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Original poster

jamie oliver is he total fake?

177 replies

orangelotus · 13/09/2023 10:26

i read this today and must say i had no idea of the scale of financial stuff going on.

www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-perverse-greed-of-jamie-oliver-2/

i think i feel angry as i've spent my entire working life in Newham and can see how poor many children are there.
It is shocking how he presents himself as this do goofing crusader but his dealings with small businesses and local councils have been so shady .
i feel angry with myself for having fallen for his nonsense.

OP posts:
SquirrelFan · 13/09/2023 14:08

amusedbush · 13/09/2023 14:01

A fair argument but they're not introducing better choices, they're just swapping out the same products for inferior versions. They are still churning out the same number of "awful crap" products but now it's full of artificial sweeteners, which can't be great for us considering the banging headache they give me.

Meanwhile, people can still access cheap sugar in the form of chocolate, biscuits, ice cream, etc. It seems like a weirdly lopsided attack on sugar that will have little effect overall.

Show quote history

And I can't find cranberry juice without sweeteners...

amusedbush · 13/09/2023 14:11

MaryEarpsTongue · 13/09/2023 14:03

But that isn't his fault. That's the fault of the drinks manufacturers who as you say, changed their recipes to avoid the sugar tax. They didn't have to do that. They could have kept them the same, accepted they would make less money as people would buy less, and perhaps diversified or explored ways to make drinks healthier.

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Sorry, I'm not blaming JO for it - I was just correcting the poster who said all full sugar drinks are still available.

Aside from finding his TV personality a bit annoying, I don't have much of an opinion on him!

Thesoundofscience · 13/09/2023 14:17

Jamie Oliver did a lot for animal welfare with his exposure of the horrors of the battery chicken industry so he’ll always be one of the good guys to me. I don’t earn much at all but would rather buy lentils, beans or pulses than a £2 chicken pumped full of hormones that had a horrific life.

He also did a lot for school children by trying to improve the quality of the food they eat. Crazy that anyone would think this is a bad thing?

But as a society we extremely disconnected from our food sources and uneducated about nutritious food, as proven by those on here arguing that he is against sugar while cooking with butter and cream. Sugar is bad for you, and has zero nutritional value whereas butter and cream are very good for you in moderation.

He also did work with low income families in community centres, teaching them to cook nutritious family meals on a low budget.

Somanycats · 13/09/2023 14:19

I know him and his family a little and (while I know nothing of his business dealings) I think hes an okay person. Not super intelligent, but actually quite unguarded and open, pleasant and helpful. I also know a lot of people round here who sound like him tbf. Lots of Essex wide 'boys' of about his age, I have no reason to think his accent particularly fake or annoying. He sounds a bit like my brothers frankly.

MinnieTruck · 13/09/2023 14:20

He’s the one who got the toffee sundae scrapped from Mcds so that’s enough for me to dislike him!

IcedPurple · 13/09/2023 14:20

mindutopia · 13/09/2023 11:22

I mean, this is a ridiculous article in a ridiculous publication, but I don't think his business practices are new news. He has been a relatively successful brand, but his actual restaurants have had all sorts of financial and legal issues. Also, they are sort of rubbish. Like not nice food really at all. He's a decent enough tv personality, but he's not a great chef.

Didn't his restaurant chain go out of business a few years ago?

MinnieTruck · 13/09/2023 14:20

That really was a good sundae…

completely misses the point

lassingd · 13/09/2023 14:23

I don't know the full reality, but I don't think you can extrapolate much from him not stepping in to personally pay off creditors when the company went under. I half remember reading he had injected personal funds to keep the business going longer.

NOTANUM · 13/09/2023 14:26

You’re right @ruffler45 - he’s doing something right for sure and fair play to him. But acquiring wealth can be done in many ways: debt raising, sell to PE, franchising..

To run 52 companies means having a strategy, a top team and a lot of time as chair. The last business adventures showed he didn’t have those ingredients which showed his naïveté.

D1nopawus · 13/09/2023 14:43

@KingsHeath53 Grin that's fine at home. No so much down the pub. Especially as DH thinks it's embarrassing when I ask for tea.

Mercurial123 · 13/09/2023 14:43

MN has always had an issue with Jamie Oliver. Just like food and weight threads, it never goes well.

crumblingschools · 13/09/2023 14:46

He didn't encourage the use of sweeteners, that was down to the drink industry, he wanted to cut down consumption of sugar

Damnloginpopup · 13/09/2023 14:58

pinkhousesarebest · 13/09/2023 13:20

Anyone who tries to bring animal welfare to the core is ok by me. Can’t imagine the agony that the two for one chickens endured.

It wasn't two for one. It was two for a fiver. Immediately the same chickens became two for £7.50. Same chickens, same conditions. Nice fat profit for the supermarkets - thanks for your help Jamie.

