Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

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:
Chocolatefreak · 13/09/2023 15:30

It seems there are a lot of people who would rather criticise Jamie Oliver's personality instead of supporting his efforts to persuade school authorities to serve kids in places like Newham better food. I remember a TV documentary a while back where he worked with them to introduce an improved menu for a while, and kid's concentration etc improved - but then the parents literally insisted they should go back to chips and chicken nuggets. Incredible.

catwithflowers · 13/09/2023 15:32

fruitstick · 13/09/2023 13:18

I like Jamie Oliver. I'm not really that interested in behind the scenes.

I get angry that we hold people who do good things to different standards.

There are plenty of millionaires and billionaires who do fuck all and deliberately screw people over, but that's accepted because they're 'capitalist'

But show a hint of wanting to make a difference socially, or do anything for charity and suddenly you have to be squally clean or give all your money away otherwise they're a hypocrite.

Leave Jamie Oliver alone and save your wrath for the people who make millions actively making people's lives worse.

I agree with this! Save your hatred for the really bad guys. Goodness knows there are enough of them 🤷‍♀️

Sunshineandrainbows23 · 13/09/2023 15:34

Chocolatefreak · 13/09/2023 15:30

It seems there are a lot of people who would rather criticise Jamie Oliver's personality instead of supporting his efforts to persuade school authorities to serve kids in places like Newham better food. I remember a TV documentary a while back where he worked with them to introduce an improved menu for a while, and kid's concentration etc improved - but then the parents literally insisted they should go back to chips and chicken nuggets. Incredible.

Yes, I remember that too ... Parents standing at the gates with McDonalds. It's their right, of course, but it's also the right of their kids to have the chance of growing up healthily and able to concentrate at school etc ...

crumblingschools · 13/09/2023 15:39

@Damnloginpopup but again that is totally down to the supermarkets, ripping off farmers, animal welfare and their profits.

Fladdermus · 13/09/2023 15:42

I think Jamie Oliver quite likes the idea that he's completely fake. This is a Swedish advert for ICA (like Tesco) that he appears in. The staff are all excited for his arrival because they think he's wonderful and when he arrives he's an absolute knob. The cameras start rolling and he immediately switches to his on-screen persona.

'Do you have steps in Sweden?' Made me laugh.

f

ICA - Jamie Oliver

Bad boy Jamie Oliver makes a guest apperance in the ICA-commercial.§

https://www.youtube.com/watch?ab_channel=blejf&v=epGFPxJUusM

FoxClocks · 13/09/2023 15:44

"I’ve loathed Jamie Oliver for a long time, and my loathing has grown more nuanced and profound over the years. I used to despise him for claiming that junk food rots young brains while admitting that he had never read a book until the age of 38"
Such a nasty article. It's really well known Jamie is dyslexic and anything he has said against junk food has been perfectly normal opinions, nothing weird, just saying homemade food from whole ingredients is healthier. I think most people would agree with that.

WhatapityWapiti · 13/09/2023 15:47

Fladdermus · 13/09/2023 15:42

I think Jamie Oliver quite likes the idea that he's completely fake. This is a Swedish advert for ICA (like Tesco) that he appears in. The staff are all excited for his arrival because they think he's wonderful and when he arrives he's an absolute knob. The cameras start rolling and he immediately switches to his on-screen persona.

'Do you have steps in Sweden?' Made me laugh.

f

That’s brilliant!

JudgeJ · 13/09/2023 15:48

In fact the NHS is paying gazillions for insulin to pharma companies so people can exercise their free will to gorge themselves to death with sugar until diabetes rots their legs off and they don’t have to pay a penny for any of their treatment because it’s all provided for by the taxpayer.

But the NHS is also expected to prop up lots of other life-style conditions, alcohol, drugs, being a slob who never cleans up after themselves, this really isn't much different.

Flatulence · 13/09/2023 15:49

Unfortunately that's how a lot of larger businesses work (unless they're B Corp certified or other more 'ethical' entities); it's one of the reasons why trade unions came into existence, pushed for legislation to protect workers, and are still important in many sectors today.

