history to these families and the elderly gentleman. Maybe some on here have been a bit too quick to judge.
I didn't get as heated as some, I just felt truly sorry for the girl, natasha I think her name was, and her children. The pride she felt when she made her son a pancake was a joy to see. Made me realise just how blessed we all are on this forum, with the help and support we receive.

trying-very-trying

dianadors wrote: »

Incidentally - we are from Rotherham!! My son (aged 13) commented that we didnt know any one who couldnt cook. I would love to teach cookery in schools (which is where I learned in the 70's) I just dont know how to go about it. Where do I start?

I don't suppose you know many adults that can't read either, but at least one of those women last night couldn't read the recipe, and was confused with the numbers for the quantities.

Any way, I don't mean to have a go at you. I wanted to reply to your idea of helping to teach children to cook. Does your local school offer "activity days"? Our local primary school offer these afternoons one day a week. They are always looking for parents to come along and pass on their skills to the children.
Of course if they don't get encouraged to keep it up at home, (if mum or dad can't be bothered) then you really will struggle.

maman

thecornflake wrote: »

Although it was a good idea he didn't emphasise the money saving aspect enough, this would have given them a lot more motivation and a lot of people think healthy home cooking is more expensive. Especially with the credit crunch this would have given his 'revolution' a lot more weight.
I actually think he should have tried to feed his family for a month on the budget those people had to spend on food, as he clearly didn't understand that side of things. The meatballs were a good idea but Salmon? No-one on the little amount of money could afford to buy Salmon regularly, I think that was unrealistic.

Agree, cornflake, that Jamie could have chosen more basics. I had a feeling the menus might be OTT when he staggered into the first kitchen with heaps of expensive ingredients.

It definitely needs budgetting alongside the cooking. It was screamingly obvious that the young woman could feed her family (and some!) on the money she was spending on take-aways and that would include her bus/taxi fare. She could go shopping with her mates that she was trying to teach cooking skills. What really distressed me was watching that lovely little girl, sadly already a little on the plump side, sitting on the floor eating her kebab and chips.

Just to demonstrtae that not everyone is like this. Before I watched JO (recorded) I was coming home from football on the bus. In front of us were 4 young men, obviously students. OH and I pricked up our ears when we heard them discussing the Sunday roast they were going to prepare when their friends came round at the weekend: roast lamb, potatoes, greens, carrots, parsnips and one of them offered to do his 'famous mushroom gravy'. There must be some very proud mums out there somewhere!

balmaiden

I think young Jamies heart is in the right place, but, as others have mentioned surely the first thing that needs to be taught is how to shop for good quality affordable food on a budget. Lets face it with the money JO has earned he is far removed from what people on low incomes actually have to manage on. Yes, I know that if they are buying take aways every night they must be able to cook at home for less but I don't think the people filmed realise this, so lets teach that first.

When I was at school, part of our cookery lessons dealt with budgeting. Maybe I was fortunate to be educated in the 60's.

Secondly the fact that they crushed cream crackers to add to the mince for meatballs what the heck was that all about? Easier than breadcrumbs I think was said, but again the cost!! Surely even people who live on take aways have a crust of bread that will go to waste if not used in dishes like this.

dianadors

trying-very-trying wrote: »

I don't suppose you know many adults that can't read either, but at least one of those women last night couldn't read the recipe, and was confused with the numbers for the quantities.

Any way, I don't mean to have a go at you. I wanted to reply to your idea of helping to teach children to cook. Does your local school offer "activity days"? Our local primary school offer these afternoons one day a week. They are always looking for parents to come along and pass on their skills to the children.
Of course if they don't get encouraged to keep it up at home, (if mum or dad can't be bothered) then you really will struggle.

I know socially that some people have more of a struggle in life and a basic education goes a long long way, as does family support. I think the root of a lot of problems go so much deeper and I dont want to get on my soapbox here. Its many things - like the fact that the girl had to get on the bus to go to the shops (no small shops anymore, just large supermarkets)- whereas the takeaway was more convenient.

Back to the subject of teaching cookery in schools - I did used to volunteer in my kids schools when they were younger and I used to work evenings. Now they are older, I work during the day, so I was thinking more of a career change and I think I would like to teach older kids - or even young adults. The problem is I dont have A levels or a degree which I think you need to get into teaching, and as I am almost 50, times running out a bit.