EnjoyingTheSilence · 13/09/2023 15:02

God forbid anyone tries to do some good. He’s not a saint, he’s a person who’s tried to do the right thing, it may not have always worked but at least he’s tried. There’s plenty out there with his wealth and more who’ve done fuck all or made things worse

crumblingschools · 13/09/2023 15:05

@Damnloginpopup isn't that down to the supermarkets

Damnloginpopup · 13/09/2023 15:07

MaryEarpsTongue · 13/09/2023 14:03

But that isn't his fault. That's the fault of the drinks manufacturers who as you say, changed their recipes to avoid the sugar tax. They didn't have to do that. They could have kept them the same, accepted they would make less money as people would buy less, and perhaps diversified or explored ways to make drinks healthier.

Show quote history

It absolutely is his fault! He was the catalyst!

I loved Barr's Cream Soda. Had some two days ago and started spitting - yep. Artificial sweeteners. That's another favourite I can't drink.

Only sugar free ginger beer at Asda here for months - nope. Can't drink that.

Having to buy coca cola now if I want a carbonated soft drink. I'm not massively a fan of it but I don't feel crappy afterwards.

Can't drink any of the options in KFC either.

Govt are happy, extra tax pounds! Manufacturers are paying out to remake recipes. Artificial sweetener companies are smiling. And more Ultra Processed Ingredients.

Thanks Jamie. By the way, I've been slimmer than you for the last twenty years and I'm older than you, you condescending prick.

longwayoff · 13/09/2023 15:08

Oh, it's the Spectator trashing someone with a social conscience. And written by that paragon of virtue Julie Burchill? Fall about laughing. Read up on the lovely Julie, a woman so supremely selfish and self interested that she defines the terms. Really, OP. I'm not reading the link to the trash.

ohdamnitjanet · 13/09/2023 15:14

A friend of mine knew Jamie ( not particularly well, work related ) years ago, maybe at the start of 15. He really liked him. A couple of years ago this friend started a food business and Jamie got to hear of it, and did some totally unasked for free promotion on his social media. He hadn’t spoken to my friend in years, wanted to pay for samples he was sent, and didn’t expect any freebies. That man is a gent.

Alicetheowl · 13/09/2023 15:15

I don't think he's the best TV cook. But I've read the article and frankly, Julie Burchill has made a name for herself banging on about her working class background and leaving school at 16, and now writes for a right wing upmarket publication where most of the staff I suspect are privately educated. Pot and kettle.

Of course his limited company is separate from his personal finances. I'm a socialist, but we need businesses and that is how businesses work. If everybody with an entrepreneurial idea thought that if they went bust-maybe because they overestimated how competent they were at business, but maybe because of bad luck like Covid, Brexit, a major client being unable to pay them, an economic crisis which meant people could no longer afford eating out or nice handbags-they would lose their house and savings and their children might be in emergency accommodation, many people wouldn't start a business.

Also I expect a dyslexic chef who went to catering college is largely a figurehead for the brand and relies on a financial team to make decisions for him. Especially with a business empire that large.

Damnloginpopup · 13/09/2023 15:15

crumblingschools · 13/09/2023 15:05

@Damnloginpopup isn't that down to the supermarkets

Yes and no. They would have left it at that price to get the business but they couldn't be seen to be doing it for a fiver any longer. So they upped the price, bit of smoke and mirrors, without changing the method or conditions. MASSIVE payday when you consider the increase in gross profit for the exact same product.

So he just managed to boost the supermarket's purse while emptying the public's purse while having no effect on animal welfare. Backfired completely.

Sunshineandrainbows23 · 13/09/2023 15:22

I think Jamie is totally well meant with the sugar and school campaigns but as someone pointed out the amount of saturated fat with butter etc he uses in his recipes is really harmful to health. More aspartame being introduced to reduce sugar is just poisoning us in another way ... I think campaigning to make fruits, veggies, etc more affordable would be the way to go so families have a genuine choice ...

Lwrenagain · 13/09/2023 15:22

MinnieTruck · 13/09/2023 14:20

He’s the one who got the toffee sundae scrapped from Mcds so that’s enough for me to dislike him!

Thats enough of a crime to stand before a firing squad.

Theroom · 13/09/2023 15:24

I don't know Jamie or Julie, but I don't remember the last time I read such a spitefully written article. Based on that, I'm on Jamie's side.

Pleasenowthatsenough · 13/09/2023 15:24

He is a very rich man who does very well for himself and every time he goes on one of his crusades, it’s more publicity and more cook books sold.

Mydahliasareshit · 13/09/2023 15:25

Julie Burchill. It's astonishing she's still here at all tbh, given the legendary 3 bottles of champagne a day and alleged industrial quantities of Groucho-gak over the years. Or, maybe none of that was true either...