As for Jamie Oliver, while I support his work to lobby for better standards in meat production and for the provision of healthier options, he's completely fake and not the sharpest knife in the drawer - which is probably at least part of the reason why he made some really crap business decisions.

FWIW, I grew up near him - a few years younger - and he's from a very nice part of Essex (Clavering, about 30 mins from Cambridge and close to the Hertfordshire border; Thurrock it ain't) and his parents were pretty well off - owning and running a very highly regarded gastropub (before that was really a term). The mockney accent is just that - mockney - and he's never known anything but a very comfortable middle class life. I found that really showed when (a decade or so ago) he did the 'feed your family for a fiver' - most of the suggestions were duff and had none of the ingenuity of someone who really has a flair for cooking with the basics. Unsurprising in retrospect as I've always found a lot of his recipes are meh at best.

Like I say, knowing of him from early on I was always keen to support him when his first 'naked chef' books came out but I've just always found the food falls short - unlike LOTS of other chefs (e.g. Yotam Ottolenghi, Gordon Ramsay, various members of the family Roux etc.) and cooks (e.g. Nigella, Madhur Jaffrey, Nigel Slater etc.).

That said, he seems like a nice enough guy and have never heard anyone who knows him personally slag him off - I just find him quite annoying and a bit fake.

KonTikki · 13/09/2023 15:50

I closed my subscription to The Spectator last year. Got tired of their slant on topical news items, and some of their regular contributors really started to piss me off with their views.
Julie Burchill needs to make a living, but seems to enjoy writing provocative articles, and I wouldn't take anything she wrote at face value.
Jamie Oliver, I don't mind him at all. He is first and foremost a business man, but has done some good, high profile stuff eg children's school meals.

Mistressanne · 13/09/2023 15:55

My dsil, an actual properly trained chef, has to ensure her kitchen provides lunch for 1200 pupils everyday.
Thanks to Jamie Oliver she is not allowed to have salt in the building, she would get the sack if she did.
They can't use sugar either.
The kids go out to the local shop instead if they want chocolate.
If dsil doesnt turn 60% profit on school dinners every week the questions are asked.
There's no way JO is not using salt in his own cooking.
And i'd like to see him produce food for 1200 people in a 2 hour slot.

ForeverbyJudyBlume · 13/09/2023 15:55

KonTikki · 13/09/2023 15:50

I closed my subscription to The Spectator last year. Got tired of their slant on topical news items, and some of their regular contributors really started to piss me off with their views.
Julie Burchill needs to make a living, but seems to enjoy writing provocative articles, and I wouldn't take anything she wrote at face value.
Jamie Oliver, I don't mind him at all. He is first and foremost a business man, but has done some good, high profile stuff eg children's school meals.

Yup, we're given a subscription every year by a family member but I wouldn't pay for it, it used to have some great content but now it's 99 per cent ultra right-wing clickbait designed to stir up hatred.

memote · 13/09/2023 15:56

I don't understand how companies go can bust, owe money to creditor's & employees but pay themselves. And I'd be embarrassed to owe money if I could afford. I remember reading about Philip Green is a recluse now, well pay some more back!

memote · 13/09/2023 15:58

He doesn't need to do all the campaigning for school meals, but he does. He could retire in luxury or not bother with any of it, and he'd get less stick, but he still does it.

It's PR & keeps his profile up, opportunity for more books/tv shows.

WhatapityWapiti · 13/09/2023 15:59

Mistressanne · 13/09/2023 15:55

My dsil, an actual properly trained chef, has to ensure her kitchen provides lunch for 1200 pupils everyday.
Thanks to Jamie Oliver she is not allowed to have salt in the building, she would get the sack if she did.
They can't use sugar either.
The kids go out to the local shop instead if they want chocolate.
If dsil doesnt turn 60% profit on school dinners every week the questions are asked.
There's no way JO is not using salt in his own cooking.
And i'd like to see him produce food for 1200 people in a 2 hour slot.

Edited

OK, if you can find me a reliable source for (a) salt being completely banned from school kitchens and (b) this being a rule invented by Jamie Oliver I will listen.

