Has Jamie Oliver sold his soul?

[ABaconAndOnionTart]

Okay, I know this has been done to death but, Jamie Oliver advocates higher welfare meat, and yet is cooking chicken wings in his budget programme. Can't remember seeing free range or organic wings for sale unless attached to the bird! aibu thinking his message is forget the morals to save money?

[JustBecauseICan]

Yup.

Because the JOs and the Delias (to a lesser extent) have worked their voodoo on the Great British Public and convinced us all we cook shit and eat shit and will all die terrible deaths and be the laughing stock of furrin land until we buy their books mend our ways.

FWIW I can cook. Always could. I like eating therefore I like cooking. I like feeling good so I don't eat shit.

Couldn't get a book deal though sadly.

[expatinscotland]

Yes, Just, it was on one of those threads and loads of us got deleted.

[BoffinMum]

With my Austerity hat on, I would like to announce that you can get a large pork joint for about a fiver from most supermarkets, and that will do a Sunday roast and make a pork, pea and mushroom pie afterwards for Monday. Yum yum yum. Here we go.

For pork, pea and mushroom pie, chop leftover pork and bacon into small cubes, fry up in pan for a couple of minutes with a bit of chopped onion, add about about 8oz halved or quartered mushrooms depending on size, and add 2-4 oz frozen peas. Pour over some stock or hot water with a few gravy granules added. Be careful it's not too runny - add some more gravy granules if it's going wrong. Worcestershire sauce or leftover wine add to the flavour, as do: crushed juniper berries, bay leaves, sage, but they are optional. (I know leftover wine is an unknown concept for many MNetters, up there with leftover chocolate). Simmer for a couple of minutes and then put the whole lot into a baking dish or tray. Top with either shortcrust pastry and bake until the pastry is golden, or put a savoury crumble on top - 8 oz each of margarine and flour rubbed together, add a few oats, salt and pepper, and a handful of grated cheese. You can also top it with mashed potato and bake in the oven for a bit if you like, until the potato starts to turn golden.

Now a chef would suggest things like using pancetta, using home made pork or ham stock, using a bouquet garni of fresh herbs, using a beurre manie to thicken a sauce if you weren't reducing it, adding an egg yolk to the shortcrust pastry and using butter to give a richer crust, and all sorts of things like that. But the improvement in taste would only be 10% and you would be increasing the time, fuel cost, and general expenditure.

This is the dilemma JO has, to be fair. He is a chef so if he started banging on about gravy granules and frozen peas and so on, people would think he had sold out completely. But the outcome is that his recipes are nice to have, rather than day to day. At it will ever be thus.

[YouTheCat]

You lost me at 'left over wine'

[BoffinMum]

Indeed.

[BoffinMum]

Theoretical recipe coming up (untested).
Savoury bread and butter pudding. Mix two or three eggs into a pint of full fat milk. Get leftover cheap sliced bread and spread margarine on both sides. Cut into triangles and layer nicely in a dish. Pour egg and milk over the bread and margarine. Sprinkle over leftover chopped ham or bacon (no need for naice ham) and a handful of grated cheese. Cook in the oven for about 20 mins at 200C until the egg had formed a kind of set custard and the whole thing is nicely puffed up. Might make someone a cheap meal, that.

[WilsonFrickett]

left over wine

To be fair to the FTC, when Delia suggested using frozen potatoes, frozen peas and other short-cuts like that their was an outpouring of bosom-hoicking outrage, so in those terms I suppose he can't win.

[limitedperiodonly]

That pie sounds great. The only favourite things that are missing are carrots. I'm sure I can work them in.

Not too sure about the juniper berries. I'll stick to them in gin.

[ubik]

The programme seems really ill-judged. I was watching the Hairy Bikers on the other side and they made a fantastic blackberry and apple steamed pus using very basic ingredients which would fill you up if you were short on meat and veg side of things. No great claims about budgets or plasma screens,

[ubik]

Pus??? pud!

[ubik]

here

And thanks for the funniest thread fir aaaages it's like the old days

[ItIsKnown]

I am sniggering at Hully's Roman Polanski comebacks, but sorry for the poster who was upset by the horrible article she read

[mignonette]

One of the tastiest things I have ever eaten is my Mothers 'Mexican Chicken' which our housekeeper taught her when we lived in Central America. It is made with the left over chicken carcass and if you have some chicken thighs/wings/legs you can add those. All you do is brown a couple of onions adding a small pinch of chile powder or a half teaspoon of fresh chopped mild chile, till soft and starting to colour. Whilst this is happening place carcass in deep saucepan with enough water to cover, and add one stock cube, two chopped up carrots, salt and pepper. Simmer until all the meat has left the carcass (you might have to shred some of it off yourself), remove carcass and strain any bones out, keeping all the stock. Add the softened onion to this liquid.

Now if you are adding extra chicken bits add them to the pan that you softened the onions in. Brown the chicken bits all over then add to the liquid. Chop up two to three medium carrots and chuck into the chicken water. Bring to a slow simmer then add 3-4 medium peeled and chopped potatoes to the chicken liquid and add in a mug of rice and adjust water if it has evaporated too much to cover the contents. Simmer until rice is cooked, taste and adjust seasoning.

Makes a large pan full that is even better the next day. If you like chile add more and it is fine without for smaller children. If you want to add other herbs, go ahead- smoked Paprika is really good but the point of this is that it is rich and chicken-y even using just the carcass. Just add more rice to make it like a really thick stew. You can add other vegetables too. It works even if you need to add more water or more veg or more rice. Just chuck in a another cup of water the next day if you want to reheat and find it has gone very thick.

My kids, like I did, ask for this constantly.

[Calloh]

Thank you ItIsKnown I probably did get my knickers in a bit of a twist about RP. Billy's come-backs made me laugh too.

[Calloh]

Hully not Billy

[Darkesteyes]

The brilliant J K Rowling Jamie Oliver take note!!

www.theguardian.com/books/2013/sep/18/jk-rowling-government-poor-people

[Mopswerver]

I think he is hated for putting his head over the parapet and having an opinion. There are always those who will feel like he's telling them what to do but I don't think anyone can deny that he has focused attention on healthier eating and to me it is undeniable the effect he has had on school meals. But I get it, all of us MN-ers knew it all anyway and didn't need to be told but maybe we needed reminding.

There is also the small matter of how many jobs he has created in this country which I think was stated on R4 as over 7000! He didn't need to start those '15' restaurants giving unemployed kids training. I'm sure he could have made the same or more money doing other things.

I happen to think he has a gift for connecting with people and for delivering a message (though after reading all the comments on here I'm no longer sure!)

His comments on the poor may be uncomfortable but in many cases they have a lot of truth in them and before you jump on me I come from a very poor background but my Mum was a brilliant cook and fed us handsomely on cheap cuts, pies, stews, lots of fruit and veg etc. I think the point he was trying to make has been misconstrued. He was trying to look at why people are losing the ability to cook & make a meal out of next to nothing. If no-one teaches you to cook then how will you learn?. He is campaigning for 'proper cookery' to be brought back in schools and I say "Bring it on" because taking in your own pizza base and throwing a few things on top does not constitute cooking IMO.

[expatinscotland]

He's hated for being a twunt, and the only gift he has is for lining his pockets.

[Mopswerver]

After becoming a multi-millionaire in his 20's he could have gone on a "drink 7 drugs fuelled bender", shagged everything in sight and basically done what many celebs have done before him. Instead he married his childhood sweetheart, had a family and created thousands of jobs, including for disadvantaged youngsters. At the same time he challenged the Govt and transformed the thinking on school meals. Yes, I can see why you hate him, the arsehole (rolls eyes).

[mignonette]

Jack Monroe has a new weekly Guardian column! Am so happy for her.

Here is the first one.

Mop he didn't transform anything. Jeannette Orrey was the first to publicise it. JO has dropped that particular crusade because he doesn't understand the nature of social activism, that it is like eating an elephant- slowly w/ small bites. And of course that 'campaign' came attached to a TV show and book deals and media contracts that he personally profited from. He is no altruist nor a philanthropist.

[mignonette]

Oh and there are thousands of celebrities who don't go on benders/shag about and who also do not make the ignorant, cruel and cynical comments JO made.

[YouTheCat]

If you think school dinners are any better, you are wrong.

[Mopswerver]

She may have been the first Mignon but it would have gone nowhere without him.

It appears that all his businesses contribute to The Jamie Oliver Foundation which is a registered charity and covers the 'Fifteen' stuff and other projects. More than many do I would say.

[mignonette]

Mop Actually Mrs Orrey was effecting change and at a more sustainable pace. She has the greater credibility and paid a price for the hijacking of her initiative by the JO juggernaut.

There are huge numbers of celebrities quietly getting on with philanthropy. They just do not shout about it nor do they make nasty, disparaging remarks about people they actually demonstrate very little knowledge of.

And still nobody has defended Jo on his million pound contract w/ Sainsburys and the millions of pounds made from his ready meals and pre packaged foods (many of which were found to be high in salt) followed by his criticism of supermarkets, packaged foods and the people who buy them.

Vile cynical little hypocrite that he is.