ForeverbyJudyBlume · 13/09/2023 16:06

memote · 13/09/2023 15:58

He doesn't need to do all the campaigning for school meals, but he does. He could retire in luxury or not bother with any of it, and he'd get less stick, but he still does it.

It's PR & keeps his profile up, opportunity for more books/tv shows.

So you think he ONLY does this for PR, when hundreds of other equal-ranking 'celebs' do zilch to make a difference or help others? Jolly good.

memote · 13/09/2023 16:07

@ForeverbyJudyBlume perhaps he does want to help but it is also PR. I think it's naive to believe it's completely altruistic.

IClaudine · 13/09/2023 16:12

There's no way JO is not using salt in his own cooking

Well, he doesn't pretend not to use salt or sugar. I don't believe he is responsible for the rules in your sil's school kitchen.

JO is a properly trained chef, btw.

crumblingschools · 13/09/2023 16:14

@Mistressanne what she is allowed to have in her meals will either be dictated to by other people not Jamie Oliver. And the cost of school dinners are dictated by how much funding schools get (unless someone is going to blame JO for the crap funding in education, and maybe we can blame the RAAC fiasco on him too!)

Laiste · 13/09/2023 16:15

His sandwiches and sausage rolls are shite and tasteless! I grabbed some bits from a services stop for us all to eat while on the road one day last year and despite us being really hungry and DH being a dustbin usually, most of it got thrown away after one bite!

Then i made the same mistake this year! 🙄 I didn't read the label as i was rushing. Waste of money.

I hate the way he crushes things in his fist to check if they're ripe too. Like you can go through the supermarket doing that! Twat.

IClaudine · 13/09/2023 16:18

Government guidance on school meals. Nothing about a total ban on salt and sugar and no mention of JO.

Foods high in fat, sugar and salt

Foods from this group are often high in energy (calories) but provide few other nutrients.

Reducing saturated fat intake can help reduce the risk of heart disease. Eating unsaturated fats instead, which are found in foods such as oily fish, nuts and seeds, and sunflower and olive oils, can help lower blood cholesterol.

Too much salt can encourage a taste for salty foods, potentially leading to high blood pressure in later life.

High sugar intake provides unnecessary calories and can lead to weight gain and tooth decay.

You should include:

no more than 2 portions of food that have been deep-fried, batter-coated, or breadcrumb-coated, each week (applies across the whole school day)
no more than 2 portions of food which include pastry each week (applies across the whole school day)
savoury crackers or breadsticks, which can be served at lunch with fruit, vegetables or dairy food
desserts, cakes and biscuits but they must not contain any confectionery
You should avoid:

snacks, except nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruit with no added salt, sugar or fat (applies across the whole school day)
confectionery, chocolate or chocolate-coated products (applies across the whole school day)

You must not provide salt to add to food after it has been cooked (applies across the whole school day).

Any condiments must be limited to sachets or portions of no more than 10 grams or one teaspoonful (applies across the whole school day).

You can:

choose mono- and poly-unsaturated fats, such as rapeseed, soya, sunflower and olive oils, wherever possible for cooking or salad dressings
avoid products that list partially hydrogenated fat or oil on the label
use higher fibre ingredients, such as wholemeal flour, in addition to, or instead of, white flour
reduce the amount of sugar used in dishes

ICanBuyMyOwnBooks · 13/09/2023 16:26

I don't care about Jamie Oliver. I don't expect any level of behaviour from him.

But at the same time as Julie is pretending to be a champion of working class kid, her argument seems to be that working class kids shouldn't care about their health or fitness because <checks notes> Jamie Oliver's business went bankrupt.

Both Jamie and Julie seem insufferable.

IClaudine · 13/09/2023 16:41

Her name is not Julie. If you are going to criticise her, at least get her name right!

MinnieTruck · 13/09/2023 16:42

Lwrenagain · 13/09/2023 15:22

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

Right!! I’m glad someone else feels the same

VesperLynne · 13/09/2023 16:45

Another one of his outstanding fuck-ups, 15, was charging £8 for beans on toast.